Eva Herman

Infobox Writer
name = Eva Herman


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birthname = Eva Feldker
birthdate = Birth date and age|1958|11|09
birthplace = Emden, Germany
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occupation = host and author
nationality = German
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spouse = Werner Herrmann (1983-1988) Horst-Wolfgang Bremke (1989-1992) Tom Ockers (1995-2002) Michael Bischoff (2005-present)
partner =
children = one son with Ockers
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website = http://www.eva-herman.de/

Eva Herman ("Eva Herrmann", born 9 November 1958 in Emden, Germany as "Eva Feldker") is a German TV host and author. She worked as an anchorwoman on the nationwide Tagesschau program from 1989 to 2006 and also presented various other TV shows for Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) until September 2007.

She is active in charities against breast cancer.

She has published two books about her concept of male/female roles and family policy.Eva Herman: "Das Eva-Prinzip. Für eine neue Weiblichkeit." Pendo Verlag, Starnberg 2006, ISBN 3-86612-105-9] Eva Herman: "Das Prinzip Arche Noah. Warum wir die Familie retten müssen." Pendo Verlag, Zürich, München 2007, ISBN 3-86612-133-4] Feminists heavily criticised her books as backwards-looking and overly conservative. In the public debate that followed, Eva Hermann gave a public comment in a press conference where she stated that the esteem for motherhood had been abolished by the 68 movement along many values after they were abused by the Nazis. She explicitly distanced herself from every praise for the Nazis, but criticised the 68er's iconoclastic attempt to redefine values and traditions. On grounds of this statement she was subsequently accused of promoting Nazi ideals.

In October 2007 she was invited to the German Talkshow "Johannes B. Kerner" to be interviewed about the controversy caused by her books. When the moderator brought up the controversial Nazi statement and urged her to apologize for her statement, she maintained that she could not possibly apologize for something she had never actually said or even meant. She was asked to leave the show when other guests chastised her statements as unbearable and questioned Mrs Herman's ability to critizise the 68 movement. This led to a media outrage and to a polarised debate about political correctness and the freedom to one's opinion, totally separate from the initial debate about her books. The show (which was aired only some time after recording, uncut) and the moderation was compared to a witch hunt and described as a "media execution" by some who believe Mrs Hermann was deliberately misuderstood by the moderator who pressed for the effect. Others voiced support for the moderator and pointed out that someone as experienced with the media as Eva Hermann could and should have made his position and opinions more clear, without nazi undertones.

Her employer, the North-German Broadcasting Station NDR, laid her off afterwards; the programming director of the NDR, Volker Herres, commented: "Mrs Hermann is free to continue her "Mutterkreuzzug" (neologism from "Kreuzzug", crusade, and "Mutterkreuz", a Nazi medal for women with four children or more), but this is no longer conformable with the role of a NDR TV anchorwoman." [„Frau Herman steht es frei, ihren ‚Mutterkreuzzug’ fortzusetzen, aber mit der Rolle einer NDR-Fernsehmoderatorin ist dies nicht länger zu vereinbaren.“]

Books

* "Fernsehfrauen in Deutschland. Im Gespräch mit Eva Herman," Krüger, Frankfurt a. M. 2001, ISBN 3-8105-0930-2
* "Dann kamst du. Roman." Hoffmann und Campe, Hamburg 2001, ISBN 3-455-02770-9
* "Aber Liebe ist es nicht, Roman." Hoffmann und Campe, Hamburg 2002, ISBN 3-455-02771-7
* "Vom Glück des Stillens. Körpernähe und Zärtlichkeit zwischen Mutter und Kind." Hoffmann und Campe, Hamburg 2003, ISBN 3-455-09405-8
* Eva Herman, Stephan Valentin: "Mein Kind schläft durch – der natürliche Weg zu ruhigen Nächten für Groß und Klein." Econ, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-430-14462-0
* "Das Eva-Prinzip. Für eine neue Weiblichkeit," Pendo Verlag, Starnberg 2006, ISBN 3-86612-105-9
* "Gedanken zu Brustkrebs," Eva Herman ist „Schirmherrin“ der Firmenschrift des Pharmakonzerns Hoffmann La Roche. Ars tempi, Köln 2006, ISBN 3-00-018629-8
* "Liebe Eva Herman! Briefe und Mails an die Autorin des Eva-Prinzips." Pendo Verlag, Zürich, Munich 2007, ISBN 3-86612-125-3
* "Das Prinzip Arche Noah. Warum wir die Familie retten müssen." Pendo Verlag, Zürich, Munich 2007, ISBN 3-86612-133-4
* " Das Überlebensprinzip. Warum wir die Schöpfung nicht täuschen können." Hänssler Verlag, Holzgerlingen 2008, ISBN 3-7751-4884-9

References

External links

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* [http://www.eva-herman.de/ Official site] — Eva Herman
* [http://www.audio.osthessen-news.de/071006_FD_Katholiken_Forum_Herman_Vortrag.mp3 "Werde, was Du bist", Eva Herman, Speech at the "Katholikenforum", 6.10.2007, with background information about her position towards the German family policy] (MP3-file, German)