The weather underground, the red army faction, and revolutionary violence in the sixties and seventies. The roots of the baadermeinhof group the red army faction or raf. Schleyers kidnappers murdered him on the same day, leaving him in. Celeste ng, ann patchett, min jin lee and others on the books that bring. German central institute for social questions deutsches zentralinstitut fur soziale fragen to write a book together about young offenders. Red army faction second generation with hendrik godbersen although the first generation of the red army faction raf was imprisoned, the leftist terrorist group continued its actions by recruiting a second generation. Red army faction author of the urban guerilla concept. The green armies were underfunded, low on supplies, and outmatched by the red army which, despite its flaws, had better organization and morale as a result of greater, more frequent victories. Most of todays german youth feel that the systems rigidities leave. Texts about military strategy take us back into the mists of time but what it is, and what the nature of war is, remains hotly debated. A terror campaign of love and hate germany the guardian. Was murdered in france when the raf heard about their members being found dead in prison. Former red army faction member ronald augustin discusses the prevalence of myths, propaganda, and lies in current historical writing about the raf. This is a list of people assassinated by the west german leftwing terrrorist group red army faction or the baadermeinhof group.
The history of the red army faction has recently drawn much international. This requires that one have a political identity, and it presumes that a learning process has already occurred. A brief history of the red army faction german guerilla. Buy red army faction blues here peter green provides the thematic thread drawing the novels diverse elements into focus, mapping out the constant points of this fascinating reimagining. Artistic portrayals of the baadermeinhof gang books. A soviet war correspondent during world war ii, grossman observed and wrote extensively from the eastern front for the red army newspaper, the red star. The german autumn began 40 years ago on tuesday, when red army faction raf terrorists kidnapped schleyer, who was president of the german association of. Why wasnt there more support for the red army faction in germany in the 1970s. If you want a very basic outline of who the red army faction were and what they did, then this is the book for you. In the book, embittered raf terrorists ally with the democratic front for the.
See, for example, tore bjorgo and john horgan, eds. There are hundreds of books and documentaries about the. The red army faction and the urban guerilla represent the only faction and practice which draws a clear line between ourselves and the enemy, and is therefore subject to the sharpest attack. Red army faction a marxist and maoist terrorist organization in germany. This book about the red army faction of american occupied germany is one that should be read by any serious student of anti. A short book on germanys most notorious urban guerrilla group, the red army faction, aka the baadermeinhof gang. On the night of august 7, 1985, pimental and other american soldiers visited the western saloon nightclub in wiesbaden, where he was invited by a woman to walk her home, leaving the bar with her. Failure and disengagement in the red army faction article in studies in conflict and terrorism 352. The group undertook a violent terrorist campaign in the hopes of sparking a broader revolutionary movement. Everyday low prices on a huge range of new releases and classic fiction.
He was a member of the steering committee of the bilderberg group 2 and from 1971 onwards a member of deutsche banks management board. A brief history of the red army fraction arm the spirit, spring 1994. The woman was birgit hogefeld, a member of the red army faction, a militant farleft organization that carried out attacks against american military targets in west germany. Projectiles for the people, and coauthored daring to struggle, failing to win. Rote armee fraktion, in its early stages commonly known as the baadermeinhof group or baadermeinhof gang. There is no biographical, psychological or even ideological detail here, nor any attempt at analysis. While very uncritical of the groups authoritarian politics and attacks which harm civilians, it contains useful information and so is reproduced here for reference only. The usual translation into english is the red army faction. Baadermeinhofbande, baadermeinhofgruppe, was a west german farleft militant group.
Was kidnapped by the baadermeinhof gang red army faction in germany. This is a collection of more than 1,200 digitized documents by and on the rote armee fraktion red army faction, raf. Black guards, an anarchist faction of the russian civil war known as the black army. As though the green god has the answers the code to what happened to why the. The aim of this website is to provide these documents in their authentic form to researchers, historians and other people interested, not to support or oppose any views expressed in these documents. Red army faction synonyms, red army faction pronunciation, red army faction translation, english dictionary definition of red army faction.
The raf was founded in 1970 by andreas baader, gudrun ensslin, horst mahler, and ulrike meinhof. Charity scribners after the red army faction will be an important contribution to our understanding of the impact of the leftwing terrorism of 1970s west germany, and in particular the baadermeinhof group or red army faction raf, on culture in west germany and beyond. They see in the political apathy of the proletariat only the apathy, not the protest against a system that has nothing to offer them. Antulio echevarria ii of the us army war college talks us through key books, both old and new, on military strategy. Buy red army faction blues by ada wilson from amazons fiction books store. Red army faction blues site for the novel by ada wilson. Understanding a measured government response to an adaptive terrorist threat.
Below is a chronology of the groups terrorist activities. Smith is the pseudonym of an activist who has been involved in the radical left for more than 20 years. Book description the baadermeinhof grouplater known as the red army faction rafwas a violent urban guerilla group which terrorized germany in the 1970s and 80s, killing 47 people, wounding 93, taking 162 hostages, and robbing 35 banksall in an attempt to bring revolution to the federal republic. List of red army faction baadermeinhof assassinations. The new yorkers book bench blog is named for a real thing, place. He and other members of the red army factionas is shown in the. Daniela klette, one of the surviving members of the red army faction believed to. The responsible group, known as the red army faction raf or the. Smith, he coedited the red army faction, a documentary history, volume i.
Red army factionbaadermeinhof gang can be found here. What germanys red army faction can tell the world about terror. German officials have confirmed that a botched armed robbery near bremen last year was the work of three wanted militants from the now disbanded red army faction raf. Red army faction definition of red army faction by the. The raf was founded in 1970 by andreas baader, gudrun ensslin, ulrike meinhof, horst mahler, and others. From the moment the red army faction raf burst onto the west german scene. In this first comprehensive comparison of leftwing violence in the united states and west germany, jeremy varon focuses on americas weather underground and germanys red army faction to consider how and why young, middleclass radicals in prosperous democratic societies turned to armed struggle in efforts to overthrow their states. The hunt for red october by tom clancy, red storm rising by tom clancy, rainbow six by tom clancy, patriot games by to. In its 28 years of existence, the leftwing militant red army faction group murdered 34 people. In april 1992, the red army fraction raf took the step of unilaterally calling off its campaign of assassinations of key members of the political and economic apparatus as a first step towards a negotiated settlement with the state, a settlement which they insisted must include the release of prisoners, particularly those.
The red army faction is often referred to by the names of two of its primary activists, andreas baader and ulrike meinhof. In 1989, the wall is coming down and urbach is breaking cover to track down peter green, the genius behind british blues rock band fleetwood mac. The suicide of ulrike meinhof during her trial was suspicious as she did not leave a suicide note although at. Dutch police say surviving red army faction members still active. Soon, highminded political activism will move to the terrorism of the red army faction.
Added time world view back to yours the irish times book club. Alfred herrhausen 30 january 1930 30 november 1989 was a german banker and the chairman of deutsche bank, who was assassinated in 1989. The balance careers the 8 best books about basic training of 2020. Baader, born in 1943, spent his late teens and early twenties as a combination of a juvenile delinquent and stylish bad boy. The best books on military strategy five books expert. The first generation of the organization was commonly referred to by the press and the. Red army faction, west german radical leftist group formed in 1968 and popularly named after two of its early leaders, andreas baader 194377 and ulrike meinhof 193476. Why wasnt there more support for the red army faction in.
Home red army faction historiography and armed struggle, by ron augustin historiography and armed struggle, by ron augustin. The red army faction raf existed in west germany from 1970 to 1998, committing numerous crimes, especially in the autumn of 1977, which led to a national crisis that became known as the german autumn. The raf was formally founded in 1970 by andreas baader, gudrun. In april 1992, the red army faction raf took the step of unilaterally calling off its campaign of assassinations of key members of the political and economic apparatus as a first step towards a negotiated settlement with the state, a settlement which they insisted must include the release of prisoners, particularly those, such as bernd roessner and ali jansen, who were in poor health and. But the book by stefan aust on which it is based, a revised edition. This book about the red army faction of americanoccupied germany is one that should be read by any serious student of anti. In 1979, three years before fassbinders death of a drug overdose, he made another film about the red army faction, the third generation, which mocks the terrorists as vain hipsters. The urban guerilla concept red army faction moncourt, andre, smith, j. It was from this revolt that the red army faction emerged, an underground organization devoted to carrying out armed attacks within the federal republic of germany, in the view of establishing a tradition of illegal, guerilla resistance to imperialism and state repression. Westgerman communist urban guerrilla political organisation. During this period, the raf was in a state of regrouping and attempting to renew its ties to the radical left in response to the emergenc the longawaited second volume of the firstever englishlanguage study of the red army faction raf west germanys most notorious urban guerillascovers the period immediately following the organizations near. This book about the red army faction of americanoccupied. The red army faction caused such carnage that, in 2007, relatives of its. However, during this meeting baader was forcefully liberated, which marks the birth of the baadermeinhof group also known as the baadermeinhof gang and later on as the red army faction raf.
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