Baader-Meinhof: The Inside Story of the RAF

Synopsis

The Baader-Meinhof Group--later known as the Red Army Faction (RAF)--was a violent urban guerilla group which terrorized Germany in the 1970s and '80s, killing 47 people, wounding 93, taking 162 hostages, and robbing 35 banks--all in an attempt to bring revolution to the Federal Republic. Stefan Aust's masterful history of the Group presents the definitive account, capturing a highly complex story both accurately and colorfully. Much new information has surfaced since the mass suicide of the Groups' leaders in the 1980s. Some RAF members have come forward to testify in new investigations and formerly classified Stasi documents have been made public since the fall of the Berlin Wall, all contributing to a fuller picture of the RAF and the events surrounding their demise. Aust presents the complete history of the RAF, from the creation in 1970 to the breakup in 1998, incorporating all of the new information. For instance, there is growing evidence that the German secret service eavesdropped on Baader, Meinhof, and the other RAF members imprisoned in Stammheim and that they knew that the terrorists planned a mass suicide, but did nothing to prevent it. Also, there is new information about the role of the RAF lawyers (among them Otto Schily who later was Minister of the Interior in Gerhard Schröder's cabinet), and the roles of the different RAF members and the rivalry between them. The volume will also contain numerous photos. Terrorism today is never far from most people's thoughts. Baader-Meinhof offers a gripping account of one of the most violent terrorist groups of the late twentieth century, in a compelling look at what they did, why they did it, and how they were brought to justice.

Summary

Chapter 1: The Origins

* Traces the roots of the Red Army Faction (RAF) in West German student and political movements.
* Example: Ulrike Meinhof, a prominent journalist, joins the militant Socialist Collective and becomes instrumental in radicalizing the movement.

Chapter 2: The Urban Guerrillas

* Describes the formation of the RAF in 1970 and its initial tactics of arson and bombings targeting banks, government buildings, and U.S. military installations.
* Example: The attack on the U.S. Army headquarters in Heidelberg, which killed three American servicemen.

Chapter 3: The Baader-Meinhof Group

* Focuses on the core group of RAF members, including Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin, and Ulrike Meinhof.
* Example: The kidnapping of Hans-Martin Schleyer, president of the West German Employers' Association, in 1977.

Chapter 4: The State's Response

* Examines the government's harsh crackdown on the RAF, including the passing of anti-terrorism laws and the use of undercover agents.
* Example: The "Mogadishu Trial" in 1977, in which several RAF members were tried for the assassination of Siegfried Buback, the West German Attorney General.

Chapter 5: The Hunger Strike

* Describes the tragic hunger strike by imprisoned RAF members in 1976-1977, which resulted in the deaths of several prisoners.
* Example: Andreas Baader's refusal to eat in protest against solitary confinement and ill-treatment.

Chapter 6: The Final Chapter

* Chronicles the RAF's decline in the late 1970s and early 1980s, as members were arrested or killed.
* Example: The deaths of Meinhof, Ensslin, and Baader in the Stammheim prison in 1977, under suspicious circumstances that fueled conspiracy theories.

Chapter 7: The Legacy

* Assesses the lasting impact of the RAF on West German society and the debate on domestic terrorism.
* Example: The continued presence of a militant left-wing movement in Germany and the ongoing investigation into the true nature of the RAF's final days.