The Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) suppresses a falsification scandal for years

It is known that Jürg Lindecker, one of the four editors of the anthology „Ingenieure bauen die Schweiz. Technikgeschichte aus erster Hand” (Engineers build Switzerland. A first-hand technical history), published by the Neue Zürcher Zeitung Verlag, forged or falsified at least four essays. Although the publisher is aware of these falsifications, for many years the book has not been withdrawn from circulation. Furthermore, the co-editor Stefan Betschon copied material from a falsification without citing the source. The editorial staff and the management board of the NZZ do not deny the falsification and the fraudulent scandal, but unjustifiably blame the (at the time uninvolved) Schwabe AG (Basel). The falsifications are e.g. in regard to the German computer inventor Konrad Zuse. Jürg Lindecker has remained silent for years. It is surely no accident that the responsible persons, co-editor Stefan Betschon and the publishing manager Hans-Peter Thür, have left the NZZ (prematurely) and NZZ Libro was sold to the Schwabe AG. According to a communication of April 22nd 2024, a prominent international corruption expert and criminal law professor views the matter as “highly problematical”. In my estimation, the management board of the NZZ has failed to act. The NZZ and the associated CH Media de facto suspended the author, who was active for decades as a science journalist for the NZZ. To this day, the publishing house and the editorial staff of the NZZ have neither come to terms with the scandal nor apologized for their mistakes. It is apparent that they do not wish to confront the matter. Because the noble NZZ is a sacred cow, until now no domestic or foreign medium has had the courage to take up the matter. A multi-page review of the book was given on H-Net, Clio-online. In the meantime, the work is no longer available from the publisher, NZZ Libro (April 2025).