“We mourn the loss of a colleague who was an unwavering advocate, combining passionate enthusiasm, compelling reasoning and rhetorical brilliance. He courageously put into practice the ideas of press freedom as championed by Philipp Jakob Siebenpfeiffer.”
With these words, Frank John – who, as District Administrator of the Saarpfalz district, is Chairman of the Siebenpfeiffer Foundation – paid tribute to Karl Geibel’s dedication. The long-standing Chairman of the Baden-Württemberg Journalists’ Association passed away a few days ago at the age of 84.
When the Siebenpfeiffer Foundation was established at the end of 1988 on the initiative of the then District Administrator Clemens Lindemann, he was among its very first members. Over the decades, he was a combative and deliberately controversial journalist who did not mince his words when necessary. As a member of the board of the Siebenpfeiffer Foundation, Karl Geibel – born on 3 April 1941 in Kaiserslautern – contributed to its work in many ways, offering advice and ideas as well as constructive criticism. On his initiative, the ‘Democracy Festival’ was held in Lahr, Baden, as a joint venture between the Siebenpfeiffer Foundation and the Journalists’ Association, featuring lectures, discussions and music (including a performance by the Alsatian singer-songwriter Roger Siffer). Subsequently, Siebenpfeiffer’s hometown became a member of the foundation named after him in 2007. For many years, Geibel was also a member of the jury that deliberates on the Siebenpfeiffer Prize. When this award was presented to the ‘Undercover’ journalist and columnist Günter Wallraff in 2010, Geibel read out the commission’s citation to a packed audience at the Saalbau in Homburg. He was a frequent and welcome guest in Homburg. At the Siebenpfeiffer Foundation’s gala banquet in 2016, he paid tribute in a witty speech to the dedication of Clemens Lindemann, who had handed over the reins to his successor, Dr Theophil Gallo. To mark the 30th anniversary of the Siebenpfeiffer Foundation in January 2020, Gallo highlighted Karl Geibel’s achievements: “He has always been an open-minded person to talk to, a gifted orator and, last but not least, a valued guide”; he deserved the honour of being called a “jack of all trades”, according to the certificate which Gallo presented to Geibel.
He remained a member of the Foundation’s Advisory Board until his death. As recently as May this year, Karl Geibel had ordered publications and CDs featuring songs about freedom from the Siebenpfeiffer Foundation’s office, which he distributed at the 40th anniversary of the Baden-Württemberg Journalists’ Association during its trade union conference in Stuttgart.
“We have lost a tenacious, outspoken, yet supportive friend who would throw himself into a cause with all his heart whenever he felt it was necessary. He leaves behind a void that cannot be filled,”
Frank John, the foundation’s chairman, goes on to explain.