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Red Army Faction's Legacy: Deaths Reshape West German Left

2/3/2026

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Summary

Story summary

The Red Army Faction (R.A.F.) emerged from the West German student protest movement.
Gudrun Ensslin (R.A.F. member) and Andreas Baader (R.A.F. member) engaged in early bombings.
They were imprisoned.
In 1970, they trained with Palestinian fedayeen in Jordan.
Their deaths in 1977, officially ruled suicides, deeply affected the West German left, including filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder.

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Story summary

The Red Army Faction (R.A.F.) emerged from the West German student protest movement.
Gudrun Ensslin (R.A.F. member) and Andreas Baader (R.A.F. member) engaged in early bombings.
They were imprisoned.
In 1970, they trained with Palestinian fedayeen in Jordan.
Their deaths in 1977, officially ruled suicides, deeply affected the West German left, including filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder.