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Rebecca LR Garberan MEDTEXTLApologies for cross-posting:Included below are a translation of an article from NZZ-Online inZürich, and an open letter that the German academics are sending to thegovernment and news media on Friday.  The article includes informationabout which mss are to go on the block, and why.  The PM of Baden hasexcused this action today by claiming that the uproar has only been inthe cultural pages of the media, but not in the financial sections(which apparently proves that it makes good financial sense).All translations are mine: I accept responsibility for anydiscrepancies from the German that the English may convey.sincerely,Rebecca LR Garber, PhDFreelance TranslatorNZZ-Online (Neue Züricher Zeitung)Philistines in BadenEnd-of-Season Manuscript Sale in KarlsruheEvil news is heard from Baden-Württemberg.  A bad case of governmentalphilistinism afflicts the state at present.  To the horror oflibrarians, historians, patriots and citizens, the MP and thehereditary arch duke of Baden have agreed to hock the unique collectionof manuscripts held in the State Library of Baden in Karlsruhe.  To bedisposed of are all works acquired prior to 1872.  At that time, thearchducal library was placed under the control of the BadenInnenministerium (Department of State, internal affairs).  Thisprotects volumes bought later from the princely claims of possession,but not, however, works of art such as the prachtmanuscripts: anilluminated book of hours of Archduke Christoph I of Baden (1490), theGospel of St. Peter (ca. 1200) or the medieval lectionaries from thescriptorium of the monastery at Reichenau.  They are threatened withbeing scattered to all corners of the globe.70 million euros, that is the requirement, has to be brought in by thissale.  A sum that can only be achieved by a rigorous plundering of the3500 volumes of the entire manuscript collection.  From the anticipatedproceeds, the preservation of the castle Salem, the last castleremaining in the possession of the financially irresolute house ofBaden, will be ensured.  The archduke will receive approximately 30million as compensation for the expenditures (on the castle) inprevious years, the remainder is held in a trust to ensure(maintenance) of the castle.  In return, the heirs of the last Archdukeof Baden, who was forced to abdicate in 1918, will abjure “for alltime” from demanding the return of former archducal collections fromthe state.  MP Öttinger justifies the agreement by reference to thelegal battle, in which the state and the archducal family have beenentangled for some time.According to the representation of those responsible, this businessdeals with a responsible appreciation of the values of the goods: onthe one hand, the old manuscripts, which, as has been sufficientlyproven, are only accessible to a few experts; on the other hand, thecastle Salem, a wonderful building complex with its own gothic Minster.Why do we call the whole thing Philistinism?  Because one simply doesnot sell manuscripts of this value and history.  It is also theconstruction of Philistines, to finance the maintenance of castle Salemsolely from the interest from the trust.  The influx of capitalrequired for that demands, above all else, the initially ruinousmanuscript sale.  But the government in Baden-Württemberg is concealingthis.Joachim Günter***Open LetterHonorable Ministerpräsident,Ladies and Gentlemen,with disbelief and horror we have learned, that the state governmentintends to completely divest itself of the medieval manuscripts held inthe State Library of Baden in Karlsruhe.  In a barbarous act beyondcompare, a central portion of the cultural inheritance of the statewill be stolen.The majority of manuscripts in question come from the libraries ofmonasteries in the Black Forest, the Upper-Rhine, and Lake Constance.They document a unique path of spiritual life in this region, and howit developed.  With few exceptions, these manuscripts arrived in thecare of the state 200 years ago during the secularization, whichexpropriated the monastic libraries.  Since that time, they have beenconserved and made available to the public under considerableapplication of technology and public means.  This sale will scatterthem to all ends of the globe.  The increasing connections made betweenitems in the collection will be torn asunder and many of themanuscripts will be accessible only with great difficulty, or not atall.  This will be a second expropriation.As scholars, who are engaged in researching and analyzing medievalmanuscripts, we appeal to you as the responsible parties in governmentand parliament: Do not inflict upon the State, whose citizens selectedyou as their representatives, irrecoverable damages! Distanceyourselves from these disastrous plans!If you would like to sign the Open letter, send an email tokleink@staff.uni-marburg.desubject: Open Letterplease include your full name, title, institutional affiliationEmail addresses will not be disclosed.  Dr. Klaus Klein will add allnames to the open letter, to be sent to the governement and news mediaon Friday.The petition list is closed. More than 2500 scholars and members of the public have signed