The Federal Republic of Germany and left wing terrorism

Abstract

From the late 1960s through the 1990s, West Germany confronted a domestic and international terrorist threat of considerable proportions; a threat that was unimaginable to many and a threat that caused considerable tribulations throughout the nation. This thesis analyzes how the transformation of radical student groups led to the ensuing left wing terrorism that arose within the fledgling democracy of the Bonn Republic, and the means by which the national government sought to suppress it. The thesis examines the evolution of official policy toward the terrorists and their supporting network as well as the sometimes highly critical public reaction that these efforts inspired. It also considers the adaptations and reactions of the terrorists to official measures taken against them by the state. The thesis concludes by considering alternative measures, offer recommendations, and suggestions that might have better served the German government during its thirty-year ordeal against the Red Army Faction, June 2 Movement, and other left wing terrorists.