Germany
17 October 1977
Night of 17 into 18 October: Suicide of RAF terrorists Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin and Jan-Carl Raspe in the Stuttgart-Stammheim jail
The “Red Army Faction” (RAF) forms out of the APO movement. Corrupt German traditions from left and right wing politics combine in the RAF: radical idealism, socialist anti-capitalism connected with anti-Judaism, great readiness to use violence, and authoritarian leadership principles. Using kidnappings and political assassinations, RAF terrorists want to overthrow what they call the “system of pigs”. The suicide of the “first generation” of RAF terrorists marks the end of the “German Autumn”.