Dissertation a plagiarism?: University: Initial suspicion regarding Saskia Ludwig's doctoral thesis

CDU Bundestag member Ludwig considers lawyer Brosius-Gersdorf ineligible as a candidate for the constitutional court due to allegations of plagiarism. Shortly thereafter, similar accusations were made against her. The University of Potsdam is investigating this and is now drawing its initial conclusions.

Following allegations of plagiarism against CDU member of the Bundestag Saskia Ludwig, the University of Potsdam has raised initial suspicions regarding her doctoral thesis. "We are first examining whether there is sufficient initial suspicion. This has been confirmed," said University President Oliver Günther. "Therefore, the relevant committees are now getting to work, and Ms. Ludwig will also be given the opportunity to comment."

The "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" (FAZ) reported on July 20 that journalist Jochen Zenthöfer had discovered numerous unmarked passages while examining Ludwig's dissertation. The 2007 dissertation, written at the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Potsdam, contained at least 86 unmarked passages in its first 113 pages.

Zenthöfer, also a freelance contributor to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), investigated the matter on his own initiative. Plagiarism detective Stefan Weber, after a quick analysis on Portal X, wrote that the citation had not been lege artis (according to the rules of the art).

"The requested passages will be reviewed again, as will the timelines during which the texts were published, in order to gain an overall picture," said the university president. "Information submitted to us from outside sources, including so-called plagiarism hunters, will be included. We will also review these again. This can take several months."

Ludwig criticized Brosius-Gersdorf

The university said it had received a report of suspicion regarding Ludwig's doctoral thesis. The 2007 thesis is titled " Outsourcing Tasks to State-Owned Enterprises in the State of Brandenburg and Other Selected Federal States ." As a first step, the faculty is conducting a preliminary review. A spokesperson for Ludwig referred to the university's review but did not comment further.

The Potsdam CDU politician is one of the strongest critics of the SPD's candidate for constitutional court judge, Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf. Ludwig had demanded on X that until allegations of plagiarism against the lawyer were fully resolved, she should resign from her position at the chair. She does not consider Brosius-Gersdorf eligible for election.

There are reservations about Brosius-Gersdorf in the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, among other things because of what some MPs consider to be her overly liberal stance on abortion and her positive attitude towards mandatory corona vaccination.

The election of two new female and one female judges to the Federal Constitutional Court was removed from the Bundestag's agenda at short notice. Shortly before the session, allegations of plagiarism were raised as an argument against the election of the Potsdam law professor. A brief expert opinion exonerated her from the charge of academic misconduct.

Ludwig, who earned her doctorate under the name Saskia Funck, was CDU state leader from 2010 to 2012 and a member of the state parliament from 2004 to 2025. She has been a member of the Bundestag since 2025.