Principles of Democracy (7): Freedom of expression - Germany / Federal Republic of Germany 1995 - 100 Pfennig

The special postage stamp series »Basic Thoughts of Democracy«, begun in 1981, will be continued with a new edition. In a long historical process freedom of opinion, information and the press were fought for at the end of the 18th century, temporarily tolerated in the authoritarian state of the 19th century, eliminated in the authoritarian and totalitarian state of the 20th century and constitutionally secured in the democratically governed states of today Service. Article 5 of the Basic Law states: "Everyone has the right freely to express and disseminate his opinion in speech, writing and pictures, and to inform himself freely from generally accessible sources. The freedom of the press and the freedom of reporting by radio and film are guaranteed. A censorship does not take place. These rights find their limitations in the rules of general laws, the legal provisions for the protection of the youth, and in the right of personal honor. "In other words, democracy can only be there and then when there is opinion, when freedom of communication prevails , The extent of this freedom indicates the state of development of a democratic society. At the same time, it underlines the importance of the mass media for democracy: a democratic society based on publicity and transparency needs free media; otherwise their element of life, the conflict of opinion, is already nipped in the bud. (Text: Federal Agency for Civic Education, Bonn)