Bielefeld conspiracy
The Bielefeld conspiracy (German: Template:Lang or Template:Lang, Template:IPA) is a satirical conspiracy theory that claims that the city of Bielefeld, Germany, does not exist, and is instead an illusion propagated by various forces to distract or mislead the German public. First posted on the German Usenet in 1994, the conspiracy has since been mentioned in the city's marketing,<ref name=":0" /> and alluded to in a speech by former Chancellor Angela Merkel.<ref name=":1" />
Synopsis
The theory proposes that the city of Bielefeld (population of 341,755 Template:As of)<ref name="pop2">Template:Cite web</ref> in the German state of North-Rhine-Westphalia does not actually exist. Rather, its existence is merely propagated by an entity known only as Template:Lang (German for "THEY"), which has conspired with the authorities to create the illusion of the city's existence.
The theory is based on three questions:
- Do you know anybody from "Bielefeld"?
- Have you ever been to "Bielefeld"?
- Do you know anybody who has ever been to "Bielefeld"?
A majority are expected to answer no to all three queries. Anybody who can answer yes to any of the queries, or claim any other knowledge about "Bielefeld", is promptly disregarded as being in on the conspiracy, or having been themselves deceived.
The origins of and reasons for this conspiracy are not a part of the original theory. Speculated originators jokingly include the Central Intelligence Agency, Mossad, or aliens who use Bielefeld University as a disguise for their spaceship.<ref>Die Bielefeld-Verschwörung – German page detailing the conspiracy, as originally setup by Achim Held in 1994. Template:In lang</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
History
The conspiracy theory was first made public in a posting to the newsgroup de.talk.bizarre on 16 May 1994 by Achim Held, a computer science student at the University of Kiel.<ref>The first newsgroup posting (Archived version at Google Groups) Template:In lang</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> When a friend of Held met someone from Bielefeld at a student party in 1993, he said "Template:Lang". This statement has a double-meaning: "Unbelievable!" and "That doesn't exist". The second meaning spread throughout the German-speaking Internet community.Template:Citation needed
In a television interview conducted for the 10th anniversary of the newsgroup posting, Held stated that this myth definitely originated from his Usenet posting, which was intended only as a joke. According to Held, the idea for the conspiracy theory formed in his mind at a student party while speaking to an avid reader of New Age magazines, and from a car journey past Bielefeld at a time when the exit from the Template:Lang to it was closed.<ref name="heute.de">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Historian Alan Lessoff notes that a reason for the amusement value of the theory is Bielefeld's lack of notable features, as being home to no major institutions or tourist attractions and not being on the course of a major river: "'Bielefeld' defines nondescript."<ref name="Lessoff2015">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="BlanchardVolchenkov2008">Template:Cite book</ref>
Public reception
In November 2012, German Chancellor Angela Merkel referred to the conspiracy in public when talking about a town hall meeting she had attended in Bielefeld, adding: "... if it exists at all", and "I had the impression that I was there".<ref name=":1">Template:Cite news Template:In lang</ref>
The BBC World Service and The New York Times made reference to the conspiracy in 2025 as part of their coverage when football club Arminia Bielefeld surprisingly became a finalist in the DFB-Pokal.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Official response
The city council of Bielefeld made efforts to generate publicity for Bielefeld and build a nationally known public image of the city. However, even ten years after the conspiracy started, the mayor's office still received phone calls and e-mails which claimed to doubt the existence of the city.<ref name="heute.de" />
On April Fools' Day in 1999, five years after the myth started to spread, the city council released a press statement titled Template:Lang ("Bielefeld does exist!"). In allusion to the origin of the conspiracy, the 800th anniversary of Bielefeld was held in 2014 under the motto Template:Lang ("Unbelievable!", literally "That doesn't exist").<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref>
In August 2019, the council offered to give €1 million to any person who could provide "incontrovertible evidence" of Bielefeld's nonexistence in an effort to increase interest in the city.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> As no-one was able to prove Bielefeld's non-existence, the city therefore sees its existence as conclusive and the conspiracy as ended. To commemorate it, the city erected a glacial erratic block in the historic center near the Leineweber monument. A QR code on it directs to further background information.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Film
In 2009, film students at Bielefeld University started a project to develop a feature film based on the Bielefeld conspiracy. The project was financed by the university and local sponsors. Most of the project's staff and actors were students or university employees, a few professionals, such as the actress Template:Ill and cameraman Alexander Böke, joined the project. The screenplay was written by Thomas Walden. The film premiered in Bielefeld on 2 June 2010.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>Template:Citation needed
Similar satirical conspiracy theories
Similar satirical conspiracy theories have been made about other places, such as Australia,<ref name=guardian /> the town of Dingwall in Scotland, the Brazilian state of Acre (Acre conspiracy),<ref name=guardian>Template:Cite news</ref> Finland,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the Portuguese city of Leiria,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the Israeli cities of Petah Tikva<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Ness Tziona,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the Italian region of Molise,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the US state of Wyoming,<ref name=":2">Template:Cite news</ref> the Argentine province of La Pampa,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Paraguay,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the Mexican state of Tlaxcala,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the Dutch province of Drenthe,Template:Citation needed the Greek city of Kilkis,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the Iranian city of Semnan,Template:Citation needed the Japanese prefecture Saitama,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the Ukrainian city of Zhytomyr,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the Flemish city of Hasselt,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the Spanish provinces of Murcia<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Teruel,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the Chilean city of Rancagua,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the rest of Russia outside of Moscow Ring Road.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
See also
- Acre conspiracy
- Birds Aren't Real
- Li's field
- Omission of New Zealand from maps
- Omission of Tasmania from maps of Australia
- Ted Cruz–Zodiac Killer meme
References
Bibliography
External links
- Pages with broken file links
- 1990s in Internet culture
- 1994 in Germany
- Bielefeld
- Conspiracy theories in Germany
- Contemporary German history
- Culture of North Rhine-Westphalia
- German satire
- Hoaxes in Germany
- Internet humor
- Internet memes introduced from Germany
- Internet memes introduced in 1994
- Satirical conspiracy theories
- Usenet