Gütersloh/Hamburg/Luxemburg, January 14, 2002.  – Thousands of viewers, readers and listeners in Germany and other European countries participated in the “For freedom and compassion - against hate and terrorism“ initiative, which was created by Bertelsmann AG, Gruner + Jahr, and RTL Group. They demonstrated their solidarity with the families of victims of the September 11th terrorist attacks in the United States with an outpouring of sympathy and contributions.

On Monday, the companies announced that donors gave the equivalent of $1 million and, in addition, more than 11,000 people posted their thoughts on a special online forum. (www.terroropfer-usa.de <http://www.terroropfer-usa.de>) In the weeks after the attacks, the web site was visited more than 200,000 times.

The three companies gave a $1 million check today in New York  to the US scholarship  program, “Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund.” The donation will help finance the higher education of the children of the victims.

The companies set up the initiative immediately after the attacks in the US. Public service advertisements circulated through television, radio, newspaper, magazine and Internet media – primarily in Germany, but also in other countries including France and Austria. The stations RTL, RTL2, Vox and Super RTL broadcast the accompanying TV clip more than 200 times in six weeks. Some 40 million viewers saw the clip at least once. In addition, full-page ads appeared in nationwide dailies as well as in Gruner + Jahr papers and magazines like the FINANCIAL TIMES DEUTSCHLAND, the BERLINER ZEITUNG, the SÄCHSISCHE ZEITUNG, the BERLINER KURIER, STERN, BRIGITTE, CAPITAL, GALA and TV TODAY, reaching roughly a third of Germany’s population. G+J’s publications in other European countries also participated. The initiative’s banner ads on the Internet were seen approximately 6 million times. Other companies also spontaneously offered support with advertising space in their web sites, newspapers and magazines.

Bernd Bauer, Bertelsmann’s deputy head of Corporate Communications, said the outpouring of support for the children of victims  is a sign of hope: “Solidarity is the most compelling answer to the horrors of September 11th. The many donations and other contributions that our shared initiative has generated show impressively how close the people here feel to the bereaved people in the US and how firmly they will join forces against hate and violence.”

G+J’s chief executive officer, Bernd Kundrun, developed the idea for a cross-media initiative. “After September 11th,” he said, “many people felt the need to do something and to share their thoughts with other people. We hope our initiative will offer solace to the families and give some comfort to children and young adults who are suffering from the repercussions of the appalling terrorist attacks.”

Ewald Walgenbach, RTL Group’s Chief Operating Officer, and Gerhard Zeiler, chief executive officer of RTL Television, both emphasized that: "The overwhelming response from our viewers has shown how greatly the terrible events in the US affected us here in Europe as well. The donors have made it very clear: by making a statement against hate and terrorism and for freedom and compassion. They raise our courage and for that we are grateful."

William C. Nelsen, President of Citizens’ Scholarship Foundation of America expressed his gratitude for the $1 million gift to the fund and noted that 100 percent of the donations will go directly to the children’s postsecondary education.

The “Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund” (www.familiesoffreedom.com <http://www.familiesoffreedom.com>) was set up in the wake of the September 11th attacks by the prominent Citizens’ Scholarship Foundation of America (CSFA) and Lumina Foundation for Education. The fund’s purpose is to support the higher education of needy survivors of victims. To achieve this goal, The “Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund” is working to collect a minimum of $100 million from businesses, institutions and individuals.

Donations from the initiative were collected and handled free of charge by RTL’s children’s foundation, “Stiftung RTL - Wir helfen Kindern e.V.“.

In addition, late last year, Bertelsmann’s Chairman & chief executive officer, Thomas Middelhoff, pledged $1 million each to the NYPD and Fire Department relief funds. The Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG), Random House book publishers and other corporate divisions also set up relief campaigns. The international media company Bertelsmann employs a workforce of roughly 18,000 in the United States, most of them based in New York City.