Red Army Faction

Quick Facts: Who was Red Army Faction?

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Red Army Faction

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West German far-left militant group active from 1970 to 1998, known for armed resistance.

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2Day Chrono-Wiki & Primary Historical Archives

Origins & Early Life

The Red Army Faction (German: Rote Armee Fraktion, pronounced [ˌʁoːtə ʔaʁˈmeː fʁakˌtsi̯oːn] ; RAF [ˌɛʁʔaːˈʔɛf] ), also known as the Baader–Meinhof Group or Baader–Meinhof Gang (German: Baader-Meinhof-Gruppe / Baader-Meinhof-Bande [ˈbaːdɐ ˈmaɪnhɔf ˈɡʁʊpə] ), was a West German far-left militant group founded in 1970, active until 1998, and formally designated a terrorist organisation by the West German government. The RAF described itself as a communist and anti-imperialist urban guerrilla group. It was engaged in armed resistance against what it considered a fascist state. Members of the RAF generally used the Marxist–Leninist term "faction" when they wrote in English. Early leadership included Andreas Baader, Ulrike Meinhof, Gudrun Ensslin, and Horst Mahler.

Career & Major Achievements

The RAF engaged in a series of bombings, assassinations, kidnappings, bank robberies, and shootouts with police over the course of three decades, which was known as the RAF terrorism. Its activities peaked in late 1977, which led to a national crisis that became known as the "German Autumn". The RAF has been held responsible for 34 deaths, including industrialist and former SS officer Hanns Martin Schleyer, Dresdner Bank head Jürgen Ponto, federal prosecutor Siegfried Buback, police officers, American servicemen stationed in Germany, as well as many cases of collateral damage, such as chauffeurs and bodyguards, with many others injured throughout its almost thirty years of activity; 26 RAF members or supporters were killed. Although better-known, the RAF conducted fewer attacks than the Revolutionary Cells, which is held responsible for 296 bomb attacks, arson and other attacks between 1973 and 1995. The group was motivated by leftist political concerns and the perceived failure of their parents' generation to confront Germany's Nazi past, and in later years some ex-members received support from Stasi and other Eastern Bloc security services.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

Sometimes, the group is talked about in terms of generations: the "first generation", which consisted of Baader, Ensslin, Meinhof and others; the "second generation", after the majority of the first generation was arrested in 1972. the "third generation", which existed in the 1980s and 1990s up to 1998, after the first generation died in Stammheim maximum security prison in 1977 On 20 April 1998, an eight-page typewritten letter in German was faxed to the Reuters news agency, signed "RAF" with the submachine-gun red star, declaring that the group had dissolved. In 1999, after a robbery in Duisburg, evidence pointing to Ernst-Volker Staub and Daniela Klette was found, causing an official investigation into a re-founding. The usual translation into English is the "Red Army Faction"; however, the founders wanted it to reflect not a splinter group but rather an embryonic militant unit that was embedded, in or part of, a wider communist workers' movement, i.e., a fraction of a whole. The group always called itself the Rote Armee Fraktion, never the Baader–Meinhof Group or Baader–Meinhof Gang.

Chronological Milestones & Life Events

1. 1970: 1970 Milestone — The Red Army Faction (German: Rote Armee Fraktion, pronounced [ˌʁoːtə ʔaʁˈmeː fʁakˌtsi̯oːn] ; RAF [ˌɛʁʔaːˈʔɛf] ), also known as the Baader–Meinhof Group or Baader–Meinhof Gang (German: Baader-Meinhof-Gruppe / Baader-Meinhof-Bande [ˈbaːdɐ ˈmaɪnhɔf ˈɡʁʊpə] ), was a West German far-left militant group founded in 1970, active until 1998, and formally designated a terrorist organisation by the West German government.
2. 1972: 1972 Milestone — Sometimes, the group is talked about in terms of generations: the "first generation", which consisted of Baader, Ensslin, Meinhof and others; the "second generation", after the majority of the first generation was arrested in 1972.
3. 1973: 1973 Milestone — Although better-known, the RAF conducted fewer attacks than the Revolutionary Cells, which is held responsible for 296 bomb attacks, arson and other attacks between 1973 and 1995.
4. 1977: 1977 Milestone — Its activities peaked in late 1977, which led to a national crisis that became known as the "German Autumn".
5. 1998: 1998 Milestone — the "third generation", which existed in the 1980s and 1990s up to 1998, after the first generation died in Stammheim maximum security prison in 1977 On 20 April 1998, an eight-page typewritten letter in German was faxed to the Reuters news agency, signed "RAF" with the submachine-gun red star, declaring that the group had dissolved.
6. 1999: 1999 Milestone — In 1999, after a robbery in Duisburg, evidence pointing to Ernst-Volker Staub and Daniela Klette was found, causing an official investigation into a re-founding.

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: Red Army Faction

True or False: “The Red Army Faction always referred to itself by the media-coined name 'Baader–Meinhof Group'.”

Answer (FALSE ❌): The group consistently insisted on using its own designation, Rote Armee Fraktion, viewing themselves as a fraction of a wider movement rather than being defined by two figures.

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