ARD documentary "Abused - Sexual violence in German swimming". Jan Hempel raises the most serious allegations of abuse - "Everyone kept quiet!"
"I was abused by my coach. He never missed a moment to give free rein to his desires," says Hempel. It started with touching, "until he later forced me to perform sexual acts every day," Hempel remembers: "I just know that in the end I let him get away with it, because he would say things like: 'If you do that, you'll have the afternoon off." Now Hempel no longer wants to keep quiet: "I think you owe it to others to talk about it in the future.”
Hempel says he was 11 years old when his coach at the time, Werner Langer, abused him for the first time. For 14 years, until 1996, the abuse allegedly continued. Hempel says there were regular rapes, including during the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, immediately before the competition. Langer can no longer comment on the accusations. He took his own life in 2001.
According to Hempel, who, according to his own account, had informed the federation's leadership of the events in 1997, the DSV never dealt with the accusations in any substantial way. At the time, the DSV had parted ways with Langer under the pretext of a 'Stasi past'.
Die Dokumentation zeigt, dass es im Schwimmsport von den 1980er Jahren bis heute zahlreiche Übergriffe auf Athletinnen und Athleten gegeben hat. Betroffene erheben den Vorwurf, dass der sportliche Erfolg über allem stehe und es flächendeckend an Aufklärungswillen mangle.
"Everyone kept quiet, until today," says Hempel
Specifically, he accuses the long-time DSV top official Lutz Buschkow of having contributed to the failure to deal with his abuse accusations and to not learn lessons for the future. Another contemporary witness confirms this. Buschkow led the DSV for many years as performance sports director and is now employed as national coach for diving.
Buschkow did not answer ARD’s request for a comment.
The current DSV management stated that they had only learned about Hempel's accusations from ARD. Last Thursday (August 18), a few hours after the first broadcast of the film in the ARD media library, the DSV suspended Buschkow and announced an investigation into Hempel's accusations.
Other victims report in the ARD film about various cases and forms of sexual violence in German aquatics - such as three former swimmers who were abused by their coach in the club. "His hands were first on the swimming costume, then under the swimming costume, then in the genital area, on the breasts, everywhere," says one of the women. The coach, who also coached youth squads for the DSV, was sentenced to more than four years in prison for years of abusing young swimmers. "He just didn't stop at anyone," said one of the victims.
Auf eine ARD-Anfrage nach einer Stellungnahme antwortete Buschkow nicht. Die aktuelle DSV-Führung gibt an, von den Vorwürfen Hempels erst durch die ARD erfahren zu haben.
The DSV has been accused several times in the recent past of not having adequately dealt with cases of abuse. This was also the instance with the former national open water swimming coach Stefan Lurz, who has received a suspended sentence for sexual abuse. The local court in Würzburg confirmed to the ARD team that Lurz, according to the terms of his probation, must currently refrain from "any professional or voluntary activity in connection with the sport of swimming". However, footage leaked to the ARD documentary team shows Lurz working on the premises of the Würzburg 05 club. According to internal documents, he has been employed there as a commercial employee. The club refused to comment on the Lurz case when asked by ARD. Lurz terminated his employment contract on Tuesday.