Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Heroes Yet Criminals of the German Computer Revolution

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Hacking Europe

Part of the book series: History of Computing ((HC))

Abstract

Today, common ideas of hacking refer to activities like wiretapping or interrupting critical infrastructure as crimes. Underneath this image lies a past of hackers, who were in the vanguard of the digital age. To understand how the so-called criminal hacker came into existence, the chapter explores the history of German hackers. In 1984, Herwart “Wau” Holland and Steffen Wernéry, two of the founders of Germany's Chaos Computer Club, announced their “hack” of Germany’s BTX interactive videotext system. This unsettled not only its operator, Germany’s Federal Mail, but also the users of its service. Promoted as a secure technology for doing business and communication at home, the BTX system was surrounded by concerns from the very start. Its large, centralized, and opaque technology worried both data-protection commissioners and critics in the emerging Green movement. Tinkering with the BTX system, the hackers manipulated its billing system and carried out a “digital bank robbery.” When the German Federal Mail was thus exposed, the organization tried to shift the blame to the hackers. The journalists and lawmakers, however, applauded the hackers for uncovering the flaws of BTX system. Instead of criminalizing young computer enthusiasts, this episode shows how hackers were seen heroes and “hacktivism” asa consumer protective endeavor before they became considered as representatives of a suspicious subculture in the late 1980s.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    The Deutsche Bundespost modeled Btx on the UK system PRESTEL and the French Minitel, which both had been designed and rolled out in their respective countries during the late 1970s. PRESTEL has also been the inspiration for the system Viewtron which has been offered by the companies Knight-Ridder and AT&T in the USA between 1983 and 1986. Like eventually Btx and PRESTEL, Viewtron failed to meet the expectations and is now regarded as an economical failure. However, their common screen-oriented design patterns—from 24 characters in 40 lines up to simple, yet colorful graphics—survived in the different teletext systems. Developed as standard for teletext informations broadcasted over television signals in the UK in the 1970s, European and American television companies adopted it in different incarnations during the 1980s—as World System Teletext (WST) in the USA and as Videotext in Germany, for instance. Again while Videotext soon gained momentum in Europe where it is still popular today, only a few WST services took root in the USA.

  2. 2.

    I will refer to the Chaos Computer Club as “the Club” subsequently.

  3. 3.

    An example of literature on American hackers is by, Steven Levy. 1984. Hackers: Heroes of the computer revolution. Garden City, NY: Anchor Press/Doubleday. There are many hints suggesting that the German hacker culture had access to a rich number of manifests, statements, etc. of American hackers that circulated through international networks. However, in the German press, one finds only a few references to such, American journals like TAP, novels like John Brunner. 1975. Shockwave rider. New York: Harper & Row and William Gibson. 1984. Neuromancer. New York: Ace Books, and science-fiction films like John Badham’s War Games (1983) for instance. While all these suggest that hacker connections were strong, most can only be found ex post.

  4. 4.

    Most issues of Datenschleuder can be found on the Club’s website, Last accessed 26 Apr 2011, http://ds.ccc.de/. However, some early issues are not available online, but can be found in local hackers’ archives. Some of the journal’s articles have been republished in the Hackerbibel and Chaos Computer Buch. Wau Holland, et al. (eds.). 1985. Die Hackerbibel. Löhrbach: Pieper Werner Medienexp.; Jürgen Wieckmann (ed.). 1988. Das Chaos Computer Buch. Hacking made in Germany. Reinbek bei Hamburg: Wunderlich. In addition to radio recordings accessible through the Club’s media archive. Accessed 30 Apr 2011, http://media.ccc.de/, a biography on the Club’s co-founder Wau Holland written by Daniel Kulla. 2003. Der Phrasenprüfer. Szenen aus dem Leben von Wau Holland. Löhrbach: Pieper and the Grüne Kraft; which, as an example of activist literature, appears rather hagiographic, and articles on the Club’s history, for example Thomas Ammann. 1988. Nach uns die Zukunft. Aus der Geschichte des Chaos Computer Clubs. In Das Chaos Computer Buch. Hacking made in Germany, ed. Jürgen Wieckmann, 9–31. Reinbek bei Hamburg: Wunderlich.

  5. 5.

    Bundestag, Bundesrat, and Drucksachen protocols (parliamentary documents) are available on http://www.bundestag.de/. Accessed 30 Apr 2011. Rather than considering laws as the very essence of criminalization, I treat them as the concrete expression of an underlying discourse that can be studied in these protocols.

  6. 6.

    For example, studies published in the Btx-Reihe series of the Studiengruppe Bildschirmtext: one volume dealt with Btx from a behavioral science perspective written by Ludwig Wiesenbauer. 1983. Verhaltenswissenschaftliche Grundlagen der Bildschirmtextbenutzung, Schriftenreihe der Studiengruppe Bildschirmtext. Gröbenzell: Fischer, followed by studies in human resources management, for example, Dirk Stolte. 1983. Personalsuche und Personalvermittlung mit Bildschirmtext, Schriftenreihe der Studiengruppe Bildschirmtext. Gröbenzell: Fischer; on banking by Christoph Warnecke. 1983. Bildschirmtext und dessen Einsatz bei Kreditinstituten, Schriftenreihe der Studiengruppe Bildschirmtext. Gröbenzell: Fischer; or consumer research by Rolf Ulrich Kaps. 1983. Die Wirkung von Bildschirmtext auf das Informationsverhalten der Konsumenten, Schriftenreihe der Studiengruppe Bildschirmtext. Gröbenzell: Fischer. The latter publication was accepted as dissertation. Btx was accepted as field of research in universities. For example, the Ruhr-Universität Bochum set up a project group Bildschirmtext which published analyses of group discussions: Helmut Kromrey, et al. 1984. Bochumer Untersuchung im Rahmen der wissenschaftlichen Begleitung des Feldversuchs Bildschirmtext Düsseldorf/Neuss. Bochum: Ruhr-Universität. Some monographs compare it to its French counterpart, Minitel. For instance, Rudolf Pospischil. 1987. Bildschirmtext in Frankreich und Deutschland: Grundlagen u. Konzeptionen. Nürnberg: Verlag der Kommunikationswissenschaftlichen Forschungsvereinigung; or Manfred Friesinger. 1989. Bildschirmtext in Frankreich. München: Fischer. Btx is often forgotten as a mere predecessor of the Internet. For Btx’s legal problems, see Wolf-Dieter Kuhlmann. 1985. Rechtsfragen des Bildschirmtext-Staatsvertrages vom 18. März 1983. PhD thesis, Universität Bochum; Hans-Peter Bach. 1985. Verfassungsrechtliche Grundfragen von Bildschirmtext. PhD thesis, University of Mainz; and Bernd M. Traut. 1987. Rechtsfragen zu Bildschirmtext. München: R. Fischer. For a more recent discussion of German computer laws see Ralf Dietrich. 2009. Das Erfordernis der besonderen Sicherung im StGB am Beispiel des Ausspähens von Daten, [Para] 202a StGB: Kritik und spezialpräventiver Ansatz. PhD thesis, Universitat Tübingen.

  7. 7.

    Ammann, Nach uns die Zukunft; see also: “Zack, bin ich drin in dem System,” interview with Richard Cheshire in Der Spiegel 46(1983), 222.

  8. 8.

    The connections to Adorno and Horkheimer’s concept of administration and ideas in the 1968 era are evident. While Holland’s references to leftist theories are obvious, they are still poorly investigated. Presumably, he read Herbert Marcuse’s One-dimensional man. Boston: Beacon Press (1964), Theodor W. Adorno, and Max Horkheimer’s Dialectic of enlightenment. New York: Seabury Press (1972) and Max Horkheimer’s Critique of instrumental reason. New York: Seabury Press (1974), and Hans Magnus Enzensberger’s. 1970. Baukasten zu einer Theorie der Medien. Kursbuch 20(1970): 159–186, which greatly influenced him. See Kulla, Der Phrasenprüfer, 20.

  9. 9.

    die tageszeitung (September 1, 1981), 2.

  10. 10.

    Kulla, Der Phrasenprüfer, 26.

  11. 11.

    For example, Bruno Jakić analyzes the entanglements of home computing with New Wave music in Yugoslavia. Bruno Jakić. 2014. Galaxy and the new wave: Yugoslav computer culture in 1980s. In Hacking Europe. From computer cultures to demoscenes, ed. Gerard Alberts and Ruth Oldenziel, 107–128. New York: Springer.

  12. 12.

    Kulla, Der Phrasenprüfer, 16.

  13. 13.

    See, Ibid., 37 and Ammann, Nach uns die Zukunft, 24. Kulla speaks of counter control and inverse panopticism (p. 29) that formed a crucial part of the Club’s agenda. Ammann gives another example: after Chernobyl, the Club discussed building its own surveillance system for radioactivity. With home computers, everyone could measure and analyze local radioactivity and would not have to rely on public information services.

  14. 14.

    Kulla, Der Phrasenprüfer, 20. As I will discuss below, the Green party turned out to be a prototype of these concerns.

  15. 15.

    Ibid., 16.

  16. 16.

    Ibid., 22.

  17. 17.

    The number of 100 advance orders is mentioned in the first Datenschleuder. Kulla, however, mentions 800. Ibid., 26.

  18. 18.

    Datenschleuder 1 (1984).

  19. 19.

    A quine is a program whose output equals its own program code. This means the program refers to itself in a way that it keeps reproducing itself. Kleene’s recursion theorem, part of the theoretical foundation of programming, proves the existence of quines in every sufficiently strong programming language, but it can be tricky to program them. It is not possible to simply include the human readable programming language and print it on screen. You have to “calculate” the code by playing with the text processing features of the programming language.

  20. 20.

    As Patryk Wasiak shows in his analysis of the Polish demoscene, judging each other on technical skills is a common phenomenon in hacker (and cracker) groups. Patryk Wasiak, Playing and copying: Social practices of home computer users in Poland during the 1980s, in Alberts and Oldenziel, Hacking Europe, 129–150.

  21. 21.

    Datenschleuder 1 (1984).

  22. 22.

    Ibid.

  23. 23.

    Datenschleuder 3 (1984), 1.

  24. 24.

    Datenschleuder 4 (1984), 1.

  25. 25.

    Datenschleuder 3 (1984), 2.

  26. 26.

    Datenschleuder 5 + 6 (1984) 1 and Ammann, Nach uns die Zukunft, 20.

  27. 27.

    The literature often fails to substantially address the importance of conferences for such groups. However, Gabriella Coleman shows that face-to-face interactions form crucial part of hacktivism. Gabriella Coleman. 2010. The hacker conference. Anthropological Quarterly 83(1, Winter): 47–72.

  28. 28.

    Ammann, Nach uns die Zukunft, 18. The video recording can be found at http://chaosradio.ccc.de/doc001.html. Accessed 21 Apr 2011.

  29. 29.

    Ammann, Nach uns die Zukunft, 25; Kulla, Der Phrasenprüfer, 40.

  30. 30.

    The original German name of the group is Schwarz & Weiß gegen den Computerstaat. “Wo bleibt das Chaos?” die tageszeitung (February 22, 1985).

  31. 31.

    Ammann, Nach uns die Zukunft, 23f.

  32. 32.

    Ibid., 20.

  33. 33.

    Chaos Radio Express no. 161, network podcast produced by Tim Pritlove, available at http://chaosradio.ccc.de/cre161.html. Accessed 30 Apr 2011.

  34. 34.

    Gesetz über Fernmeldeanlagen (Telecommunication Devices Act) of 1892, revised in 1977 and 1986, defined this punishable act as an infringement.

  35. 35.

    Holland, Die Hackerbibel, 95. The name “Datenklo” is explained on p. 98.

  36. 36.

    The components for this connection originated from a plumbing sleeve which gave the modem its name: “klo” is a German colloquial term for toilet.

  37. 37.

    Ammann, Nach uns die Zukunft, 18.

  38. 38.

    “Btx ist sicher! Computer-Club profitiert vom Leichtsinn einer Sparkasse,” (“Btx is secure! Computer-Club benefits from a bank’s recklessness”) BPM-Information für alle Beschäftigten der DBP (December 12, 1984), reprinted in Holland, Die Hackerbibel, 43.

  39. 39.

    The German protocol reads “Anlaß dafür sei der kürzlich bekannt gewordene Vorfall in Hamburg, wo die Kennung der Hamburger Sparkasse einem Computer-Club bekannt wurde,” Parliamentary Archives (PA-DBT 3115 A 10/15), Prot. 17, 10. Protocols of this Archive are subsequently referred with session and page number.

  40. 40.

    Ibid., 13.

  41. 41.

    Bildschirmtext im Schwachstellentest. die tageszeitung, December 22, 1984; Thomas von Randow. 1984. Ein Schlag gegen das System. Ein Computerclub deckt Sicherheitslücken im Btx-Programm der Post auf. Die Zeit 49, November 30.

  42. 42.

    Ibid. My translation.

  43. 43.

    Lustige Spielchen. Der Spiegel 48(1984), 241.

  44. 44.

    Bild (November 20, 1984).

  45. 45.

    As Nevejan and Badenoch show, the hack was widely discussed in hacker groups outside Germany as well. Holland and Wernéry were invited to speak at a hacker gathering in Amsterdam. Caroline Nevejan, and Alexander Badenoch. 2014. How Amsterdam invented the Internet: European networks of significance, 1980–1995. In Hacking Europe. From computer cultures to demoscenes, ed. Gerard Alberts and Ruth Oldenziel, 189–217. New York: Springer. Even today, the Btx hack forms a crucial part of the Club’s self-representation.

  46. 46.

    A video recording of the heute journal reporting on the hack can be found at http://chaosradio.ccc.de/doc002.html in German. Accessed 27 Apr 2011.

  47. 47.

    This behavior was investigated by group discussions which formed the main subject of secondary research literature at the time. A history of Btx technology comparing its design and appropriation is, in contrast, still to be written.

  48. 48.

    Levy, Hackers, 41.

  49. 49.

    Ibid., 43.

  50. 50.

    Datenschleuder 5 + 6 (1984), 1.

  51. 51.

    Ulrich Sieber. 1977. Computerkriminalität und Strafrecht. Köln: Heymann.

  52. 52.

    Hans Achenbach. 1986. Das Zweite Gesetz zur Bekämpfung der Wirtschaftskriminalität. Neue Juristische Wochenschrift 30: 1835–1898. While the new coalition of conservatives and liberals coincided with changes in other European countries, one has to bear in mind that the former coalition was indeed fought by leftist movements. Especially after NATO’s Double-Track Decision, the German peace movement alienated the government while the Green party was evolving as a collective movement out of many left-wing groups. Hence, while the change of government indeed meant a shift in economic policy, in Germany anyway it had little impact on the extra-parliamentary movement of the left.

  53. 53.

    Ministry draft law for an anti-white-collar crime act of December 19, 1978, 41.

  54. 54.

    Bundestagssitzungs-Protokoll (German Federal Parliament Protocol) 10/25 (September 29, 1983): 1665.

  55. 55.

    Ibid., 1668. In the German legal system, the term “deeds” (“Urkunden”) includes documents that can serve as evidence in court.

  56. 56.

    Fritjof Haft. 1987. Das Zweite Gesetze zur Bekämpfung der Wirtschaftskriminalität (2. WiKG). Neue Zeitschrift für Strafrecht 1: 6–9.

  57. 57.

    Protocol of the Committee for Legal Affairs, Parliamentary Archives (PA-DBT 3109 A 10/6), Prot. 26, 173.

  58. 58.

    Ibid., 26, 174–184.

  59. 59.

    Nixdorf’s statement for the public hearing concerning the 2. WiKG (June 4, 1984), 7.

  60. 60.

    For example, Fritjof Haft of the University Tübingen cautioned when changing existing laws and even rejected the necessity to change anything at all. See: Committee Protocol – Prot. 26, 169. Haft, Das Zweite Gesetz zur Bekämpfung der Wirtschaftskriminalität (2. WiKG), 6.

  61. 61.

    Ibid., 26, 195.

  62. 62.

    H.R. 5616. Counterfeit Access Device and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1984. In 98th Congress, 2nd Session, 5f.

  63. 63.

    Report to accompany H.R. 5616, 20.

  64. 64.

    Ibid., 11.

  65. 65.

    Letter from the BMJ to the Committee, June 11, 1985.

  66. 66.

    Attachment to the Letter from the BMJ to the Committee, June 11, 1985.

  67. 67.

    Committee Protocol, Prot. 63, 38.

  68. 68.

    Ibid., 63, 47.

  69. 69.

    Ibid., 71, 6.

  70. 70.

    Stephan Ackermann. 1988. Die aktuellen Tarife fürs Hacken. In Das Chaos Computer Buch. Hacking made in Germany, ed. Wieckmann, 183–192. Reinbek bei Hamburg: Wunderlich, here 185, considers even passwords to be protected data. This interpretation is, however, to be argued from a juridical point of view, Günter Freiherr von Gravenreuth. 1989. Computerviren, hacker, datenspione, crasher und cracker. Überblick und rechtliche Einordnung. Neue Zeitschrift für Strafrecht, 201–206, here 204.

  71. 71.

    Ackermann, Die aktuellen Tarife fürs Hacken.

  72. 72.

    Thilo Eckoldt. 1988. Hacker-mit einem Bein im Knast. In Das Chaos Computer Buch. Hacking made in Germany, ed. Jürgen Wieckmann, 154–167. Reinbek bei Hamburg: Wunderlich.

  73. 73.

    Ackermann, Die aktuellen Tarife fürs Hacken, 183.

  74. 74.

    Ibid., 192.

  75. 75.

    Datenschleuder 60 (1997), 25f.

  76. 76.

    Haft, Das Zweite Gesetze zur Bekämpfung der Wirtschaftskriminalität (2. WiKG), 9; Von Gravenreuth, Computerviren, hacker, datenspione, crasher und cracker. Überblick und rechtliche Einordnung, 204; and Stefan Ernst. 2007. Das neue Computerstrafrecht. Neue Juristische Wochenschrift 37: 2661–2666, here 2661.

  77. 77.

    Andy Müller-Maguhn, and Reinhard Schrutzki. 1988. Welcome to the NASA-headquarter. In Das Chaos Computer Buch. Hacking made in Germany, ed. Jürgen Wieckmann, 32–53. Reinbek bei Hamburg: Wunderlich.

Bibliography

  • Achenbach, Hans. 1986. Das Zweite Gesetz zur Bekämpfung der Wirtschaftskriminalität. Neue Juristische Wochenschrift 30: 1835–1898.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ackermann, Stephan. 1988. Die aktuellen Tarife fürs Hacken. In Das Chaos Computer Buch. Hacking made in Germany, ed. Jürgen Wieckmann, 183–192. Reinbek bei Hamburg: Wunderlich.

    Google Scholar 

  • Adorno, Theodor W., and Max Horkheimer. 1972. Dialectic of enlightenment. New York: Seabury Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ammann, Thomas. 1988. Nach uns die Zukunft. Aus der Geschichte des Chaos Computer Clubs. In Das Chaos Computer Buch. Hacking made in Germany, ed. Jürgen Wieckmann, 9–31. Reinbek bei Hamburg: Wunderlich.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bach, Hans-Peter. 1985. Verfassungsrechtliche Grundfragen von Bildschirmtext. PhD thesis, University of Mainz.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brunner, John. 1975. Shockwave rider. New York: Harper & Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coleman, Gabriella. 2010. The hacker conference. Anthropological Quarterly 83(1, Winter): 47–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dietrich, Ralf. 2009. Das Erfordernis der besonderen Sicherung im StGB am Beispiel des Ausspähens von Daten, [Para] 202a StGB: Kritik und spezialpräventiver Ansatz. PhD thesis, Universitat Tübingen.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eckoldt, Thilo. 1988. Hacker-mit einem Bein im Knast. In Das Chaos Computer Buch. Hacking made in Germany, ed. Jürgen Wieckmann, 154–167. Reinbek bei Hamburg: Wunderlich.

    Google Scholar 

  • Enzensberger, Hans Magnus. 1970. Baukasten zu einer Theorie der Medien. Kursbuch 20(1970): 159–186.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ernst, Stefan. 2007. Das neue Computerstrafrecht. Neue Juristische Wochenschrift 37: 2661–2666.

    Google Scholar 

  • Friesinger, Manfred. 1989. Bildschirmtext in Frankreich. München: Fischer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gibson, William. 1984. Neuromancer. New York: Ace Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haft, Fritjof. 1987. Das Zweite Gesetze zur Bekämpfung der Wirtschaftskriminalität (2. WiKG). Neue Zeitschrift für Strafrecht 1: 6–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holland, Wau, et al. (eds.). 1985. Die Hackerbibel. Löhrbach: Pieper Werner Medienexp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Horkheimer, Max. 1974. Critique of instrumental reason. New York: Seabury Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jakić, Bruno. 2014. Galaxy and the new wave: Yugoslav computer culture in 1980s. In Hacking Europe. From computer cultures to demoscenes, ed. Gerard Alberts and Ruth Oldenziel, 107–128. New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaps, Rolf Ulrich. 1983. Die Wirkung von Bildschirmtext auf das Informationsverhalten der Konsumenten, Schriftenreihe der Studiengruppe Bildschirmtext. Gröbenzell: Fischer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kromrey, Helmut, et al. 1984. Bochumer Untersuchung im Rahmen der wissenschaftlichen Begleitung des Feldversuchs Bildschirmtext Düsseldorf/Neuss. Bochum: Ruhr-Universität.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuhlmann, Wolf-Dieter. 1985. Rechtsfragen des Bildschirmtext-Staatsvertrages vom 18. März 1983. PhD thesis, Universität Bochum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kulla, Daniel. 2003. Der Phrasenprüfer. Szenen aus dem Leben von Wau Holland. Löhrbach: Pieper and the Grüne Kraft.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levy, Steven. 1984. Hackers: Heroes of the computer revolution. Garden City, NY: Anchor Press/Doubleday.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marcuse, Herbert. 1964. One-dimensional man. Boston: Beacon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Müller-Maguhn, Andy, and Reinhard Schrutzki. 1988. Welcome to the NASA-headquarter. In Das Chaos Computer Buch. Hacking made in Germany, ed. Jürgen Wieckmann, 32–53. Reinbek bei Hamburg: Wunderlich.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nevejan, Caroline, and Alexander Badenoch. 2014. How Amsterdam invented the Internet: European networks of significance, 1980–1995. In Hacking Europe. From computer cultures to demoscenes, ed. Gerard Alberts and Ruth Oldenziel, 189–217. New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pospischil, Rudolf. 1987. Bildschirmtext in Frankreich und Deutschland: Grundlagen u. Konzeptionen. Nürnberg: Verlag der Kommunikationswissenschaftlichen Forschungsvereinigung.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sieber, Ulrich. 1977. Computerkriminalität und Strafrecht. Köln: Heymann.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stolte, Dirk. 1983. Personalsuche und Personalvermittlung mit Bildschirmtext, Schriftenreihe der Studiengruppe Bildschirmtext. Gröbenzell bei München: Fischer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Traut, Bernd M. 1987. Rechtsfragen zu Bildschirmtext. München: R. Fischer.

    Google Scholar 

  • von Gravenreuth, Günter Freiherr. 1989. Computerviren, hacker, datenspione, crasher und cracker. Überblick und rechtliche Einordnung. Neue Zeitschrift für Strafrecht, 201–206.

    Google Scholar 

  • von Randow, Thomas. 1984. Ein Schlag gegen das System. Ein Computerclub deckt Sicherheitslücken im Btx-Programm der Post auf. Die Zeit 49, November 30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Warnecke, Christoph. 1983. Bildschirmtext und dessen Einsatz bei Kreditinstituten, Schriftenreihe der Studiengruppe Bildschirmtext. Gröbenzell: Fischer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wasiak, Patryk. 2014. Playing and copying: Social practices of home computer users in Poland during the 1980s. In Hacking Europe. From computer cultures to demoscenes, ed. Gerard Alberts and Ruth Oldenziel, 129–150. New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wieckmann, Jürgen (ed.). 1988. Das Chaos Computer Buch. Hacking made in Germany. Reinbek bei Hamburg: Wunderlich.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiesenbauer, Ludwig. 1983. Verhaltenswissenschaftliche Grundlagen der Bildschirmtextbenutzung, Schriftenreihe der Studiengruppe Bildschirmtext. Gröbenzell: Fischer.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Philosophy, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany

    Kai Denker

Authors
  1. Kai Denker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kai Denker .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Korteweg-de Vries Institute for Mathematics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Gerard Alberts

  2. School of Innovation Sciences, History Department, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

    Ruth Oldenziel

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2014 Springer-Verlag London

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Denker, K. (2014). Heroes Yet Criminals of the German Computer Revolution. In: Alberts, G., Oldenziel, R. (eds) Hacking Europe. History of Computing. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-5493-8_8

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-5493-8_8

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4471-5492-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4471-5493-8

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation