Challenge

Reporting on Michael Ballweg and the Querdenken movement has often been one-sided. Many public narratives were based on assumptions, prejudice, or political influence. The challenge: to offer a truthful and evidence-based counter-narrative – not polemical, but calm, clear, and honest.

Key points of contention:

❌ Distorted media coverage
❌ Political instrumentalization of the judiciary
❌ Lack of understanding for the motives and goals

Content & Structure

Outcome & Impact

✅ Evidence-based response to common accusations
✅ Legal clarification of key proceedings
✅ Motivation for self-empowerment, public debate & reconciliation
✅ A vital historical document – written by attorney Ralf Ludwig and QUERDENKEN founder Michael Ballweg

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About the Authors

Michael Ballweg (born November 23, 1974 in Wertheim) is a German entrepreneur from Stuttgart. In 2001, he founded the software company media access GmbH, which helped global corporations re-engage highly specialized retirees for specific projects. In February 2020, he sold his main product to fulfill a long-held dream: a trip around the world.

Then came the pandemic. Ballweg began organizing protests against the suspension of basic rights (e.g., assembly bans), first in Stuttgart, then in Berlin and across Germany. In April 2020, he founded Querdenken-711 and built a nationwide network of similar initiatives.

In June 2022, the Stuttgart prosecutor arrested him on charges of fraud and money laundering related to QUERDENKEN-711. More than 9,000 people had donated money to support Ballweg and the movement – and not a single one claimed to be defrauded.

After 9 months in custody (including 6 weeks in isolation), he was released. Since November 2022, all allegations have been reduced to an “unsuccessful attempted fraud.” In October 2023, the Regional Court of Stuttgart rejected the case, ruling that there was insufficient suspicion. The tax evasion charge remains because Ballweg did not file a tax return while in custody.

More information about the court case:
https://presse.querdenken-711.de/en

Ralf Ludwig (born July 21, 1972 in Osterode am Harz) has been a lawyer since 2005, specializing in social, administrative, and constitutional law. He has long advocated for the rights of the vulnerable. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, he successfully appealed to the Constitutional Court to allow demonstrations even during states of emergency. He helped secure the major protest on August 29, 2020 at Berlin’s Victory Column and was part of Ballweg’s defense team. In June 2021, he founded ZAAVV – a center for investigating and preventing crimes against humanity related to COVID-19 policies.

Rudolph Bauer is a German social scientist, author, and visual artist. From 1972 to 2002, he was professor of social pedagogy at the University of Bremen, focusing on welfare policy and social services.

Content Summary

Michael Ballweg: From “Free Thinker” to Public Enemy No. 1

Michael Ballweg was always a “free thinker” – and that made him highly sought after as a freelance software developer. Like many in the corporate world who solve problems creatively and across disciplines, his thinking was an asset. But when he applied those same skills to the organization of pandemic measures and called for open debate and the right to protest, he became a threat. The term “free thinker” (Querdenker) was weaponized against him.

He mobilized what is likely the largest extra-parliamentary opposition in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany:
For democracy and the Basic Law, against authoritarian hygiene mandates, for open debate on questionable policies, and against the sterilization of public discourse.

For this, the Stuttgart prosecutor’s office arrested him on flimsy fraud charges, held him for 9 months in pretrial detention, and seized all of his assets.

This is the story of a man who had never protested before registering his first demonstration. A responsible citizen who took the fight for assembly rights to Germany’s highest court and inspired millions to demand their civil liberties. And for that, he was labeled Public Enemy No. 1 – “Germany’s most dangerous free thinker” (Die Zeit, August 2023).

On the Charges:

❌ In October 2023, the Regional Court dismissed all allegations and refused to open a criminal trial.
❌ There was no fraud. No victims. No crime.

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