The Red Army Faction, a Documentary History

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The Red Army Faction, a Documentary History Page 49

by J. Smith


  September 13, 1981

  A demonstration against Alexander Haig in West Berlin escalates to serious rioting.

  September 15, 1981

  The RAF’s Gudrun Ensslin Commando attacks the car carrying the head of the U.S. Army in Europe, General Frederick Kroesen, with a bazooka. The armor-plated vehicle survives the attack. Kroesen and his wife suffer permanent damage to their hearing.

  September 21, 1981

  The trial of RAF member Sieglinde Hofmann, charged in connection with the assassination of Jürgen Ponto, begins.

  September 22, 1981

  During an action to clear squatted houses in West Berlin, police chase protesters into the street, where one squatter, Klaus-Jürgen Rattay, is hit by a municipal bus and killed.

  Sixteen houses are occupied on Kiefernstraße in Düsseldorf. These will become a major hub of activity for anti-imps in the years to come. Also around this time, the Hafenstraße squats are established in Hamburg; these will in time become an important Autonomen stronghold.

  October 16, 1981

  Alleged RAF supporter Helga Roos is arrested in connection with the attack on Kroesen.

  November 2, 1981

  The occupation at the planned site of the Startbahn West expansion is violently cleared by police.

  December 4, 1981

  The Düsseldorf OLG sentences RAF member Stefan Wisniewski to life in prison for his role in the Schleyer kidnapping, among other things.

  1982

  Inge Viett leaves the RAF and is provided with a new identity and sanctuary in East Germany.

  Verena Becker gets word to the other prisoners from the RAF that she had given information to the Verfassungsschutz, and offers to kill herself. The others take their distance from her, but discourage her from doing herself any harm.

  May 1982

  The RAF releases a major theoretical text reevaluating their practice and opening a new phase in their relationship with the aboveground movement. This paper, Guerilla, Widerstand und antiimperialistische Front (The Guerilla, the Resistance, and the Anti-Imperialist Front), calls for a front involving the guerilla and the aboveground anti-imperialist movement. This document becomes known as the May Paper.

  June 1, 1982

  In a coordinated offensive against NATO-related institutions, RZ cells bomb the U.S. Army Headquarters in Frankfurt, AFN in West Berlin, ITT in Hannover, IBM and Control Data in Düsseldorf, and the U.S. Army Officers Clubs in Hanau and Gelnhausen.

  June 4, 1982

  The RZ firebombs the arms company Bourns Ketronic Flug Technik in Hamburg.

  June 5, 1982

  The RZ bombs the Deutsch-Amerikanisches Institute in Tübingen.

  June 6, 1982

  Israel invades Lebanon in order to attack the Palestine Liberation Organization.

  June 10, 1982

  In Bonn, 500,000 people demonstrate peacefully against the NATO Summit and President Reagan’s visit to West Berlin. In the lead up to the protest, a split developed around strategy and tactics, between the mainstream left, which favored a peaceful protest, and the anti-imperialists and Autonomen, who favored a more confrontational approach. On the same day 100,000 demonstrate peacefully in West Berlin.

  June 11, 1982

  Thousands riot in West Berlin against Ronald Reagan’s visit. Numerous houses are raided and ransacked by police on the same day. Two hundred and seventy one people are arrested.

  June 16, 1982

  The Frankfurt OLG sentences RAF member Sieglinde Hofmann to fifteen years in prison for her role in planning the attempted kidnapping that led to the Ponto assassination. The women arrested with her are sentenced to five to six years in prison.

  July 16, 1982

  George Shultz replaces Alexander Haig as U.S. secretary of state.

  September 16–18, 1982

  Supported by Israel, members of the Lebanese Phalange enter the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps and carry out a massacre. Some estimates put the number of victims at well over 3,000. It is believed that former 2JM guerilla Ina Siepmann died fighting as part of a Palestinian women’s brigade resisting this slaughter.

  October 26, 1982

  People taking a walk in the woods outside of Heusenstamm stumble upon a RAF supply depot. Shortly thereafter another depot is discovered outside of Anmühle.

  November 10, 1982

  The Düsseldorf OLG sentences RAF member Rolf Heißler to two life terms plus fifteen years for the murder of a police officer and membership in a terrorist organization.

  November 11, 1982

  RAF members Brigitte Mohnhaupt and Adelheid Schulz are arrested at the RAF’s Heusenstamm arms depot.

  November 16, 1982

  RAF member Christian Klar is arrested at the RAF’s Anmühle arms depot.

  1983

  March 1, 1983

  RAF member Gisela Dutzi is arrested in Darmstadt.

  March 6, 1983

  In federal elections, the SPD manage to form a minority government in coalition with the FDP. The Green Party enters the Bundestag for the first time.

  March 13, 1983

  The Dusseldorf OLG sentences Adelheid Schulz and Rolf Clemens Wagner to life in prison.

  March 23, 1983

  Reagan proposes the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), which would use ground- and space-based missiles to try and neutralize a nuclear attack. This is widely viewed as a move that would facilitate a U.S. first strike against the Soviet Union.

  April 10, 1983

  Alleged RAF supporter Inge Krobs is arrested in Frankfurt.

  May 2, 1983

  The Stuttgart OLG sentences alleged RAF supporter Helga Roos to four years and nine months in prison.

  June 25, 1983

  U.S. Vice President George Bush Sr. visits Krefeld in North Rhine Westfalia. Autonomen and anti-imps demonstrating in the city are attacked by the SEK and suffer numerous injuries and arrests. Conservatives in the “peace” movement condemn the radicals.

  Autumn 1983

  Grußaktion an die politischen Gefangenen (Greetings Action to the Political Prisoners), mobilizing supporters to write letters to political prisoners.

  October 1, 1983

  Following a vote of no confidence the FDP breaks with the SPD, allying itself with the Christian Union parties. Helmut Kohl becomes CDU Chancellor in a CDU-CSU-FDP Coalition government. Former Nazi Friedrich Zimmermann (CSU) becomes minister of the interior.

  October 25, 1983

  U.S. Marines invade Grenada.

  November 24, 1983

  Susanne Matthes, who had been active at the women’s resistance camp at Hunsrück, is raped and murdered in West Berlin. A week later, 2,000 women attend a response demo in West Berlin.

  1984

  May 7, 1984

  The Stuttgart OLG sentences RAF defector Peter-Jürgen Boock to three times life plus fifteen years in prison for his role in the murders of Ponto and Schleyer and the attempted attack on the BAW.

  March 26, 1984

  The RAF robs a bank in Würzburg, making off with 171,000 DM.

  June 22, 1984

  RAF member Manuela Happe is captured in Deizisau.

  July 2, 1984

  RAF members Helmut Pohl, Christa Eckes, Stefan Frey, Ingrid Jakobsmeier, Barbara Ernst, and Ernst-Volker Staub are arrested in Frankfurt after one of them accidentally discharges a gun into the apartment below their safe house. The neighbor calls the police when he sees a hole in his ceiling and a bullet lodged in his floor.

  July 9, 1984

  Heidi Hutt is arrested and charged with supporting a criminal organization in connection with the RAF group arrested on July 2.

  December 4, 1984

  In trial statements prisoners from the RAF Brigitte Mohnhaupt and Christian Klar offer an appraisal of the RAF’s 1977 offensive, as well as analyzing the situation facing the left in the post-1977 period. Prisoners from the RAF commence their ninth collective hunger strike, setting off an unprecedented wave of attacks from the aboveground
resistance. Shortly thereafter, the first issue of the illegal RAF support newspaper Zusammen Kämpfen (Struggling Together) appears.

  Bibliography

  Unless otherwise noted, those websites listed were last accessed on December 8, 2012.

  Alexander, Keith Duane. “From Red to Green in the Island City: The Alternative Liste West Berlin and the Evolution of the West German Left, 1945-1990.” PhD diss., University of Maryland, College Park, 2003.

  Amnesty International. Amnesty International Report 1979. London: Amnesty International Publications, 1979.

  --------- Amnesty International Report 1980. London: Amnesty International Publications, 1980. http://labourhistory.net/raf/documents/0019800900_03.pdf.

  --------- Amnesty International Report 1981. London: Amnesty International Publications, 1981.

  --------- Amnesty International Report 1984. London: Amnesty International Publications, 1984.

  --------- Amnesty International’s Work on Prison Conditions of Persons Suspected or Convicted of Politically Motivated Crimes in the Federal Republic of Germany: Isolation and Solitary Confinement. London: Amnesty International Publications, 1980.

  Anders, Freia. Violent Action and Political Communication: The ‘Autonomen’ at the Startbahn West 1981-1988. Conference paper presented at This Town’s Gonna Blow…, Bremen, May 2010.

  Antiimperialistischer Kampf. “Zum Mai-Papier der RAF.” no. 3, July 1984. http://labourhistory.net/raf/documents/0019840700_02.pdf.

  asd. “Besetzte Kirche mit Plakaten beklebt.” Hamburger Abendblatt, March 30, 1978.

  Associated Press. “11 Seized after Raid on Frankfurt Agency.” European Stars and Stripes, November 10, 1978.

  ---------“Berlin’s Law Chief Is Forced to Resign.” European Stars and Stripes, July 6, 1978.

  --------- “Bomb Explodes at U.S.-NATO Base.” Wisconsin State Journal, September 1, 1981.

  --------- “German Leftists, Police Battle after Paper Raided.” Waterloo Courier, October 24, 1977.

  --------- “German Terrorist Convicted of Murder.” European Stars and Stripes, May 8, 1984.

  --------- “German Terrorist to Get Health Leave.” European Stars and Stripes, February 15, 1979.

  --------- “Haig Takes Hard Line in Diplomatic Debut.” Gettysburg Times, January 39, 1981.

  --------- “Iranian Assets under U.S. Control Set at $8 billion.” The Lethbridge Herald, November 20, 1979.

  --------- “Nab Murder Suspect in Frankfurt.” Pacific Stars and Stripes, June 12, 1979.

  --------- “New Violence Is Reported in Germany.” Gettysburg Times, September 1, 1981.

  --------- “Protesters Decry U.S. Arms Policies.” The Capital (Annapolis, MD), June 10, 1982.

  --------- “Resignation of Berlin Justice Minister Sought.” Constitution (Lawton, Oklahoma), July 8, 1976.

  --------- “Terrorist Grenades Injure U.S. General in Germany.” The Orange County Register, September 15, 1981.

  --------- “Trial Begins.” The Paris News (Paris, Texas), May 11, 1984.

  --------- “West German Bombs Precede Reagan Visit.” The Wisconsin State Journal, June 2, 1982.

  --------- “West German Rioters Pelt Bush Motorcade.” Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), June 26, 1983.

  --------- “Woman Accused of Giving Terrorists U.S. Military Data.” European Stars and Stripes, January 24, 1984.

  --------- “Youths Defy Consumer Values of W. German Establishment.” The Lethbridge Herald, April 16, 1981.

  Aust, Stefan. The Baader-Meinhof Group: The Inside Story of a Phenomenon. Translated by Anthea Bell. London: The Bodley Head Ltd., 1987.

  Autonome Forum. “A Herstory of the Revolutionary Cells and Rote Zora—Armed Resistance in West Germany.” http://www.spunk.org/texts/groups/anm/sp000268.txt.

  Autonome und Knast-Gruppen BRD und West-Berlin. “Guerilla und Widerstand—eine ‘Front.’” radikal 108. September 1982.

  Bakker Schut, Pieter, ed. Das Info: brief von gefangen aus der raf aus der discussion 1973-1977. Kiel: Neuer Malik Verlag, 1987. http://labourhistory.net/raf/documents/0019770000_02.pdf.

  --------- Stammheim. Kiel: Neuer Malik Verlag, 1986. http://labourhistory.net/raf/documents/0019770000_01.pdf.

  Bandhauer-Schöffmann, Irene. “Deutsche Terroristinnen in Österreich.” zeitgeschichte 37, no. 2, 2010.

  Baum, Gerhart, and Virginio Rognoni. Interview by Spiegel. “Gespräch: Der Staat darf nicht unversöhnlich sein.” Spiegel, October 19, 1981. http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/ print/d-14339142.html.

  Berberich, Monika. Interview by Initial. “Interview zur Geschichte der RAF.” Initial, October 6, 2002. http://labourhistory.net/raf/documents/0020021000.pdf.

  Bouguereau, J.M. “Recherchés pour l’affaire Schleyer arrêtés en Yougoslavie.” Libération, May 30, 1978.

  Braunthal, Gerard, Political Service and Public Loyalty in West Germany: The 1972 Decree Against Radicals and Its Consequences. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1990.

  Brenneke-Eggers, Anke. Interview by Grosse Freiheit. “Interview mit Anke Brenneke-Eggers, Rechtsanwältin von Brigitte Mohnhaupt.” Grosse Freiheit, October 1984. http://labourhistory.net/raf/documents/0019841000_01.pdf.

  Breyman, Steve. Why Movements Matter: The West German Peace Movement and U.S. Arms Control Policy. New York: State University of New York Press, 2001.

  Brocard, Véronique, and Laurent Gally. “Action Directe: Une execution en coproduction.” Libération, January 28, 1985.

  Bruneau, J.P. “Le Jura Suisse saisi par le spectre de la RAF.” Libération, June 13, 1978.

  Brunner, Erwin, Karl-Heinz Janßen, Joachim Riedl, and Michael Sontheimer. “Wunderwaffe Kronzeuge.” Die Zeit, November 21, 1986. http://www.zeit.de/1986/48/wunderwaffe-kronzeuge?page=all.

  Büchel, Helmar, and Ulrike Demmer. “Krieg der Lügen.” Spiegel, April 11, 2009. http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-65009827.html.

  Butner, Marion. “Computerized Big Brother.” Science for the People, March-April 1982, vol. 15, 2: 6-12.

  Celmer, Marc A. Terrorism, U.S. Strategy, and Reagan Policies. Contributions in Political Science. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1987.

  Cengiz, Firat. “Turkey’s 1980 coup lives on its legal system.” The Guardian, April 11, 2012. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/apr/11/turkey-coup-human-rights-violations.

  Cienfuegos Press Anarchist Review. “The Stammheim Deaths.” 4, 1978.

  Cobler, Sebastian. Law, Order and Politics in West Germany. Harmondsworth, UK: Penguin Books, 1978.

  Committee ‘Solidarity with the political prisoners in Germany,’ ed. Time Is No Inexhaustible Resource. Berlin: Committee ‘Solidarity with the political prisoners in Germany,’ n.d.

  Dahlkamp, Jürgen, Carsten Holm, Sven Röbel, Michael Sontheimer, and Holger Stark. “Operation Zauber.” Spiegel, September 7, 2009. http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-66803931.html.

  Dahlke, Matthias. “Das Wischnewski-Protokoll: Zur Zusammenarbeit zwischen westeuropäischen Regierungen und transnationalen Terroristen 1977.” Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte 2, 2009. Institut für Zeitgeschichte, München-Berlin.

  Dellwo, Karl-Heinz. Das Projektil sind wir. Hamburg: Nautilus, 2007.

  --------- Interview by Tagesspiegel-Sonntag. “Ich bin kein Pazifist.” March 26, 2007. http://www.tagesspiegel.de/zeitung/interview-ich-bin-kein-pazifist/827472.html.

  Dellwo, Karl-Heinz, Knut Folkerts, Lutz Taufer, Thomas Ebermann, Rosita Timm, and Hermann L. Gremliza. “Sie wollen uns auslöschen.” konkret, June 1992. http:// labourhistory.net/raf/documents/0019920600_01.pdf. This roundtable discussion has been translated by André Moncourt and J. Smith and is available at http://www.germanguerilla.com/red-army-faction/documents/92-06-interview.html.

  Deutsche Welle. “Journalists Unearth Rare Terrorism Trial Tapes from 1970s.” July 31, 2007. http://www.dw.de/dw/article/0,,2715909,00.html.

  “Die Situation der Gefangenen in den ersten Jahren” in Adler, Dieter ed. Dokumentation über die Haftbedingungen der
Gefangenen aus der RAF und aus dem Widerstand. Hannover: Klusmeyer, 1985. http://labourhistory.net/raf/documents/0019850300_01.pdf.

  Die Zeit. “Anschlag in Ramstein.” September 11, 1981. http://www.zeit.de/1981/38/anschlag-in-ramstein.

  --------- “Deutschland im Herbst: die neue Terrorwelle.” September 25, 1981. http://www.zeit.de/1981/40/deutschland-im-herbst-die-neue-terrorwelle.

  --------- “Ein Abgrund von Informationslücken.” March 2, 1984. http://www.zeit.de/1984/10/ein-abgrund-von-informationsluecken/komplettansicht.

  --------- “Eine seltsame Würze. Darf ein mutmaßlicher Terrorist ins Parlament?” May 25, 1981. http://www.zeit.de/1981/22/eine-seltsame-wuerze.

  --------- “Hungerstreik: Einlenken nach dem ersten Opfer.” April 24, 1981. http://www.zeit.de/1981/18/hungerstreik-einlenken-nach-dem-ersten-opfer.

  --------- “Hungerstreik: Mobilisierung der Anhänger.” April i7, 1981. http://www.zeit.de/1981/17/hungerstreik-mobilisierung-der-anhaenger.

  --------- “Mitgefangen, mitgehangen.” March 30, 1984. http://www.zeit.de/1984/14/mitgefangen-mitgehangen.

  Dönhoff, Marion Gräfin. “Gnade statt Rache: Einsicht in den Irrsinn des Terrors ist die beste Garantie gegen Wiederholung.” Die Zeit, June 24, 1988. http://www.zeit.de/1988/26/gnade-statt-rache.

  dpa (deutsche presse-agentur). “‘Kontakte zu Terroristen’—Haftbefehl.” Hamburger Abendblatt, September 21, 1978.

  --------- “Gegen-Kongreß zum Russell-Tribunal geplant.” Hamburger Abendblatt, March 29, 1978.

  --------- “Geschossen oder nicht? Lebenslang für Folkerts.” Hamburger Abendblatt, August 1, 1980.

  --------- “Judos halten am Russell-Tribunal fest.” Hamburger Abendblatt, January 16, 1978.

  --------- “Lebenslang—die Mutter war dabei.” Hamburger Abendblatt, September 27, 1980.

  --------- “Mutmaßlicher Terrorist festgenommen.” Hamburger Abendblatt, November 17, 1978.

  --------- “Stürmischer Stammheim-Prozeß.” Hamburger Abendblatt, May 21, 1980.

  --------- “Vier Terrorautos kamen unbemerkt über die Grenze.” Hamburger Abendblatt, July 31, 1980.

  --------- “Vogel: Gewalt von rechts nimmt zu.” Hamburger Abendblatt, September 6, 1980.

 

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