Vesttysklands blodigste terrororganisation (1970-1998)
Background and formation
The Rote Armee Fraktion (Red Army Faction) was founded in 1970 in West Germany as a reaction against what its members perceived as imperialist American foreign policy and capitalist oppression. The organisation grew out of the student movement and far-left protests against the Vietnam War and what they saw as the fascist characteristics of the West German state.
The founders — Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin, Horst Mahler and Astrid Proll — were young intellectuals who believed armed struggle was the only path to revolution. They argued that postwar West German democracy had failed to adequately reckon with the legacy of Nazism, and that the state continued its repression through the police and military.
Gründung der RAF
Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin und Horst Mahler gründen die Rote Armee Fraktion in Frankfurt am Main als Reaktion auf den Vietnamkrieg und die westdeutsche Politik.
Entführung von Peter Lorenz
Die RAF entführt den Berliner CDU-Politiker Peter Lorenz. Nach Verhandlungen werden fünf inhaftierte RAF-Mitglieder freigelassen und nach Jemen ausgeflogen.
Entführung der Lufthansa-Maschine "Landshut"
RAF-Mitglieder kapern gemeinsam mit palästinensischen Terroristen ein deutsches Lufthansa-Flugzeug mit 86 Passagieren. Die Krise endet mit der GSG-9-Erstürmung in Mogadischu.
Todesfälle in Stammheim
Andreas Baader, Jan-Carl Raspe und Gudrun Ensslin werden tot im Hochsicherheitsgefängnis Stuttgart-Stammheim aufgefunden. Offiziell Suizid, aber bis heute umstritten.
Anschlagsversuch auf US-Luftwaffenbasis Ramstein
RAF-Mitglieder versuchen, einen Bombenanschlag auf die NATO-Basis Ramstein zu verüben. Der Anschlag misslingt, zeigt aber die fortdauernde Bedrohung durch die Organisation.
Offizielle Auflösung der RAF
Die RAF verkündet in einem Schreiben ihre Auflösung. Die Organisation übernimmt die Verantwortung für über 100 Anschläge und 34 Todesopfer, verweist aber auf die veränderte geopolitische Lage.
The organisation's structure and ideology
The RAF operated as a decentralised guerrilla organisation made up of small cells that worked autonomously but in a coordinated fashion. Members were trained in the use of weapons, explosives and military tactics, often with support from Palestinian organisations and Eastern Bloc countries.
The organisation's ideology combined Marxism-Leninism with anti-imperialism. Its members saw themselves as part of a global struggle for freedom against imperialism and expressed solidarity with liberation movements in Palestine, Vietnam and elsewhere. Their manifestos criticised both the role of capitalism and the role of NATO in the world.
Major attacks and operations
Early period (1970–1977)
The RAF's first spectacular operation was the kidnapping of industrialist Peter Lorenz in 1975, during which they demanded the release of imprisoned RAF members. The state's concession resulted in five prisoners being freed and flown to Somalia.
In 1977 — a period that became known as Germany's "German Autumn" — the organisation escalated dramatically. On 13 October, members hijacked Lufthansa Flight 181, which was carrying 86 passengers and crew. They demanded the release of RAF prisoners, including Andreas Baader. The crisis ended when West German GSG 9 commandos stormed the aircraft at Mogadishu airport.
Days later, on 18 October 1977, Andreas Baader, Jan-Carl Raspe and Irmgard Möller were found dead in their cells at Stammheim prison. The deaths were officially ruled suicides, but the RAF's supporters maintained that the state had killed them.
Later period (1977–1998)
A new generation of RAF members continued the fight throughout the 1980s. On 2 August 1981, they planned an attack on the American Ramstein Air Base, intending to detonate a bomb beneath an aircraft. The attack failed, but it increased the pressure on the organisation.
The rocket and bomb attack on NATO Colonel Jürgen Ponto in 1985 and subsequent operations demonstrated that the RAF had not disappeared. On 30 June 1991, they carried out an attack on German commandos that killed three soldiers.
The organisation extended its activities to Italy, where it collaborated with the Brigate Rosse (Red Brigades) and other far-left groups. It also operated in France, with French support — some members were granted political asylum there.
Investigation and decline