The German news magazine “Der Spiegel” published an article titled “Zuckerplätzchen forte” (“Sugar Cookies forte”) about the nerve damage caused by Thalidomide. The article reported how renowned neurologist Dr. Horst Frenkel was able to connect nerve damage to a regular Contergan intake and how Grünenthal’s Dr. Sievers and Dr. Werner tried to prevent the publication of Frenkel’s article in a medical journal. (Contergan sales dropped drastically after the Spiegel article was published.)
In the same month, Grünenthal paid compensation to patients with nerve damage caused by Thalidomide. The amounts paid out varied between 200 Marks and 20,000 Marks.
Sources: Chronology of events provided by Beate Kirk, in: Der Conterganfall: eine unvermeidbare Arzneimittelkatastrophe? Dissertation. Greifswald 1998.