Author Archive
6-3-1972 Stuttgart Bomb Threat Fizzles (NY Times)
Another arrest article using the same sources.
6-2-1972 Bonn Seizes Suspected Guerrillas (NY Times)
Duplicate of above post.
6-2-1972 Anarchist Leaders Seized in Frankfurt (NY Times)
“Come out, your means are limited, but ours are unlimited.”
Great quote attributed to Federal Police in this article on Baader and Meins arrest.
5-29-1972 German Terrorists Threaten to Set Off Bombs in Stuttgart (AP)
Detailing threats to detonate 66 pounds of TNT in Stuttgart on June 2nd 1972 as well as other actions detailed in a telex message to Associated Press in Berlin. The RAF is described as “virtually identical” to the Baader Meinhof Gang.
PDF: 5-29-1972 German Terrorists Threaten to Set Off Bombs in Stuttgart
5-28-1972 Bonn gets warning of more bombings (Guardian UK)
A great and concise summary of events up to and including the Heidelberg bombing, including short biographies of Badder and Meinhoff. It also mentions both the Petra Schelm and Thomas Welsbecker Commando as well as Bonn’s plans to deal with the “inner enemy”.
5-26-1972 Bombings Link Probed (AP)
Another piece on Heidelberg and possible connections with attacks in France. States that The Baader Meinhoff Gang have “recently adopted ” the Red Army Faction moniker.
5-25-1972 Bombs Explode in US Army European Post (AP)
Another report on the Heidelberg Bombing
5-25-1972 Three Soldiers Killed (AP)
Report on Heidelberg attacks.
5-17-1972 US Troops Placed on Alert after Bombing (AP)
A brief Associated Press article detailing the steps being taken by the US Army to deter future bombings. The article notes that “an anarchist group called the Red Army Faction” had taken credit for the V Corps HQ bombing in Frankfurt.
5-13-1972 Two More German Buildings Bombed (AP)
An Associated Press article detailing bombings at police stations in Augsburg and Munich, a day after three bombs went off in Frankfurt.
5-12-1972 Frankfurt Bombing Mystery (AP)
An Associated Press article detailing the initial, sketchy details about the bombing of the US V Corps HQ in Frankfurt am Main.
5-12-1972 Bombs Rock a US Army Base at Frankfurt (AP / NY Times)
An Associated Press article, printed in the New York Times, offering the sketchy initial details of the bombing of the V Corps HQ in Frankfurt am Main.
5-12-1972 Army Says It Has No Indication Who Bombed HQ (AP)
An Associated Press article detailing the initial, sketchy details about the Frankfurt bombing of the US V Corps Headquarters.
PDF: 5-12-1972 Army Says It Has No Indication Who Bombed HQ Lewiston Evening Journal
5-13-1972 Blasts Rip West German Police Offices (AP)
An Associated Press article detailing bombings at police stations in Augsburg and Munich, a day after three bombs went off in Frankfurt at the US Army V Corps HQ.
3-5-1975 Politician Free Unhurt (AP)
Peter Lorenz is released unharmed after prisoners fly to freedom in Yemen.
3-4-1975 Guerrillas Land in Yemen with West Berlin Captive (AP)
Article on the flight to Yemen of the terrorists and guarantor Pastor Heinrich Albertz as well as a short piece on talks between Federal Government ministers and then Canadian premier Trudeau.
PDF: 3-4-1976 Guerrillas Land in Yemen with West Berlin Captive
3-3-1975 Four Released in Bid to Save Lorenz (AP)
Report on the deal to release four prisoners by the Federal Government to enable the freeing of mayoral candidate Peter Lorenz.
2-28-1975 Berlin Mayoral Candidate Kidnap Victim (AP)
An Associated Press article about the kidnapping of Berlin mayoral candiate Peter Lorenze.
9-19-1977 West Germany’s Orderly Society Proves Vulnerable To Terrorists (NY Times)
This New York Times news analysis examines how the Red Army Faction had been able to operate so successfully within West Germany.
PDF: 9-19-1977 West Germany’s Orderly Society Proves Vulnerable to Terrorists
4-24-1975 Five Terrorists Seize Embassy (UPI)
A United Press International article detailing the initial takeover of the West Germany Embassy in Stockholm by the Red Army Faction.
4-25-1975 German Terrorists Captured After Embassy Bomb Attack (UPI)
United Press International story in the April 25, 1975 edition of the Montreal Gazette, providing coverage of the aftermath of the disastrous Red Army Faction takeover of the West German Embassy in Stockholm. As with many article of the era, it perpetuates common misconceptions about the group (such as Ulrike Meinhof being the leader).
PDF: German Terrorists Captured After Embassy Bomb Attack – 4-25-1975
9-22-1977 Women Terrorists Groups Flourish In Germany (AP)
This Associated Press article appeared in the Spartanburg Herald-Journal on September 25, 1977, just as West Germany was descending into the horror of the “German Autumn”.
The article is a general news analysis detailing how German terror groups were so heavily populated by women. It’s almost a curio-timepiece: the conclusions are often so hyperbolic and overwrought. We learn that the presence of women in terrorist groups is the “dark side of women’s liberation” and that the universities are also clearly to blame as well.
While much of the article does try to offer some kind of flavorful balance, it feels very much an article directed towards an older generation to confirm their suspicions about all of the “changes” that have gone on in society