Schiller Institute

Schiller Institute
Established1984
Board of DirectorsHarley Schlanger, John Sigerson, Fred Huenefeld Jr., Theo Mitchell
BudgetRevenue: $37,617
Expenses: $80,175
(FYE December 2015)[1]
AddressPO BOX 20244
Washington, DC 20041-0244
Location
Washington, DC, United States
Websitewww.schillerinstitute.org

The Schiller Institute is a German-based political and economic think tank founded in 1984 by Helga Zepp-LaRouche,[2] with stated members in 50 countries.[3] It is among the principal front organizations of the LaRouche movement.[4][5][6] The institute's stated aim is to apply the ideas of the poet and philosopher Friedrich Schiller to what it calls the "contemporary world crisis."[citation needed] The Independent describes it as "an extremist political think-tank linked to a right-wing conspiracy theorist, Lyndon LaRouche."[7] According to The Times, its aim is "to propagate [LaRouche's] increasingly wild anti-Semitic conspiracy theories."[2]

The website of the Schiller Institute includes transcripts of conferences that the institute has sponsored, throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia, to promote the idea of what it calls "peace through development". The discussion at these conferences centers around LaRouche's proposals for infrastructure projects such as the "Eurasian Land Bridge", and the "Oasis Plan", a Middle East peace agreement based on Arab-Israeli collaboration on major water projects, as well as proposals for debt relief and a sweeping reorganization of the world monetary system. The Institute opposes the "Clash of Civilizations" thesis of Samuel Huntington, counter-posing what it calls a "Dialogue of Cultures". It supports the Belt and Road Initiative, which it says provides "shared mutually beneficial and balanced development".[citation needed]

It publishes quarterly magazines, such as Fidelio, a Journal of Poetry, Science, and Statecraft, and Ibykus, named after Schiller's poem "The Cranes of Ibykus."[8]

After the death of Jeremiah Duggan, a Jewish student, at one of its conferences in 2003, the Institute was accused of antisemitism and cult-like operation.[6]

  1. ^ "Schiller Institute, Inc" (PDF). Foundation Center. 26 July 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  2. ^ a b Roger Boyes, "Blame the Jews" The Times Friday November 07 2003, 12.00am GMT archive links: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/blame-the-jews-scr5svbhz0q https://archive.today/20210729100356/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/blame-the-jews-scr5svbhz0q
  3. ^ "Learn About the Schiller Institute- Join Today and Receive FIDELIO Magazine". Schiller Institute. Retrieved 2008-10-23.
  4. ^ Smith, Timothy R. (13 February 2019). "Lyndon LaRouche Jr., conspiracy theorist who ran for president again and again, dies at 96". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  5. ^ Osipovich, Alexander (23 July 2020). "Berlin forum eyes LaRouche 'dangers'". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  6. ^ a b Matthew Feldman (27 March 2003). "Lyndon Larouche, neo-fascism, coded anti-Semitism, and the Jeremiah Duggan Case www.HolocaustResearchProject.org". holocaustresearchproject.org. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  7. ^ Taylor, Jerome (27 February 2010). "Mystery of dead Briton and the right-wing cult". The Independent. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  8. ^ "Homepage des Ibykus" (in German). Solidaritaet.com. Retrieved 2008-10-23.