Germany Reasserts Ban on Tom Cruise Film Location

The German Finance Ministry, the landlord of all public buildings, said yesterday that the filmmakers behind the Tom Cruise movie about the failed 1944 plot to kill Hitler could not use a memorial site as a location but said its decision was unrelated to Mr. Cruise’s adherence to Scientology, which the government regards as a dangerous cult, Reuters reported. The Finance Ministry said the filmmakers were welcome to make the movie, “Valkyrie,” in Germany, but not at the Bendler Block complex in Berlin, site of a memorial to Germans who resisted the Nazi regime. “We welcome the fact that such a film is being made,” said Stefan Olbermann, a spokesman for the Finance Ministry. “We don’t think it would be appropriate to film there.” Last week a spokesman for the German Defense Ministry told Reuters that the film would not be allowed access to sites, including part of the Defense Ministry in Berlin, where the plot was hatched. The spokesman objected to the casting of Mr. Cruise as Col. Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg, a leader in the assassination attempt. Citing Mr. Cruise’s affiliation with the Church of Scientology, the spokesman described the church as a cult.