caused quite a stir, namely by getting some of the participants to confess through intimidations that they had caused these happenings themselves. He did however achieve nothing because the participants refused to “confess” to anything. Dr. Schäfer retired in 1986 and he has been working as an attorney in Bremen since then. He wrote another book in 1994 titled “Poltergeister und Professoren”. In this book he also explained all ghostly apparitions in his own way, namely as practical jokes perpetrated by juveniles. In regards to Professor Bender, he talks about the sad ballad of a pitiable man from the Eichhalde in Freiburg, the Primus inter pares. It is beyond doubt that plethora of swindlers and charlatans ply their trade in the esoteric arena. Also, those that give themselves the ornamental title “parapsychologist”. But this is what fanatical opponents use to altogether demonise everything paranormal and to declare that it is criminal superstition or conscious deception. But the serious parapsychological researchers neither call themselves insane or swindlers. Professor Bender in the other hand described his standpoint as follows: “What is required is a positive criticism of superstitions based on effective elucidation and prevention of damages, a willingness to impartially investigate the non-sanctioned fringe phenomena of our experiences, to admit the confirmed and to oppose all fantastic imaginations and expectations” (expressed in regards to Mrs. Herta Hansen from Bremen). The next fierce opponent of everything paranormal is a woman, namely Professor Dr. med. Irmgard Oepen, born on the 25th of February 1929. She qualified as a professor at the University of Magdeburg in the subject Forensic Serology and Forensic Anthropology. In 1974 she was nominated to the position of professor in this subject at the Institute for Forensic Medicine (established post H2). Her main work dealt with paternity cases. Next to this, ergo privately, she was the President of the GWUP, the “Gesellschaft zur wissenschaftlichen Untersuchung von Parawissenschaften e. V.” (Society for scientific research into the para-sciences). This society publishes the journal “Der Skeptiker” (The Sceptic) wherein everything paranormal is criticised at absurdum, ergo wherein everything is explained as trickery and swindle. Mrs. Oepen personally talks very aggressively and hatefully against all healing methods outside of school taught medicine in her lectures and publications, ergo against neural therapy, homeopathy, iris diagnostics, spirit healing and all other alternative healing methods, including earth rays (negative rays emitted from below ground) and dowsing. As she attacks these doctors in a hostile and belittling fashion in her public lectures, they react accordingly and have nothing good to say about Mrs. Professor Oepen. In November 1985, Professor Oepen held a lecture at the Ärtzlichen Verein Hamburg within its framework of “Scientific evenings” about “Outsider methods within medical diagnostic and therapy”. A medically trained listener and reporter wrote a lengthy treatise about this evening, saying amongst other things: “The tone of execution was not objective – explaining the subject at hand – the way one expects it from a scientific exposition by a qualified university professor, it was rather prejudiced, aggressive, degrading and mixed with contempt and glee. It was at times unclear whether the rage of the presenter was mainly directed at naturopaths she often talked about, or against doctors that allowed themselves to also show an interest in methods that are outside school taught medicine.”
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjI1MzY3