February 27, 1975 West Berlin
At about 9:00 AM, Peter Lorenz leaves his home in the Zehlendorf district. Lorenz is the CDU (Christian Democrat Union) candidate for mayor in the West Berlin city elections to be held in three days. Less than half a mile from his house, his Mercedes is blocked by a large truck, and a Fiat rams [read all]
June 2nd Movement
Movement 2 June was the second most prominent left-wing German urban guerrilla group of the seventies. It was founded by former members of Kommune I, and was based in West Berlin. Movement 2 June was formed in Berlin around 1971. It was built from the remnants of the West Berlin Tupamaros small-level proto-terrorist group which had been around for [read all]
Grand Coalition
The Grand Coalition came into being in 1967 when the both the CDU and the SPD — the two major parties in West Germany — failed to win a majority in the national elections. Unable to form a coalition with one of the smaller parties, the CDU and SPD, supposedly arch-rivals, formed a “Grand Coalition” to create a government with a [read all]
CDU
Christlich Demokratische Union or Christian Democratic Union The Christian Democratic Union was (and is) the primary conservative party of Germany, roughly akin to the Republicans in America, and the Tories in Great Britain.
APO
Ausser-Parlianentarische Opposition or Extraparliamentary Opposition The APO was the student-initiated opposition movement in West Germany during the late sixties and early seventies. In many ways it was a product of a unique German trait — a strong desire to associate with political parties. When German students grew disillusioned with the so-called “Grand Coalition” of the two major [read all]