World Notes WEST GERMANY

For nearly 36 years, West German viewers tuned in to Der Internationale Fruhschoppen, a weekly program that brought journalists together to discuss current events. Last week the old standby was gone. It had been canceled because Host Werner Hofer, 74, perhaps West Germany's best-known media personality, was forced to resign over charges that he had shown pro-Nazi sympathies during World War II.

The flap began when the news magazine Der Spiegel published a story suggesting that early in his career Hofer wrote articles approving of Nazi policies, including the 1943 execution of Pianist Karlrobert Kreiten. Hofer had twice before publicly and successfully defended himself against similar accusations. But this time the network that produced his show asked him to leave. Hofer described the charges as "grotesque" and said he would take legal action against Der Spiegel.