The Bielefeld conspiracy (German: or , ) is a satirical conspiracy theory that claims that the city of Bielefeld, Germany, does not exist, but is an illusion propagated by various forces. First posted on the German Usenet in 1994, the conspiracy has since been mentioned in the city's marketing, and alluded to in a speech by former Chancellor Angela Merkel. Synopsis The story goes that the city of Bielefeld (population of 341,755 ) in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia does not actually exist. Rather, its existence is merely propagated by an entity known only as ("they" in German, always in block capitals), which has conspired with the authorities to create the illusion of the city's existence. The theory poses three questions: Do you know anybody from Bielefeld? Have you ever been to Bielefeld? Do you know anybody who has ever been to Bielefeld? A majority are expected to answer no to all three queries. Anybody who can answer yes to any of the queries, or claim any other knowledge about Bielefeld is promptly disregarded as being in on the conspiracy, or having been themselves deceived. The origins of and reasons for this conspiracy are not a part of the original theory. Speculated originators jokingly include the Central Intelligence Agency, Mossad, or aliens who use Bielefeld University as a disguise for their spaceship. History The conspiracy theory was first made public in a posting to the newsgroup de.talk.bizarre on 16 May 1994 by Achim Held, a computer science student at the University of Kiel. When a friend of Held met someone from Bielefeld at a student party in 1993, he said "", meaning "that doesn't exist", it spread throughout the German-speaking Internet community. In a television interview conducted for the tenth anniversary of the newsgroup posting, Held stated that this myth definitely originated from his Usenet posting which was intended only as a joke. According to Held, the idea for the conspiracy theory formed in his mind at a student party while speaking to an avid reader of New Age magazines, and from a car journey past Bielefeld at a time when the exit from the to it was closed. Historian Alan Lessoff notes that a reason for the amusement value of the theory is Bielefeld's lack of notable features, as being home to no major institutions or tourist attractions and not being on the course of a major river,