Red Army Faction Volume 2

In 1977, West Germany faced one of the gravest internal security crises in its post-war history. The Red Army Faction (RAF), better known as the ‘Baader-Meinhof Gang’, launched an  unprecedented campaign of assassinations, kidnappings and terrorist attacks intended to coerce an unyielding democratic state into releasing its imprisoned leaders.

In this second and concluding volume, David François traces the RAF’s history from the bloody events of 1977 to its eventual dissolution in 1998. He examines the escalating 1977 campaign of violence ultimately concluded by the GSG 9 counterterrorist unit on a Mogadishu runway and the end of the RAF’s first generation. There follows the reformation of the RAF and its realignment against American military installations, NATO and the West German political and economic establishment.

François’ narrative culminates in the group’s desperate struggle to remain relevant amid the collapse of communism and German reunification. High profile attacks, such as the kidnapping of Hans Martin Shleyer and the hijacking of Lufthansa Flight 181, the ‘Landshut’; the assassination attempts on high profile NATO commanders and prominent industrial figures; and, the last throws of the organisation in the aftermath of the end of the Cold War are analysed, and François contextualises the internal structures of the RAF and the wider actions of the German leftist movements. The book also examines the group’s international connections, their relationship with Palestinian militancy and their attempts at forging a pan-European guerrilla network, the ‘Euro-terrorism’ of the 1980s.

The paradox of the RAF is that as the world order changed around them, they finally realised the potency and elusiveness mix they had always dreamed of. The story ends with the group still able to demonstrate its continuing ability to strike high-profile targets, leaving assassinations unresolved and members still at large, even as its political isolation deepened.

Drawing upon contemporary accounts, historical research, and considerable documentary evidence, Red Army Faction Volume 2: The Height and Twilight of the German Guerrilla, 1977–1998 provides a detailed examination of nearly two decades of revolutionary violence and counter-terrorism. Richly illustrated with contemporary photographs, detailed maps and specially-commissioned colour artwork, it offers an authoritative account of both the RAF and the security forces confronting it. Together with the first volume, it provides a comprehensive history of one of Europe’s most notorious terrorist organisations and its enduring impact on German society.