Rise and fall of the Red Army Faction in West Germany
Learn about the rise and fall of the Red Army Faction, the West German radical group that rose to prominence in the 1970s.
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Transcript
NARRATOR: In the 1970s, the Red Army Faction becomes a synonym for terrorism in West Germany. They use violence to make their voices heard. Andreas Baader and other terrorists believe it is their right to fight the state, which they call fascist, using any means available. They are wanted right across West Germany. The terror escalates. "Of course you can shoot," says the terrorist Ulrike Meinhof. Peter Jürgen Boock was once a member of the RAF.
PETER JÜRGEN BOOCK: "I think that around 1968, it was just endemic to ask the question if an armed battle is an option and a means of bringing about change. It was discussed on a broad front. The fact that a relatively small group made this discussion their own and put it into practice was a real shock for many, who were taking part in the theoretical discussion."
NARRATOR: The small terrorist group keep the republic on its toes. In June 1972, the core of the RAF is finally arrested. Alongside Ulrike Meinhof and Gudrun Enslinn, Holger Meins, Jan Karl Raspe and Andreas Baader. The Stuttgart-Stammheim prison - now, it isn’t just political change, but also the release of the political prisoners that is the aim of the continued terror. In 1977, the murderous activities of the RAF reach their bloody climax. It is violence against people, who apparently embody the hated system. The republic is in a state of emergency. With the kidnapping of the President of the Employers’ Association Hans-Martin Schleyer and the hijacking of a Lufthansa passenger jet, they seek to force the release of RAF prisoners. But the government stands firm. Schleyer is murdered.
BOOCK: "If you take the contradictions of the group in the handling of their own affairs as a benchmark, we should have noticed that there was hardly anyone in the group who would have seriously been in favor of the death penalty. Nevertheless we killed people and thought of ourselves as judge and executioner in the same breath. There was also hardly anyone in the group who would have been in favor of pulling innocent people into disputes. The calculation was it can’t be avoided. That's not how we thought, but that’s how we acted."
NARRATOR: The German chancellor of the time has his own opinions.
HELMUT SCHMIDT: "I feel contempt for all those who imagine that they can use force, manslaughter and even murder to implement their ideologies, their ideas."
NARRATOR: After 1992, the first ex-terrorists are released. Six years later, the RAF declares their dissolution by fax.
PETER JÜRGEN BOOCK: "I think that around 1968, it was just endemic to ask the question if an armed battle is an option and a means of bringing about change. It was discussed on a broad front. The fact that a relatively small group made this discussion their own and put it into practice was a real shock for many, who were taking part in the theoretical discussion."
NARRATOR: The small terrorist group keep the republic on its toes. In June 1972, the core of the RAF is finally arrested. Alongside Ulrike Meinhof and Gudrun Enslinn, Holger Meins, Jan Karl Raspe and Andreas Baader. The Stuttgart-Stammheim prison - now, it isn’t just political change, but also the release of the political prisoners that is the aim of the continued terror. In 1977, the murderous activities of the RAF reach their bloody climax. It is violence against people, who apparently embody the hated system. The republic is in a state of emergency. With the kidnapping of the President of the Employers’ Association Hans-Martin Schleyer and the hijacking of a Lufthansa passenger jet, they seek to force the release of RAF prisoners. But the government stands firm. Schleyer is murdered.
BOOCK: "If you take the contradictions of the group in the handling of their own affairs as a benchmark, we should have noticed that there was hardly anyone in the group who would have seriously been in favor of the death penalty. Nevertheless we killed people and thought of ourselves as judge and executioner in the same breath. There was also hardly anyone in the group who would have been in favor of pulling innocent people into disputes. The calculation was it can’t be avoided. That's not how we thought, but that’s how we acted."
NARRATOR: The German chancellor of the time has his own opinions.
HELMUT SCHMIDT: "I feel contempt for all those who imagine that they can use force, manslaughter and even murder to implement their ideologies, their ideas."
NARRATOR: After 1992, the first ex-terrorists are released. Six years later, the RAF declares their dissolution by fax.