Andreas Baader

Andreas Baader (May 6, 1943 - October 18, 1977) was the first leader of the German revolutionary organization Red Army Faction, commonly known as the Baader-Meinhof gang. A high school dropout and petty criminal before his RAF involvement, he was one of the few members of the movement who did not attend a university.

Related Topics:
May 6 - 1943 - October 18 - 1977 - German - Revolutionary - Red Army Faction - Dropout

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In 1968, Baader and his girlfriend Gudrun Ensslin were convicted of the arson bombing of a department store in Frankfurt, Germany. Two years later he escaped from custody, aided by journalist Ulrike Meinhof, giving rise to the term Baader-Meinhof Group.

Related Topics:
1968 - Gudrun Ensslin - Frankfurt, Germany - Ulrike Meinhof

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From 1970 to 1972, Baader robbed banks and bombed buildings. His lifestyle and that of other members of the gang involved opulence, glamorous apartments, sports cars, and weekends in Paris in 5-star hotels. Characteristics of the lifestyle led Baader, Meinhof and other gang members to be expelled from a Fedayeen training camp in Jordan in 1970.

Related Topics:
1970 - 1972 - Fedayeen - Jordan

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On June 1, 1972, he and fellow RAF members Jan-Carl Raspe and Holger Meins were apprehended in a lengthy shootout in Frankfurt.

Related Topics:
June 1 - 1972 - Jan-Carl Raspe - Holger Meins

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Baader was then convicted in what was the longest and most expensive trial in German history.

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To pressure German authorities into releasing Baader and other imprisoned members, on September 5, 1977, the RAF abducted then German employers' association president and former SS officer Hanns Martin Schleyer. When the authorities refused to comply with their demands, the RAF tried to exert additional pressure by hijacking the Lufthansa plane Landshut. On October 18 1977, the day after the GSG 9 raided Landshut in Mogadishu, Somalia, and ended the hijacking, Andreas Baader died in his prison cell from a gunshot wound. The same day, Gudrun Ensslin and Jan-Carl Raspe were also found dead in their prison cells at Stammheim. RAF member Irmgard Möller was found wounded in her cell after supposedly stabbing herself in the chest, but survived. Though all official inquiries on the matter concluded that Baader and his two accomplices committed suicide, sympathizers and Irmgard Möller persist that the deaths had been extrajudicial executions.

Related Topics:
September 5 - 1977 - SS - Hanns Martin Schleyer - Lufthansa - Landshut - October 18 - GSG 9 - Mogadishu - Somalia - Jan-Carl Raspe - Irmgard Möller - Extrajudicial executions

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In 2002, director Christopher Roth released a film about Baader titled Baader.

Related Topics:
2002 - Christopher Roth - Baader

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