Editing Heinrich Böll (section)

== Media scandals ==
The 1963 publication of ''[[The Clown (novel)|The Clown]]'' was met with polemics in the press for its negative portrayal of the Catholic Church and the [[Christian Democratic Union of Germany|CDU]] party.<ref name="Magill2013p350">Frank N. Magill (2013) The 20th Century A-GI: Dictionary of World Biography, Volume 7, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Nq1GU6I5umQC&pg=PA350 p.350]</ref> Böll was devoted to Catholicism but also deeply critical of aspects of it, especially in its most conservative incarnations. In particular, he was unable to forget the [[Reichskonkordat|Concordat]] of July 1933 between the Vatican and the Nazis, signed by the future [[Pope Pius XII]], which helped confer international legitimacy on the regime early in its development.<ref>{{cite book|title=Und Sagte Kein Einziges Wort|date=2003|publisher=Routledge|isbn=1-134-98682-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z8XSJpyo2nkC&q=%22Heinrich+Boll%22+1970s&pg=PT12|access-date=29 June 2014}}</ref>

Böll's liberal views on religion and social issues elicited German conservatives' wrath.<ref name="Magill2013p350"/><ref name="Finlay1996p8">Frank Finlay (1996) ''On the Rationality of Poetry: Heinrich Böll's Aesthetic Thinking'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=nzsnzwmIFGoC&pg=PA8 p.8]</ref> When constitutional reforms were passed in 1968 that cracked down on freedom, Böll spoke out against them. His 1972 article ''Soviel Liebe auf einmal'' (''So much love at once''), which accused the tabloid ''[[Bild]]'' of falsified journalism, was in turn retitled,{{clarify|date=November 2014}} at the time of publishing and against Böll's wishes, by ''[[Der Spiegel]]'', and the new title was used as a pretext to accuse Böll of sympathy with terrorism.<ref name="WerkeV18p454">Heinrich Böll: [https://books.google.com/books?id=gHUHAQAAMAAJ ''Werke ''], Volume 18: 1971–1974. Köln : Kiepenheuer und Witsch, 2003, {{ISBN|3-462-03260-7}}, pp.454-ff.</ref> This particular criticism was driven in large part by his repeated insistence on the importance of due process and the correct and fair application of the law in the case of the [[Baader-Meinhof Gang|Baader-Meinhof Group]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Cook|first1=Bernard A.|title=Europe Since 1945: An Encyclopedia, Volume 1|date=2001|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=0-8153-4057-5|page=135|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ox_gXq2jpdYC&q=%22Heinrich+Boll%22+1970s&pg=PA135|access-date=20 July 2014}}</ref> In his article for [[Der Spiegel]] titled ''Sixty Million against Six'', he asked for a safeguard for [[Ulrike Meinhof]] in order to open a dialogue and prevent a major press campaign and police campaign. Böll was heavily criticized for this and dubbed "the spiritual father of the violence" by one journalist in the ''[[Axel Springer SE|Springer press]]''.<ref name="youtube.com"/>

The conservative press even attacked Böll's 1972 Nobel Prize, arguing that it was awarded only to "liberals and left-wing radicals".<ref name="Magill2013p350"/>

On 7 February 1974, the ''[[Bild|BZ]]'', Berlin's most widely read newspaper at the time, reported that Böll's home had been searched. In fact, his home was searched only later that day, after the newspaper had already been circulated.<ref name="criterionchannel.com">{{Cite web|url=https://www.criterionchannel.com/videos/heinrich-boll|title = Heinrich Böll}}</ref>

In 1977, after the abduction of [[Hanns Martin Schleyer]], 40 police searched Böll's house based on an anonymous tip they received that named Böll's son as an accomplice to the kidnappers. This claim turned out to be unfounded. The Christian Democrats placed Böll on a blacklist after this incident.<ref name="criterionchannel.com"/>