Research on RAF

Research the "Rote Armee Fraktion" RAF and provide a second post with your findings of

- the causes

- the three generations of activists

- the end of the RAF

- the similarities between current day's terro attacks and the RAF (similarities and differences)

• The causes:

Red Army Faction was founded in 1970. The group pledged allegiance to communist ideals against capitalist status quo. Baader and other three members set bombs in two department stores in Frankfurt intending to protest the Vietnam War in 1968. Their aim was to escalate the conflict between the state and its opposition, trying to conduct revolutionary across West Germany and Europe.

• The three generations of activist:

There were three generations through 1970 to 1998. The first generation was led by Andreas Baader and Ulrike Meinhof. Later during the 1970s, the RAF was reorganized on the basis of guerrilla, resistance and anti-Imperialist Front. RAF operations were conducted and carried out by RAF commandos. From the 80s to 90s, they were reorganized to their third generation.

• The end of RAF:

On 20 April 1998, RAF sent a typewritten letter and announced that the group RAF had dissolved.

• Similarities:

1. Both use weapons and make lots of attacks
2. Both are very extreme
3. Both make bad impact on society and people
4. Both are well-organized and under leadership
5. Both are not approved by society

• Differences:

1. Terrorists group today killed much more than RAF
2. They have different objectives and goals
3. The causes of their organizations are different
4. RAF did attacks mostly in Germany.
5. RAF was dissolved but some of today’s terrorist groups were not.

Cited:
http://terrorism.about.com/od/groupsleader1/p/RedArmyFaction.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rote_Armee_Fraktion#Background

Response to Baader-Meinhof Complex

1. My personal response to this movie

Truly, I didn’t know this part of Germany history at all without getting access to this movie. Before watching this, I did a research online to know what basically the movie was about and downloaded on my own laptop so that I was able to have a Chinese subtitle for better understanding. This movie is telling us the early years of RAF. I can see how much effort the filmaker put on the representation of what really happened.

The beginning scene really confused me a little. It opens with a relaxing image of a happy family playing on a beach. Then, everything starts to become serious and bloody. I was angry about the scene that the police beat unarmed demonstrators who were protesting. The filmmaker has an obvious and clear mind in layout the whole story line. Later, it shocked me while the RAF members started to take actions on those innocent people. They strongly consider that they can change everything by doing their attacks. Then, horrible attacks start to display. They robbed bank, made bomb attacks, damage department stores and so on. It shows fully how brutal and bloodthirsty the RAF’s actions were during that time.

When they were arrested, their next generation members appear and make the whole situation worse. The attacks and kidnaps make more people injured and death. In my own opinion, they have no sense of responsibility to the society and those victims.

The movie ends with the leaders’ suicides in jail. They finally received the punishment they deserved –death. On the other hand, I found out that the German state also ran on the wrong track sometimes. Both sides of RAF and government need go back to find out where they need revise and improvement. Anyway, this movie is super impressive and strong to tell us what was happening on the later 20 century in Germany.