10-9-1972 Watch Out Here is a Lotta Bull – Der Spiegel
This article appeared in Der Spiegel on October 8, 1972. It is the first person account of Connie Konieczny, who had been a member of the Baader-Meinhof group briefly during their most intense and violent period. PDF: 10-9-1972WatchOutHereIsALottaBull – Der Spiegel – German Google English Translation Sprechen Sie Deutsch? Help clean up this bizarre, robot-like translation! [read all]
The Gamer’s Guide to Baader-Meinhof
Bioshock Infinite, one of the most hotly anticipated video games of all times, uses the Baader-Meinhof Group as a source inspiration for parts of it’s storyline, according to the game’s Creative Director Ken Levine. This is a one-stop guide to the Baader-Meinhof Group for gamers hoping to learn more. The Game Set for a 2013 [read all]
12-15-1972 Miss Meinhof Calls Judge Pig Fascist (Stars and Stripes)
A UPI article appearing in Stars and Stripes detailing the angry and defiant comments of an imprisoned Ulrike Meinhof during the trial of Horst Mahler. The article is notable because Meinhof outlines the strategy of the RAF; “what we have done is an encouragement to leftists, we always knew we would meet defeat.” PDF: 12-15-1972 Miss [read all]
7-6-1972 Ulrike Meinhof Anarchist Who Acted (Stars and Stripes)
An assessment-type articles from the Associated Press that appeared in Stars and Stripes about the recently captured Ulrike Meinhof. The article is notable in that it pointed indicates that there was no proof that Meinhof and Baader were lovers; many previous articles had treated this “fact” as a given. PDF: 7-6-1972 Ulrike Meinhof Anarchist Who [read all]
6-27-1972 Cops Wounded In Shootout On Autobahn (Stars and Stripes)
An AP article, appearing in Stars and Stripes,detailing the shooting of Scottish businessman Ian MacLeod, as well the capture of other Baader-Meinhof members. PDF: 6-27-1972 Cops Wounded In Shootout On Autobahn Part1 PDF: 6-27-1972 Cops Wounded In Shootout On Autobahn Part2
6-20-1972 Germans Ready Bomb Trial (Stars and Stripes)
A Stars and Stripes article about the recent arrests of several Baader-Meinhof members. PDF: 6-20-1972 Germans Ready Bomb Trial
6-19-1972 Faces Of Ulrike Meinhof (Stars and Stripes)
A relatively long United Press International article, appearing in Stars and Stripes, about Ulrike Meinhof. The article covers many aspects of the Baader-Meinhof group and the recent capture of many members. The article is especially notable for an account of how BMWs were targeted by police for being the supposed favored car among the group [read all]
6-18-1972 German Gang Fem Leader Seized (Stars and Stripes)
An Associated Press article appearing in Stars and Stripes detailing the arrest of Ulrike Meinhof. PDF: 6-18-1972 German Gang Fem Leader Seized
6-3-1972 Terrorists Odd Solidarity (Stars and Stripes)
A Stars and Stripes exclusive article detailing the public support that helped the Baader-Meinhof group, as well as background descriptions of various members of the group. PDF: 6-3-1972 Terrorists Odd Solidarity
12-6-1975 German State Vote Threatens Schmidt (Canadian Press)
Enlightening article on the political climate in West Germany at the end of 1975 and the RAF’s contribution to it. PDF: 12-6-1975 German State Vote Threatens Schmidt (Canadian Press)
11-23-1977 Arms Cache Found in Prison (NY Times)
Short article on discovery of arms within Stammheim one month after “death night”. PDF: 11-23-1977 Arms Cache Found in Prison (NY Times)
11-18-1977 Terrorists’ Lawyer Is Taken to West German Prison (NY Times)
Article on the extradition of Klaus Croissant. PDF: 11-18-1977 Terrorists’ Lawyer Is Taken to West German Prison (NY Times)
11-17-1977 Radical Lawyer is Returned (AP)
Article on the extradition of Klaus Croissant. PDF: 11-17-1977 Radical Lawyer is Returned (AP)
11-17-1977 France Extradites Terrorists Lawyer (NY Times)
Piece covering the extradition of Klaus Croissant, as well as the proposed shoot to kill law for Police in The Federal Republic. PDF: 11-17-1977 France Extradites Terrorists Lawyer (NY Times)
11-14-1977 Woman Terrorist Dies In Jail Cell (AP)
Report on the death of Ingrid Schubert. PDF: 11-14-1977 Woman Terrorist Dies In Jail Cell (AP)
11-14-1977 Latest Terrorist Death Confirmed As Suicide (AP)
Report on inquest after the suicide of Ingrid Schubert. PDF: 11-14-1977 Latest Terrorist Death Confirmed As Suicide (AP)
11-12-1974 Germans Order Extra Security (NY Times)
Reporting the fall-out from the death of Holger Meins by hunger strike, including the assasination of Judge Gunter Von Drenkmann and riots in Berlin. PDF: 11-12-1974 Germans Order Extra Security (NY Times)
11-8-1977 Bombs Hit Businesses (AP)
PDF: 11-8-1977 Bombs Hit Businesses (AP)
11-7-1977 West Germany Tightens Security Near Its Airports (NY Times)
PDF: 11-7-1977 West Germany Tightens Security Near Its Airports (NY Times)
11-3-1977 Three Guerrillas Hinted of Suicide (Reuters)
PDF: 11-3-1977 Three Guerrillas Hinted of Suicide (Reuters)
10-31-1977 German Terrorists Explode Bomb (AP)
PDF: 10-31-1977 German Terrorists Explode Bomb (AP)
10-28-1977 Defender of German Terrorists (NY Times)
PDF: 10-28-1977 Defender of German Terrorists (NY Times)
10-24-1977 We’ve Won! Terrorists Exulted Just Before They Died (AP)
PDF: 10-24-1977 We’ve Won! Terrorists Exulted Just Before They Died (AP)
10-24-1977 Violence Provokes Wide Debate in West German Society (NY Times)
PDF: 10-24-1977 Violence Provokes Wide Debate in West German Society (NY Times)
10-24-1977 Baader Told Lawyer We Will Be Bumped Off (UPI)
PDF: 10-24-1977 Baader Told Lawyer We Will Be Bumped Off (UPI)
10-21-1977 Red Army Guerrillas Waging German Battle (AP)
PDF: 10-21-1977 Red Army Guerrillas Waging German Battle (AP)
10-20-1977 Kidnapped German Business Leader is Found Slain (AP)
PDF: 10-20-1977 Kidnapped German Business Leader is Found Slain (AP)
10-19-1977 Revenge Killing Reported (AP)
PDF: 10-19-1977 Revenge Killing Reported (AP)
10-14-1977 Hijackers Hold 91 in Jetliner (UPI)
PDF: 10-14-1977 Hijackers Hold 91 in Jetliner (UPI)
10-14-1977 Hijackers Demand Freedom for 13 Terrorists (UPI)
PDF: 10-14-1977 Hijackers Demand Freedom for 13 Terrorists (UPI)
11-14-1977 Another Guerilla Suicide in Prison (AP-Reuters)
Report on the suicide of Ingrid Schubert. PDF: 11-14-1977 Another Guerilla Suicide in Prison (AP-Reuters)
6-2-1972 Bonn Seizes Suspected Guerrillas (NY Times)
Article on the arrests of Baader and Meins as well as an outline of possible international links. PDF: 6-2-1972 Bonn Seizes Suspected Guerrillas (NY Times)
5-25-1972 German Bomb Acts Claimed by Guerrillas (AP)
Short article on The RAF claiming responsibility for the Frankfurt attacks. PDF: 5-25-1972 German Bomb Acts Claimed by Guerrillas (AP)
5-21-1975 German Bonnie, Clyde on Trial (AP)
Article on the eve of the Stammheim trial, still casting Baader and Meinhof as the “Bonnie and Clyde” of the RAF. PDF: 5-21-1975 German Bonnie, Clyde on Trial (AP)
4-27-1975 Bonn Radical Group has Violent Past (UPI)
Short resume of events following The Federal Governments pledge to stamp out the RAF. PDF: 4-27-1975 Bonn Radical Group has Violent Past (UPI)
4-25-1975 GermanTerroristCaptured (UPI)
A virually identical article to the previous post. PDF: 4-25-1975 GermanTerroristCaptured (UPI)
4-25-1975 German Terrorist Captured (AP)
Report on the fall out following the Stockholm siege, including the conviction of June 2nd Movement member Ronald Augustin. PDF: 4-25-1975 German Terrorist Captured
4-24-1975 Five Terrorists Seize Embassy (AP)
An updated version of the previous article which names two suspected members of the group that seized the embassy. PDF: 4-24-1975 Five Terrorists Seize Embassy
12-15-1971 West Germany’s Bonnie and Clyde (LA Times)
A quite long, omnibus-style Lost Angeles Times article exploring the Baader-Meinhof Group, written at the height of their public support and well before their bombing campaign of the following May. The article lays out the false “Bonnie and Clyde” meme probably more completely than any other source. Early western media reports were obsessed with equating [read all]
5-15-1970 Raid by Extremists Wounds 3 in Berlin (NY Times)
A brief New York Times article detailing the freeing of Andreas Baader from police custody in a Berlin neighborhood. PDF: 5-15-1970 Raid by Extremists Wounds 3 in Berlin NY Times
5-15-1970 Gunmen Free Arsonist (AP)
A brief Associated Press article detailing the freeing of Andreas Baader from police custody in Berlin. PDF: 5-15-1970 Gunmen Free Arsonist
3-11-1973 Bonn Will Set up Antiterror Unit (NY Times)
Repot on the imminent creation of a “terrorist troupe” by the Bonn government. PDF: 3-11-1973 Bonn Will Set up Antiterror Unit
12-21-1972 Violent Crime Wave Stirs Debate in Germany (NY Times)
A New York Times article detailing recent violence attributed to the Baader-Meinhof Gang. PDF: 12-21-1972 Violent Crime Wave Stirs Debate in Germany
7-9-1972 Terrorists Captured (AP)
Report on the capture in Offenbach of Klaus Jünschke and Irmgard Möller. PDF: 7-9-1972 Terrorists Captured
6-28-1972 West Germany has its Bonnie, Clyde (AP)
Another background article on Meinhof. This one finds “no evidence of any romantic link” between her and Baader! PDF: 6-28-1972 West Germany has its Bonnie, Clyde
6-18-1972 The wife who became Public Enemy No 1 (Guardian UK)
Great article by Neal Ascherton on Ulrike Meinhof’s journey toward terror, including memories of conversations with the subject. PDF: 6-18-1972 The wife who became Public Enemy No 1
6-17-1970 Tiny West German Group Vows to Overthrow State (NY Times)
This tiny little notice in the NY Times almost comically drips with condescension; right down to the headline. One could argue level the humorous skepticism was entirely warranted. The Red Army Faction really did have essentially zero chance of overthrowing the state. But the NY Times almost certainly would not have been quite as condescending if [read all]
6-3-1972 Stuttgart Bomb Threat Fizzles (NY Times)
Another arrest article using the same sources. PDF: 6-4-1972 Making Revolution
6-2-1972 Anarchist Leaders Seized in Frankfurt (NY Times)
“Come out, your means are limited, but ours are unlimited.” Great quote attributed to Federal Police in this article on Baader and Meins arrest. PDF: 6-2-1972 Anarchist Leaders Seized in Frankfurt
5-28-1972 Bonn gets warning of more bombings (Guardian UK)
A great and concise summary of events up to and including the Heidelberg bombing, including short biographies of Badder and Meinhoff. It also mentions both the Petra Schelm and Thomas Welsbecker Commando as well as Bonn’s plans to deal with the “inner enemy”. PDF: 5-28-1972 Bonn gets warning of more bombings
4-24-1975 Five Terrorists Seize Embassy (UPI)
A United Press International article detailing the initial takeover of the West Germany Embassy in Stockholm by the Red Army Faction. PDF 4-24-1975 Five Terrorists Seize Embassy
4-25-1975 German Terrorists Captured After Embassy Bomb Attack (UPI)
United Press International story in the April 25, 1975 edition of the Montreal Gazette, providing coverage of the aftermath of the disastrous Red Army Faction takeover of the West German Embassy in Stockholm. As with many article of the era, it perpetuates common misconceptions about the group (such as Ulrike Meinhof being the leader). PDF: German Terrorists [read all]
9-22-1977 Women Terrorists Groups Flourish In Germany (AP)
This Associated Press article appeared in the Spartanburg Herald-Journal on September 25, 1977, just as West Germany was descending into the horror of the “German Autumn”. The article is a general news analysis detailing how German terror groups were so heavily populated by women. It’s almost a curio-timepiece: the conclusions are often so hyperbolic and [read all]
1-28-1971 Top German Bandit Warns ‘The Fight Has Just Begun’ (Stars and Stripes (Stars and Stripes)
This articles marks the first time the that Baader-Meinhof Groups is mentioned in Stars and Stripes. The article was prompted by a letter written by Baader and delivered to the Munich office of the West German Press Agency where Baader reasserted his intention to continue the fight against the German state. The letter was prompted [read all]
October 13, 1968 Frankfurt am Main
Andreas Baaader, Gudrun Ensslin, Horst Söhnlein, and Thorwald Proll are convicted of Arson. They each get three years.
August 19, 1975, Stuttgart
The defendants are finally officially charged: Gudrun Ensslin, Andreas Baader, Ulrike Meinhof, and Jan-Carl Raspe are jointly charged with four murders, 54 attempted murders and a single count of forming a criminal association.
June 5, 1975 Stuttgart
Baader begins the second day of hearings by reminding the court that is still without representation. He also makes the bold claim that the cells are bugged. His suspicions are dismissed out of hand by the skeptical German press; Baader is getting paranoid, they say. Two years later the existence of the bugs will be [read all]
October 2, 1974 Stuttgart
The five primary members of the gang, Andreas Baader, Ulrike Meinhof, Gudrun Ensslin, Jan-Carl Raspe, and Holger Meins, are indicted officially of dozens of crimes, including murder. Baader is transferred to join Ensslin in Stammheim (Meinhof is still on trial in Berlin). Holger Meins, whose physical health has been severely weakened by the hunger strike, [read all]
April 27, 1974 West Berlin
Meinhof is transferred temporarily to Berlin’s Moabit prison to be tried for her part in the May 1970 freeing of Andreas Baader. Meinhof is tried with Horst Mahler, who is already serving time for his part in the crime (he had previously been found Not Guilty of participation, but the verdict was set aside), but [read all]
Richter Cycle: Man Shot Down 1 & 2
title: Erschossener 1 und 2 1988. Oil on Canvas 100.5 cm X 140.5 cm These two paintings feature alternate versions of an image of a dead Andreas Baader in his Stammheim prison cell. The official version of Baader’s death claims that sometime in the night of October 17 and early in the morning of October [read all]
Richter Cycle: Record Player
title: Plattenspieler 1988. Oil on Canvas 62 cm X 83 cm This painting is based on a photograph of Andreas Baader’s phonograph taken after his death. Left on the phonograph is side two of Eric Clapton’s “There’s One in Every Crowd,” on RSO Records (if you look closely you can make barely make out the [read all]
Richter Cycle: Cell
title: Zelle 1988. Oil on Canvas 201 cm X 140 cm This painting depicts Andreas Baader’s cell in Stammheim prison as it was found after Death Night. Among many, the popular image of Baader was of a poorly educated poseur, more interested in violence than theory. Though Baader may have come to his revolutionary career [read all]
Richter Cycle: Arrest 1 & 2
title: Arrest 1 and Arrest (Festnahme 1 und 2) 1988. Oil on Canvas 92 cm X 126.5 cm These two paintings are derived from images seared into the minds of most Germans who came of age in the 1970s and before. They are from the capture of Andreas Baader, Jan-Carl Raspe, and Holger Meins [read all]
German Autumn
Deutscher Herbst “The German Autumn” was the name given to the 44 days in the fall of 1977 when all of Germany was gripped in a terrorist crisis. It began on September 5, when the industrialist Hanns-Martin Schleyer was kidnapped in Cologne by the Red Army Faction. For the next month and a half, his kidnappers attempted to secure the [read all]
Death Night
According to German authorities Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin, and Jan-Carl Raspe all committed suicide in their Stammheim prison cells early on the morning of 18 October 1977. It is perhaps understandable that many Germans had trouble believing them. The Red Army Faction cell block had been described over the previous five years as the most [read all]
Baader-Meinhof Gang
Baader-Meinhof Bande or Baader-Meinhof Gruppe Depending on how one looks at it, the Baader-Meinhof Gang came into existence on 2 April 1968, when Andreas Baader and his girlfriend, Gudrun Ensslin, firebombed Frankfurt’s Kaufhaus Schneider department store, or it came into being two years later when the famed left-wing journalist Ulrike Meinhof helped to break Baader out [read all]
Thorwald Proll
A friend of Andreas Baader’s from the Berlin club scene, Proll joined Baader, his girlfriend Gudrun Ensslin, and another friend, Horst Söhnlein, in attempting to burn down two Frankfurt department stores in early May 1968. Technically therefore, Proll was not a member of the Baader-Meinhof Gang, but a fellow conspirator in two arson attempts that [read all]
Horst Söhnlein
Not really a member of the Baader-Meinhof Gang, Söhnlein participated with Andreas Baader, Thorwald Proll, and Gudrun Ensslin in the April 1968 Frankfurt department store arsons. Söhnlein was a founder of Munich’s Action Theater in the early sixties. His participation in the arsons was possibly a lark. Along with his three comrades he was sentenced [read all]
Jan-Carl Raspe
Young Jan-Carl Raspe, born on July 24, 1944 and living in East Berlin, found himself on the west side of the Berlin Wall when the East Germans raised on the night of 12 August 1961. He decided to stay in the west, living with relatives. In 1967 he helped found Kommune II, an experimental Berlin [read all]
Gudrun Ensslin
Contrary to what many people think, Gudrun Ensslin, not Ulrike Meinhof, was the real female leader of the Baader-Meinhof Gang. Gudrun was a politically active student in the 1960s. She participated in the seminal 2 June 1967 Berlin protest where a young pacifist named Benno Ohnesorg was killed. After the protest she went to the [read all]
Ulrike Meinhof
Bom on October 7, 1934, Ulrike Meinhof’s parents both died early, leaving Ulrike and her sister Weinke in the care of Renate Riemack, a friend of their mother’s. Riemack was a devoted socialist, and a profound influence on Meinhof. Meinhof married Klaus Rainer Röhl, publisher of the left-wing student newspaper, konkret. After a few years [read all]
Spring, 1973 Essen
Gudrun Ensslin uses characters from Moby Dick as new code-names for the imprisoned members of the gang. Gudrun becomes “Smutje,” Baader “Ahab,” Holger Meins “Starbuck,” Jan-Carl Raspe “Carpenter,” Gerhard Müller “Queequeg,” and Horst Mahler “Bildad.” Gudrun dubs Meinhof “Teresa,” which was not a character from Moby Dick. Baader-Meinhof Biographer Stefan Aust later theorizes that Ensslin [read all]
February 9, 1973 Cologne
After eight months of total isolation in the “Dead Section” of Cologne’s Ossendorf prison, Ulrike Meinhof is finally moved to an area of the prison that is populated by other prisoners. The move is prompted by the hunger strikes that most of the Baader-Meinhof Gang members are waging. The hunger strikes are called off, and [read all]
Late 1972, Federal Republic of Germany
Andreas Baader is brought to Berlin to testify in Horst Mahler’s trial. While on the stand, Baader takes the opportunity to publicly announce a hunger strike for all Baader-Meinhof prisoners. Word quickly spreads to the captured terrorists held in over ten different prisons across the Federal Republic.
June 8, 1972 Hamburg
Gudrun Ensslin, almost beside herself with grief since the capture of her beloved Andreas, wanders into the Linette clothing boutique in Hamburg. After laying her jacket down to try on sweaters, a sales clerk notices that the jacket has a heavy bulge in a pocket. Closer inspection reveals that the bulge is a gun; she [read all]
June 1, Frankfurt am Main
Acting on a tip, police begin staking out a garage near Frankfurt. Peering inside, the police notice it is empty of people, but full of explosives. They empty the garage of bombs (replacing the explosives with empty containers), and install a listening device. City workers place hundreds of bags of peat and grass outside, as [read all]
May 15, 1972 Karlsruhe
Baader, Raspe, and Meins put a car bomb in the Volkswagen of Judge Wolfgang Buddenberg, who had signed most of the Baader-Meinhof arrest warrants. Buddenberg’s wife, Gerta, is in the car when it explodes, severely injuring her. A communiqué is released claiming responsibility for the the bomb. It is signed, “The Manfred Grashof Commando.”
May 12, 1972 Augsburg and Munich
Angela Luther and Irmgard Möller sneak into the Augsburg Police department and leave two time-delay pipe bombs. The bombs explode shortly after noon, injuring five policemen. Later in the Baader, Meins, and Ensslin leave a car bomb to explode in the parking lot of the state Bundeskriminalamt in Munich, destroying 60 cars. The Baader-Meinhof Gang, [read all]
May 11, 1972 Frankfurt am Main
Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin, Holger Meins, and Jan-Carl Raspe place three pipe bombs near the entrance the the I.G. Farben building, which houses the headquarters of the US Army Corp. The bombs explode within minutes of each other from 6:59 PM to 7:02 PM. The entrance to the officer’s mess is destroyed. A shard of [read all]
January, 1972 Cologne
A Cologne policeman pulls over a BMW 2000 with Berlin plates. Knowing of the Baader-Meinhof Gang’s love of BMW’s, the policeman is cautious and points his gun at the car’s driver as he asks for the driver’s registration. Andreas Baader, the car’s driver, leans over, reaches into the glove compartment and pulls out a gun [read all]
Chapter 20 — The German Autumn
September 1977 – November 1977, 60 pages: The final chapter will provide a fitting climax to the story. It will primarily focus on the 44 days in the fall of 1997 that have become known as “The German Autumn.” In April of 1977 the longest and most expensive trial in German history is over. Andreas [read all]
Chapter 4 — Praxis
May, 1967 – May 1970, 59 pages: The stories of the three major characters, Baader, Meinhof, and Ensslin, merge into one story in this chapter, and follow a straight narrative arc for the rest of the book. But first this chapter will look into the extremes of the student movement, exemplified by a West German [read all]
Chapter 3 — Andreas
1943 – 1968, 18 pages: Like the previous two chapters, this chapter will step back in time and tell of the beginnings of Baader. His father having been captured and killed by the Soviets before the end of World War Two, he was left fatherless like many young Germans. Andreas was an exceptionally spoiled child. [read all]
Chapter 2 — Gudrun
1942 – 1967, 19 pages: This chapter opens with a vivid description of a riot that took place in Berlin on June 2, 1967. Students are demonstrating against a visit by the Shah of Iran when Berlin police began beating them. In the confusion, a policeman shoots a young protestor, Benno Ohnesorg, killing him instantly. [read all]
Introduction Chapter
12 pages: The introduction begins with an anecdote describing the event that put the Baader-Meinhof Gang squarely on the German national consciousness: the freeing of Andreas Baader from prison custody with the help of noted journalist Ulrike Meinhof. The three most important characters, Baader, Meinhof, and Gudrun Ensslin, are introduced, each showing telling aspects of [read all]
Andreas Baader
Andreas Baader was one of the two namesakes of the Baader-Meinhof Gang. A juvenile delinquent, Baader was drawn towards the leftist student movement because of the excitement, and the potential for violence. He was convicted of the 1968 arson bombing of a Frankfurt department store, along with his girlfriend Gudrun Ensslin. He escaped from police [read all]
Spring 1971, West Berlin
Horst Mahler, Irene Goergens, and Ingrid Schubert go on trial, for their involvement in the release of Baader, in the criminal court of Moabit prison. Mahler is acquitted (though he still has two other charges pending), and Goergens and Schubert are convicted. Goergens gets six years and Schubert gets four.
June 13, 1969 Frankfurt am Main
The four convicted arsonists Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin, Horst Söhnlein, and Thorwald Proll are released from prison pending review of their cases. Baader and Ensslin begin working at an “apprentices’ collective” — which is a youth home. Baader spends much of his time teaching the kids how to steal motorcycles.
April 4, 1968 Frankfurt am Main
Unable to keep their deeds a secret, Adnreas Baader and his proto-revolutionary comrades are arrested for the arsons.
April 2, 1968 Frankfurt am Main
Andreas Baader and Gudrun Ensslin head to Frankfurt am Main with two friends, Horst Söhnlein and Thorwald Proll. Baader has acquired quite a reputation as a “dangerous” sort by his constant calls for violent action. Invariably no one would choose to act on his “suggestions.” Today is different. This time Baader’s fellow comrades elect to [read all]
March 22, 1968 West Berlin
Fritz Teufel and Rainer Langhans of Kommune I are found Not Guilty of Incitement to Arson, for passing out the leaflets the previous spring. According to Baader-Meinhof biographer Jillian Becker, the expert witnesses agree, “the pamphlets were literary compositions, not to be acted on but for theoretical considerations only.” Theoretical to everyone, it seems, except [read all]
Mid-Summer 1967 West Berlin
Andreas Baader meets Gudrun Ensslin at a gathering. They fall in love immediately.
June 2, 1967 West Berlin
The Shah of Iran pays an official visit to Berlin. Thousands of students take to the streets to protest the Shah’s brutally repressive regime. Students seem to be protesting every week–everything, from the war in Vietnam, to the Grand Coalition between the two major German political parties, to university policies, were used as excuses to [read all]
June 2 1970, Federal Republic
Agit 883, a leftist underground newspaper in West Berlin, prints a communiqué claiming credit for securing Baader’s release from prison. Titled “Build up the Red Army!” and probably written by Ulrike Meinhof, the communiqué is the first time that the group uses the term “Red Army,” which later would give rise to their official name: Red [read all]
May 14 1970, West Berlin
A car pulls up to the Dahlem Institute for Social Research. Two guards get out and escort a handcuffed Andreas Baader to the front door. An elderly employee of the Institute, Georg Linke, escorts them to the reading room, where Ulrike Meinhof waits. Baader’s cuffs are removed and he and Meinhof set to work. Two [read all]
April 1970, West Berlin
Baader receives many visitors in his Tegel prison cell during his first month back in confinement. Mahler visits him many times, as does Berberich. Meinhof visits him as well, as does “Dr. Gretel Weitermeier,” who is actually his fugitive girlfriend, Ensslin. A plan is formulated to get Baader out. It involves a ruse in which [read all]