The Rise and Fall of the Red Army Faction – The Most Brutal & Violent Terror Group in Europe

and welcome to an exploration into the tumultuous history of one of Germany's most infamous Terror organizations the Red Army faction or as it's known in German Army also known as the bof group The Red Army faction born in the chaotic aftermath of the 1960s was a far-left extremist group that sought to overthrow the capitalist system and establish a communist state with its roots deeply embedded in Anti-Imperialist sentiments the RAF Unleashed a wave of violence that sent shock waves across Germany and Beyond from bank robberies to bombings from the infamous kidnapping and murder of industrialist Hans Martin schayer to the shocking hijacking of lansa Flight 181 they killed a total of 34 people a surprising figure involved in this story is none other than the later Russian President Vladimir Putin who acted as their Russian Handler in the East German intelligence agency shazi some of these people served long prison terms some were killed some committed Sue and one member was caught as late as 2024 while two are still at large and one member completely flipping sides becoming a Neo-Nazi but before we begin remember to hit that subscribe button and put on all notifications and blah blah blah the group's Roots can be traced back to the 1968 student protest movement in West Germany a period marked by social upheavals in industrialized nations during this time a significant number of young individuals found themselves alienated from both their parents and state institutions since many government officials in West Germany were former Nazis in West Germany leftist youth expressed discontent with the post-war denazification efforts in the western half of Germany as individuals with actual or supposed Nazi affiliations continued to hold influential positions in government and the economy the appointment of former Nazi sympathizer Hans as the Director of the federal chancellory further fueled resentment adding to the discontent the outlawing of the German Communist party in 1956 angered those inclined towards this political position the culmination of this coincided with the formation of the grand Coalition in 1966 where the two main parties the SPD and CDU collaborated with former Nazi party member k g k as Chancellor this Alliance was met with horror by many on the left that seemingly endorsed pro- Nat and pro capitalist collusion on the part of the Social Democratic SPD the founding of Red Army faction influenced by their personal experiences and socioeconomic assessments the founders of the RAF soon embraced leninism and maoism identifying as Marxist leninist the 1965 Watts Riots in the United States played a role in shaping their approach against a backdrop of perceived State and police brutality coupled with widespread opposition to the Vietnam War the later members of RAF gon enin Andreas SP set fire to two department stores in Frankfurt as a Vietnam war protest and they were arrested two days later the situation escalated when a prominent spokesperson for protesting students survived an assassination attempt by right-wing sympathizer y bakman accusing A's influential magazine B then citing the shooting remarking the four defendants charged with arson and endangering human life were initially convicted but later temporarily paroled under a political prisoners amnesty in June 1969 while three members went into hiding in France and later Italy L and was returned to prison after the edict was removed a short time after less than a month later Kon enlin published an article in a West Berlin underground paper advocating for armed resistance sparking the foundation of the Red Army faction the newly formed group members B enin Mala mhof subsequently traveled to Jordan where they received training from the popular front for the liberation of Palestine in the PLO many RAF members operated through singular contacts or identified each other solely by code names s were executed by specialized units known as Commandos with a quartermaster supplying trained members to carry out missions according to a former RAF member meetings with the KGB in Dresden included encounters with Vladimir Putin then the KGB resident in East Germany in other words Putin was their KGB Handler during these sessions RAF members discussed required weapons and handed over a shopping list to the kg B Upon returning to West Germany they initiated an anti-imperialistic struggle engaging in bank robberies to raise funds and launching bomb attacks on US military facilities German police stations and structures linked to the Axel Springer press Empire in 1970 a Manifesto authored by minoff introduced the name RAF and featured a red star logo with a Heckler Kosh MP5 submachine gun for the first time however following an intense Manhunt B enin mhof Min and raser were apprehended in June 1972 after the first generation RAF members were arrested they were held in solitary confinement at the newly constructed high security hunger strikes eventually facing Force feeding huler Mains succumbed to self-induced starvation on November 9th 1974 leading to a public outrage that led to some improvement in their conditions by the authorities as a response to the government treatment of the RAF members a group splintered off after the death of mains after his hunger strike in prison calling themselves the second June movement they launched the greatest Terror acts in Germany since World War II killing and injuring more than 100 people on 11th of May 1972 they placed three pipe bombs at the United States military headquarters in Frankfurt the bombing resulted in the death of a US officer and the injury of 13 other people 6 days later members armed five bombs in the Springer Publishing House in Hamburg only three of the five bombs exploded but 36 people were injured in the blast one week week after that the group set off a car bomb at the idhs or the intelligence data handling service building in heidleberg the bombing resulted in the deaths of three soldiers and the injury of five others and in November 1974 the group killed Gunter vanon drinkman the president of Germany's superior court of justice The Killing occurred after a string of events that led to a failed kidnapping but they would soon Rectify this by kidnapping Peter Loren the CDU candidate for mayor of Berlin as a tactic to secure the release of several nonf detainees which they were successful in doing this included EST stranged member HED maler who opted not to be freed and stayed in prison as a political prisoner inspired by this members seized the West German Embassy in Stockholm on April 24th 1975 the group took hostages and set the building to explode and demanded the release of several imprisoned members of the RAF the government refused the request this time which led to the murder of two of the hostages a few of the bombs that were intended to blow up the embassy prematurely detonated which resulted in the death of two of the six RAF Affiliates the other four members eventually surrendered to the authorities in 1976 oriq mof's lifeless Budd was found in her prison cell hanging from a rope crafted from jail towels although officially ruled as self-inflicted this conclusion sparked widespread controversy and numerous theories that the government Were Somehow involved amidst the ongoing trial an attack occurred in April 1977 Federal prosecutor sieg freed buac along with his driver and bodyguard were shot and killed by two RAF members at a red traffic light bbac a former Nazi member during World War II had two years earlier controversially stated in an interview that persons like badir don't deserve a fair trial ultimately on April 28th 1977 the trial concluded with the conviction of the three remaining defendants who all received life imprisonment throughout the trial journalists were restricted to two days in the courtroom prompting questions about the fairness of the proceedings D spegel raised concerns about whether this atmosphere foreshadowed the condemnation of the defendants who were allegedly responsible for the Emergency measures not only did the primary judge had a previous affiliation with the Nazi party but also the federal prosecutor Hinrich wonder who held a senior government position in the ministry of Defense had a Nazi pass during a confrontation with oriq minoff bubach threatened to confine her in a glass cage in response mhof sarcastically remarked Zone while in prison the members had several hunger strikes and during the third Hunger Strike in the winter of 1974 it was reported that Mueller had broken and turned State witness the prosecution in exchange for his immunity shifted blame onto badir minoff enlin and rasp Mueller was subsequently released provided with a new identity and relocated to the US along with a compensation of $500,000 German marks or about $900,000 in today's money in response to the stamhealth government hastily approved several special laws for the first time since 1945 lawyers were excluded from The Trial due to allegations of inappropriate actions including assisting and forming criminal organizations the Minister of Justice Hans joosen vogo proudly asserted that no other western state had such comprehensive regulations to exclude defense attorneys from a trial on the second day of the trial klus cant hun Christian Strobel and Kurt gronwald who had been preparing for the trial for three years was expelled and some other lawyers in the trial were arrested the RAF was involved in several raids taking advantage of Switzerland's Loosely guarded military armories something that would eventually lead to the German Autumn one of the darkest periods in modern German history during the German autumn of 1977 Jurgen Ponto the head of Dresner Bank was fatally shot during a failed kidnapping attempt on July 30th following these events Hans Martin schayer the president of the German employers Association and a former SS officer was abducted in a violent kidnapping the kidnappers caused a crash resulting the death of three policemen and the driver a letter was sent to the federal government demanding the release of 11 detainees including those held in stamhuis committee that decided not to comply but employed delaying tactics to give the police time to locate schayer the crisis persisted and on October 13th 1977 Lanza flight 181 from Palma deala to Frankfurt was hijacked by four pflp members led by Zoho ysf aachi the jackers demanded the release of detainees in Germany and a ransom and during a stop in Aiden the hijackers murdered flight Captain jergen Schuman for not cooperating enough the aircraft continued to Somalia where a high-risk rescue operation was conducted on October 18th the special German forces gsg9 stormed the plane killing all four hijackers and the passengers were unharmed the worldwide publicized action the imprisoned RAF members in stamimax into the prison for them and Andreas berer and John Carl rasp used these weapons on themselves irmgard mer attempted to do the same with a knife but survived sustaining severe injuries while rasp still alive was transferred to the hospital where he passed away shortly afterward mhler eventually recovered after receiving Medical Care the incident gave rise to various conspiracy theories suggesting that the RAF members were not responsible for their deaths but instead was killed by German authorities the same day Hans Martin schayer still in captivity was shot to death while en route to mous in France his kidnappers declared his execution and disclosed his location and scher's body was discovered in the trunk of a green car in France a letter received by a French newspaper stated after 43 days we have ended Hans Martin slayer's pitiful and corrupt existence his death is meaningless to our pain and our rage after this highly profiled murder the RAF and their supporters went into hiding and only participated in minor incidences following German reunification in 1990 it was revealed red that the East German intelligence service had been monitoring the RF and had provided shelter and new identities to 10 x members in the 1980s on April 20th 1998 Vos received an8 Page typewritten Letter in German formally announcing the dissolution of the group not long after that hor Mahler a founding member of the RAF underwent a dramatic transformation embracing Neo-Nazi ideology and becoming a Holocaust denier in 2005 mler was sentenced to 6 years in prison for inciting racial hatred against Jews in 2011 the last imprisoned RAF member Berget hofeld was granted parole and released authorities across Europe initiated searches for Ernst vulker stab burkhard garag and Daniel EET spanning Spain France and Italy without any luck until February 26 2024 when Daniela clet was apprehended in Berlin her arrest followed an investigative TV report about the missing Trio prompting 250 tips to local police regarding their whereabouts clet now faces trial for her suspected involvement in various crimes the complex Legacy of the Red Army faction and their actions is undeniable and their story is one of idealism radicalis ISM and ultimately tragedy and death today remnants of the Red Army faction serve as a cautionary tale a reminder of the dangers of extremism so let us remember the individuals caught in the crossfire the lives forever changed by the choices of a few remember to subscribe and turn on all notifications so you won't miss future uploads don't forget to like the video it greatly helps the channel and I hope to see see you in the next one [Music]

Channel: History with Magnus. What Really Happened?

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Id: _k73S7jrAxE

Length: 17min 3sec (1023 seconds)

Published: Fri May 03 2024