Andreas Baader
Andreas Baader was a prominent figure in the radical leftist movement in West Germany during the late 1960s and 1970s. Born to a military father who died in World War II, Baader had a troubled early life, struggling academically and getting involved in minor criminal activities. His significant turn towards militancy began after the police killing of a student during a protest, which led him to co-found the Movement 2 June, ultimately evolving into the notorious Red Army Faction (RAF), also known as the Baader-Meinhof Gang. This group was one of the first urban guerrilla organizations in Germany, notorious for its violent methods, including bombings, bank robberies, and political assassinations.
Despite Baader's apparent disinterest in political ideology, he became a central figure in the RAF, which engaged in acts of terrorism throughout the 1970s. After multiple arrests and escapes, Baader was ultimately apprehended during a shoot-out in 1972 and later died in prison under controversial circumstances in 1977, with debates about whether his death was a suicide or a government action. The RAF continued its violent campaign well into the 1990s, leaving a lasting impact on German society and politics. Baader's life and actions remain a subject of intense discussion and analysis regarding political extremism and the use of violence for ideological purposes.
Subject Terms
Andreas Baader
German terrorist
- Born: May 6, 1943
- Birthplace: Munich, Germany
- Died: October 18, 1977
- Place of death: Stammheim Prison, Stuttgart, West Germany (now in Germany)
Major offenses: Arson, murder, attempted murder, and forming a criminal association
Active: 1964-1972
Locale: West Germany (now Germany)
Sentence: Three years’ imprisonment for arson of a department store; life sentence for four murders, twenty-seven attempted murders, and for forming a criminal association
Early Life
The father of Andreas Baader was a historian who was also in the army; he died on the Russian front in 1945. His mother did not remarry and became a typist in order to provide for her son. He was a very handsome child who was pampered by his mother and nearby neighbors, but he did not do well in school. He transferred public schools a number of times until his mother decided that a private education would suit him better.
Baader’s grades did not improve, and he continued bullying and fighting other students as he had done in public school. He did not graduate from high school. Instead, when he was twenty, he traveled to Berlin, where he was exempt from national service. For three weeks, he worked for a newspaper owned by the Springer firm, the Bild-Zeitung. Penniless and without employment, Baader nonetheless had no trouble meeting women. He went to live with Ellinor Michel, a married artist, whose husband was also still living with her at the time. In 1965, she bore Baader a child, Suse. However, in 1967, Baader met Gudrun Ensslin, who fell in love with him. They both left their children behind to move to Frankfurt.
Criminal Career
Between 1964 and 1967, Baader was convicted of minor offenses such as traffic violations, driving without a license, license forgery, and theft of a motorbike. Following the death of a university student, Benno Ohnesorg, by police at a demonstration against a visit to Germany by the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, Baader and others formed a militant group, the Movement 2 June (in commemoration of the date when Ohnesorg was killed). The group ultimately became the basis of the Red Army Faction. Also known in this early incarnation as the Baader-Meinhof Gang, the group is thought to be one of the earliest to use violence and bombs for political purposes, although by all accounts, Baader cared little about politics. He stole cars, lived in hiding from the law for long periods of time, robbed banks, planted bombs, and ultimately killed people.
Legal Action and Outcome
On October 31, 1968, Baader, along with three of his comrades, was convicted of arson and endangering human life; he received a three-year sentence for placing bombs in a department store. While imprisoned and awaiting trial, he and two of his colleagues made three attempts to escape. On June 13, 1969, he and three gang members were released while awaiting an appeal. In November, 1969, Baader’s appeal was denied, but rather than turning himself in, he and Ensslin hid in Paris for a time, went to Italy, and returned first to Stuttgart and then to Berlin.
While in Berlin, Baader was stopped by police while out driving. He had an identity card that said he was Peter C., but upon further questioning by police, Baader could not remember how many children Peter C. was supposed to have; the police arrested him. He was then sent to Tegel Prison to serve the remainder of his sentence. However, on May 14, 1970, Baader was freed by journalist and sympathizer Ulrike Meinhof. Meinhof had been given the opportunity to conduct research for a book about the organization of marginalized youth, and with the help of other supporters, including Baader’s lawyer, Horst Mahler, she helped free Baader. However, in June, 1972, Baader was apprehended in a lengthy shoot-out in Frankfurt and was returned to prison.
While incarcerated at Stammheim Prison, Baader died on October 18, 1977, from a gunshot wound. There is considerable debate as to whether his death was a suicide or a government undertaking, especially since other Red Army Faction members incarcerated at Stammheim—namely Jan-Carl Raspe and Ensslin—also died that night.
Impact
The Red Army Faction was the first urban guerrilla group in West Germany, and Andreas Baader was its leader. Although his actions are thought to have been more criminally than politically motivated, Baader was instrumental in leading the violent uprisings against German politics, and without his influence on the formation of the Red Army Faction, the group would most likely not have been so infamous and would not have had such a great impact on the German community.
The Red Army Faction would continue to grow and transform itself for the next two decades. A second generation emerged in the mid-1970’s at about the time when Baader, Meinhof, Ensslin, and Raspe were undergoing trial (1975-1977). During this period, the group perpetrated kidnappings and murders in the name of political protest, and it was associated with, if not directly responsible for, the October, 1977, hijacking of Lufthansa flight LH 181. It was shortly after this tragedy that Baader was found dead in his prison cell. The Red Army Faction (or an entity using that name) continued to promote car bombings, killings, and other so-called political acts of terrorism as late as 1993.
Bibliography
Aust, Stefan. The Baader-Meinhof Group: The Inside Story of a Phenomenon. London: Butler and Tanner, 1985. Provides a detailed account of the activities of numerous members of the Red Army Faction and the outcomes and legal consequences of such activities.
Becker, Jillian. Hitler’s Children: The Story of the Baader-Meinhof Terrorist Gang. New York: J. B. Lippincott, 1977. Discusses events leading up to the formation of the Baader-Meinhof Gang and its changes in membership and leadership. Provides detailed accounts of its terrorist activities and encounters with the law.
Giles, Steve, and Maike Oergel. Counter-Cultures in Germany and Central Europe: From Sturm und Drang to Baader-Meinhof. New York: Peter Lang, 2004. A collection of papers presented in 2001 which include descriptions of various forms of counterculture and terrorism from the 1770’s until the 1990’s.
Varon, Jeremy. Bringing the War Home: The Weather Underground, the Red Army Faction, and Revolutionary Violence in the Sixties and Seventies. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004. Focuses on political uprisings led by young, middle-class individuals and how they used violence, both successfully and unsuccessfully, to attempt to achieve their political goals.