 | You can helpexpand this article with text translated fromthe corresponding article in German. (March 2023)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
Daniel Cohn-Bendit | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Cohn-Bendit in 2018 | |
| Leader ofGreens–European Free Alliance in theEuropean Parliament | |
| In office 20 July 2004 – 1 July 2014 Serving with Rebecca Harms | |
| Preceded by | Paul Lannoye |
| Succeeded by | Philippe Lamberts |
| Member of theEuropean Parliament forGermany (France; 1999–2004; 2009–2014) | |
| In office 19 July 1994 – 1 July 2014 | |
| Preceded by | multi-member district |
| Succeeded by | multi-member district |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Daniel Marc Cohn-Bendit (1945-04-04)4 April 1945 (age 80) |
| Citizenship | Stateless (1945–1959) German (since 1959) French (since 2015) |
| Political party | Alliance 90/The Greens (1984–) Europe Écologie–The Greens (2010–2012) |
| Other political affiliations | Les Verts (1984–2010) |
| Children | 1 |
| Residence(s) | Frankfurt, Germany |
| Education | Paris-Sud University (no degree) University of Paris X: Nanterre (no degree) |
| Website | Official website |
Daniel Marc Cohn-Bendit (French:[danjɛlmaʁkkɔnbɛndit];German:[ˈdaːni̯eːlmaʁkkoːnˈbɛndɪt,-ni̯ɛl]; born 4 April 1945) is a French-German politician. Bornstateless to a German-PolishAshkenazi Jewish family,[1] Daniel Cohn-Bendit obtained German citizenship in 1959 and French citizenship in 2015.
Cohn-Bendit was a student leader during the unrest ofMay 1968 in France[2] and was also known during that time asDany le Rouge (French for "Danny the Red", because of both his politics and the colour of his hair). He was co-president of the groupEuropean Greens–European Free Alliance in theEuropean Parliament. He co-chairs theSpinelli Group, aEuropean Parliament inter-group aiming at relaunching thefederalist project in Europe. He was a recipient of theEuropean Parliament'sEuropean Initiative Prize in 2016.[3]
Cohn-Bendit's 1970s writings on sexuality between adults and children later proved controversial in 2001 and 2013.[4] The same can be said of his statements toRadio Télévision Suisse (RTS) that same year,[5] and his statements on the French TV showApostrophes in 1982.[6]
Daniel Cohn-Bendit was born inMontauban,France on 4 April 1945,[7] shortly after theAllied liberation of southern France.[1]
His parents were German Jews who fledNazi Germany in 1933. His father,Erich Cohn-Bendit [de], was aBerlin-based lawyer, self-proclaimed atheist[1] and committedTrotskyist who had worked as a defense attorney for theRote Hilfe and representedHans Litten. His mother,Herta Cohn-Bendit [de] (née David; 1908–1963), was born inPoznań and also worked as a lawyer. Several of their relatives who remained in Berlin were deported toRiga in 1942/43, where they either perished or were murdered.[8]
InParis, his parents became part of a circle of Jewish intellectuals that includedWalter Benjamin,Heinrich Blücher, and philosopherHannah Arendt, whose works would later strongly influence Daniel.[9] After Erich was interned twice in 1939/1940, the family, including Daniel's older brotherGabriel Cohn-Bendit (born 1936), moved to Montauban, nearToulouse.
Following the war, they relocated to Paris and then to Cailly-sur-Eure inNormandy, where his parents ran a Jewish children's home. In 1949, the family returned to Paris when Herta took over the economic management of the JewishÉcole Maïmonide.[10] His parents initially planned to emigrate to theUnited States and therefore did not apply for French citizenship for Daniel.[11]
In 1952, Erich established a law practice inFrankfurt, while Herta and Daniel remained in Paris. Although his father applied for French citizenship for Daniel in 1958, the application remained incomplete due to missing documentation, leaving him stateless for several years. That same year, Daniel and his mother also moved to Frankfurt.[12] The move was particularly difficult for the 13-year-old Daniel, who later recalled, "I cried every night... Even when one defends immigration, you have to know that it's horrible to be forced to leave. It chokes you."[13]
In Germany, he attended the progressiveOdenwaldschule in Ober-Hambach nearHeppenheim,Hesse.[14]
He is the co-author, with his brotherGabriel Cohn-Bendit, ofObsolete Communism: The Left-Wing Alternative (Linksradikalismus: Gewaltkur gegen die Alterskrankheit des Kommunismus, 1968). This book combines an account of the events of May 1968 with a critique ofStalinism, theFrench Communist Party and thetrade union establishment. The authors acknowledged their intellectual debt to thelibertarian socialist groupSocialisme ou Barbarie, especiallyCornelius Castoriadis ("Pierre Chaulieu") andClaude Lefort.[15]
In 2001, it was revealed that Cohn-Bendit had authored a 1976 article in the cultural-political magazinedas da, in which he graphically described engaging in sexual activities with children under his care at a Frankfurt kindergarten.[16] In 2013, a recording was discovered wherein Cohn-Bendit described an "incredibly erotic game" with a minor. With regard to thedas da article, Cohn-Bendit claimed the described activities were not based on true events and were an "obnoxious provocation".[17]
Swiss Radio Television (RTS) has undermined Cohn-Bendit's defense by citing him in their 2015 showC'était mieux avant (It Was Better Before). The remarks made by Daniel Cohn-Bendit in the 1975 showDestins are described as more than ambiguous: "Example, Daniel Cohn-Bendit... in the TSR programDestins in 1975, he made more than ambiguous statements about his relationships with children: "By having experiences with kids, playing with them, having emotional and even sexual relationships, sexual in the emotional sense, caresses, etc., I learned a lot about myself"."[5]
A modified photo of Cohn-Bendit confronting a police officer in May 1968 was used as cover art for the Britishpunk-rock bandCrisis for their 1997 compilation albumWe Are All Jews and Germans.[18][better source needed]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link).
Media from Commons
Quotations from Wikiquote
