Daniel Cohn-Bendit

Summary

Daniel Marc Cohn-Bendit (French pronunciation: [danjɛl maʁk kɔn bɛndit]; German: [koːn ˈbɛndɪt]; born 4 April 1945)[1] is a European politician. Born Stateless in a German-Polish Ashkenazi Jewish family,[2] Daniel Cohn-Bendit obtained German citizenship in 1959 and French citizenship in 2015.

Daniel Cohn-Bendit
MEP a. D.
Cohn-Bendit in 2018
Leader of Greens–European Free Alliance in the European Parliament
In office
20 July 2004 – 1 July 2014
Serving with Rebecca Harms
Preceded byPaul Lannoye
Succeeded byPhilippe Lamberts
Member of the European Parliament
for Germany
(France; 1999–2004; 2009–2014)
In office
19 July 1994 – 1 July 2014
Preceded bymulti-member district
Succeeded bymulti-member district
Personal details
Born
Daniel Marc Cohn-Bendit

(1945-04-04) 4 April 1945 (age 78)
Montauban, Occitania, France
CitizenshipStateless (1945-1959)
German (since 1959)
French (since 2015)
Political partyAlliance 90/The Greens (1984–)
Europe Écologie–The Greens (2010–2012)
Other political
affiliations
Les Verts (1984–2010)
Children1
Residence(s)Frankfurt, Germany
Alma materParis-Sud University (no degree)
Paris Nanterre University (no degree)
WebsiteOfficial website

Cohn-Bendit was a student leader during the unrest of May 1968 in France[3] and was also known during that time as Dany le Rouge (French for "Danny the Red", because of both his politics and the colour of his hair). He was co-president of the group European Greens–European Free Alliance in the European Parliament. He co-chairs the Spinelli Group, a European parliament inter-group aiming at relaunching the federalist project in Europe. He was a recipient of the European Parliament's European Initiative Prize in 2016.[4]

Cohn-Bendit's 1970s writings on sexuality between adults and children later proved controversial in 2001 and 2013.[5]

Selected works edit

He is the co-author, with his brother Gabriel Cohn-Bendit, of Obsolete 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 of Stalinism, the French Communist Party and the trade union establishment. The authors acknowledged their intellectual debt to the libertarian socialist group Socialisme ou Barbarie, especially Cornelius Castoriadis ("Pierre Chaulieu") and Claude Lefort.[6]

Allegations of sex with minors edit

In 2001, it was revealed that Cohn-Bendit had authored a 1976 article in the cultural-political magazine das da, in which he graphically described engaging in sexual activities with children under his care at a Frankfurt kindergarten.[7] In 2013, a recording was discovered wherein Cohn-Bendit described an "incredibly erotic game" with a minor. With regard to the das da article, Cohn-Bendit claimed the described activities were not based on true events and were an "obnoxious provocation".[8]

In Popular Culture edit

A modified photo of Cohn-Bendit confronting a police officer in May 1968 was used as cover art for the British punk-rock band Crisis for their 1997 compilation album We Are All Jews and Germans.[9]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Profile of Daniel Cohn-Bendit
  2. ^ Sebastian Voigt (2015), Der jüdische Mai '68: Pierre Goldman, Daniel Cohn-Bendit und André Glucksmann im Nachkriegsfrankreich (in German), Göttingen, pp. 142–146, ISBN 978-3-525-37036-0{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ^ ZEIT Online Cohn-Bendit zieht sich 2014 aus Politik zurück
  4. ^ "Prix de l'Initiative Europeenne" [European Initiative Prize]. Institut de Recherche et de Communication sur l'Europe. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  5. ^ Voßkuhle sagt Festrede für Cohn-Bendit ab Süddeutsche Zeitung 14 March 2013
  6. ^ Daniel Cohn-Bendit, Gabriel Cohn-Bendit, Obsolete Communism: The Left-Wing Alternative, trans. Arnold Pomerans (London: André Deutsch Ltd., 1968), p. 133.
  7. ^ "Sixties hero revealed as kindergarten sex author". The Guardian. 28 January 2001.
  8. ^ "Pedophilia accusations haunt Green politician | DW | 04.05.2013". Deutsche Welle.
  9. ^ "Crisis - We Are All Jews and Germans". Discogs. 10 November 1997.

Further reading edit

  • "Germany Yesterday and Today: A Discussion with Jean-Paul Sartre, Alice Schwarzer and Daniel Cohn-Bendit". Telos 41 (Fall 1979). New York: Telos Press.

External links edit

  • Official website