Kekkonen
02-18-2006, 12:26 AM
"Kommando Holger Meins" was a six man team which was part of RAF, and consisted of; Karl-Heinz Dellwo, Hanna Krabbe, Siegfried Hausner, Bernhard Rössener, Lutz Taufer and Ulrich Wessel.
During the years of terror in West Germany, 1968-1977, close to a hundred Germans became active left-wing terrorists, joining one of three terrorist groups: the Red Army Faction (RAF), Movement 2 June, and the Revolutionary Cells (RZ). Of the three, the Red Army Faction was the most well-known (often called "The Baader-Meinhof Gang"), though the Movement 2 June as well as the Revolutionary Cells probably committed as many terrorist acts. A precursor group, Tupamaros West Berlin, existed for only a year or so, before many of it's members formed the Movement 2 June. Other groups, such as the Ruhr Red Army, and Tupamaros Munich, predated the Baader-Meinhof Gang, but their activities were quite limited and don't warrant inclusion in this discussion. Many former members of a group of psychiatric patients called the Socialist Patient's Collective (SPK) joined up with the Red Army Faction in the mid-1970s, revitalizing that group.
http://www.baader-meinhof.com/images/mughausner.gif
Siegfried Hausner (SKP)
http://www.baader-meinhof.com/images/mugtaufer.gif
Lutz Taufer (SKP)
http://www.baader-meinhof.com/images/mugkrabbehanne.gif
Hanna Krabbe (SKP)
http://www.baader-meinhof.com/images/mugdellwo.gif
Karl-Heinz Dellwo (SKP)
The occupation
At about 12:00 on Thursday, 24th April 1975 the West German embassy in Stockholm was occupied by six members of Kommando Holger Meins (RAF) that were armed with firearms and handgrenades, they took twelve people hostage, including the ambassador Dietrich Stoecker. To show that they ment business Karl-Heinz Dellwo executed the embassy's military attache Colonel Andreas von Mirbach.
http://img343.imageshack.us/img343/2537/poliser1xp.jpg
Swedish police arriving at the scene. The bad equipment and lack of training
was the reason to why the Swedish police didn't storm the building after
the first hostage had been executed.
Their demand was that 26 named "political prisoners" in West Germany should be freed. They also demanded a Boeing 707 with a three man crew that would fly them where ever they wished after the prisoners had been released. But the West German government, with chancellor Helmut Schmidt refused.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39148000/jpg/_39148691_raspebaader_ap_238.jpg
Gudrun Ensslin and Andreas Baader, two of the
founders of RAF, that was on the list that Kommando
Holger Meins wanted released.
After the West German government had refused, Karl-Heinz Dellwo executed another of the hostages, economics attaché Heinz Hallagaart, and threatened that he would execute one more each hour until their demands would be met.
At 23.47 the same day, after about 12 hours the occupation came to an end when a handgrenade detonated, which set fire to the embassy building. Most likely it was an unintentional detonation that was set off by one of the occupants, Wessel that was found dead on the third floor with shrapnel on his head and body. The others were stunned, some of them became unconcious. The police moved in directly after the explosion and could arrest the occupants of Kommando Holger Meins, and free the hostage.
http://svt.se/content/1/c6/45/65/24/fargtopp_461_300.jpg
The embassy burning.
The aftermath
Four of the five Baader-Meinhof members were immediately deported back to West Germany with support in terror laws, because the Swedish politicians wanted to get rid of them fast. Thus the police never really got any chance to evaluate the situation properly, since the hostage takers left the country. The fifth, Hausner, was badly injured and taken to hospital, the Swedish government decided that the national security would go before the health of this individual and also he was deported to Germany despite protests from Swedish doctors, he died soon after arriving to Germany. The German ambassador and the remaining nine hostages escaped from the embassy, most with only light injuries.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/sv/7/7e/Hanns_Martin_Schleyer_in_captivity.jpg
"Kommando Siegfried Hausner", named after the
same Hausner took in 1976 Hanns Martin Schleyer
hostage, and executed him.
The trial of the 26 Baader-Meinhof prisoners began in 1976 and lasted almost two years in all, the longest and most expensive trial in West German history. Three of the four main defendants were sentenced to life imprisonment. The fourth, Ulrike Meinhof, committed suicide in prison during the trial. The other three hardliners also committed suicide in 1977, bringing to an end the "German Autumn", in which the country was gripped by a series of terrorist attacks.
The Baader-Meinhof gang continued to be active until the early 1990s, when it was finally disbanded.
[edit]Dellwo, that executed two of the hostages was released from prison 1995.
During the years of terror in West Germany, 1968-1977, close to a hundred Germans became active left-wing terrorists, joining one of three terrorist groups: the Red Army Faction (RAF), Movement 2 June, and the Revolutionary Cells (RZ). Of the three, the Red Army Faction was the most well-known (often called "The Baader-Meinhof Gang"), though the Movement 2 June as well as the Revolutionary Cells probably committed as many terrorist acts. A precursor group, Tupamaros West Berlin, existed for only a year or so, before many of it's members formed the Movement 2 June. Other groups, such as the Ruhr Red Army, and Tupamaros Munich, predated the Baader-Meinhof Gang, but their activities were quite limited and don't warrant inclusion in this discussion. Many former members of a group of psychiatric patients called the Socialist Patient's Collective (SPK) joined up with the Red Army Faction in the mid-1970s, revitalizing that group.
http://www.baader-meinhof.com/images/mughausner.gif
Siegfried Hausner (SKP)
http://www.baader-meinhof.com/images/mugtaufer.gif
Lutz Taufer (SKP)
http://www.baader-meinhof.com/images/mugkrabbehanne.gif
Hanna Krabbe (SKP)
http://www.baader-meinhof.com/images/mugdellwo.gif
Karl-Heinz Dellwo (SKP)
The occupation
At about 12:00 on Thursday, 24th April 1975 the West German embassy in Stockholm was occupied by six members of Kommando Holger Meins (RAF) that were armed with firearms and handgrenades, they took twelve people hostage, including the ambassador Dietrich Stoecker. To show that they ment business Karl-Heinz Dellwo executed the embassy's military attache Colonel Andreas von Mirbach.
http://img343.imageshack.us/img343/2537/poliser1xp.jpg
Swedish police arriving at the scene. The bad equipment and lack of training
was the reason to why the Swedish police didn't storm the building after
the first hostage had been executed.
Their demand was that 26 named "political prisoners" in West Germany should be freed. They also demanded a Boeing 707 with a three man crew that would fly them where ever they wished after the prisoners had been released. But the West German government, with chancellor Helmut Schmidt refused.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39148000/jpg/_39148691_raspebaader_ap_238.jpg
Gudrun Ensslin and Andreas Baader, two of the
founders of RAF, that was on the list that Kommando
Holger Meins wanted released.
After the West German government had refused, Karl-Heinz Dellwo executed another of the hostages, economics attaché Heinz Hallagaart, and threatened that he would execute one more each hour until their demands would be met.
At 23.47 the same day, after about 12 hours the occupation came to an end when a handgrenade detonated, which set fire to the embassy building. Most likely it was an unintentional detonation that was set off by one of the occupants, Wessel that was found dead on the third floor with shrapnel on his head and body. The others were stunned, some of them became unconcious. The police moved in directly after the explosion and could arrest the occupants of Kommando Holger Meins, and free the hostage.
http://svt.se/content/1/c6/45/65/24/fargtopp_461_300.jpg
The embassy burning.
The aftermath
Four of the five Baader-Meinhof members were immediately deported back to West Germany with support in terror laws, because the Swedish politicians wanted to get rid of them fast. Thus the police never really got any chance to evaluate the situation properly, since the hostage takers left the country. The fifth, Hausner, was badly injured and taken to hospital, the Swedish government decided that the national security would go before the health of this individual and also he was deported to Germany despite protests from Swedish doctors, he died soon after arriving to Germany. The German ambassador and the remaining nine hostages escaped from the embassy, most with only light injuries.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/sv/7/7e/Hanns_Martin_Schleyer_in_captivity.jpg
"Kommando Siegfried Hausner", named after the
same Hausner took in 1976 Hanns Martin Schleyer
hostage, and executed him.
The trial of the 26 Baader-Meinhof prisoners began in 1976 and lasted almost two years in all, the longest and most expensive trial in West German history. Three of the four main defendants were sentenced to life imprisonment. The fourth, Ulrike Meinhof, committed suicide in prison during the trial. The other three hardliners also committed suicide in 1977, bringing to an end the "German Autumn", in which the country was gripped by a series of terrorist attacks.
The Baader-Meinhof gang continued to be active until the early 1990s, when it was finally disbanded.
[edit]Dellwo, that executed two of the hostages was released from prison 1995.