University of Warwick institutional repository: http://go.warwick.ac.uk/wrap A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of Warwick http://go.warwick.ac.uk/wrap/57447 This thesis is made available online and is protected by original copyright. Please scroll down to view the document itself. Please refer to the repository record for this item for information to help you to cite it. Our policy information is available from the repository home page. Sisters in Arms? Female Participation in Leftist Political Violence in the Federal Republic of Germany Since 1970 by Katharina Karcher A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Warwick, Department of German Studies February 2013 Contents List of Figures 4 Abbreviations 5 Acknowledgements 6 Abstract 7 Declaration 8 Introduction 9 1. Situating the Subject – The Historical, Political, Theoretical and Methodological Background of this Study 22 1.1. Historical and Political Context 22 1.1.1. The Protest and Student Movement in West Germany 22 1.1.2. The New Women’s Movement 34 1.2. The Armed Struggle of the RAF, MJ2, RC and RZ – a Brief Overview 47 1.3. Theoretical Background 59 1.3.1. Terrorism and Political Violence 59 1.3.2. Previous Scholarship on Women’s Involvement in Political Violence 66 1.4. Methodological Framework 76 1.4.1. The Vital Critique of New Feminist Materialisms 76 1.4.2. The Untapped Potential of Theories of Sexual Difference 81 1.4.3. British Cultural Studies – Exploring the Materiality of (Militant) Subcultures 87 1.4.4. Research Methods 91 2. The Red Army Faction 99 2.1 Introduction 99 2.2 Existing Literature and Data Collection 104 2.3 History 110 2.4 Ideology 114 2.5 Activities 123 2.6 Case Study: The Liberation of Andreas Baader in May 1970 128 2.6.1 The Context 128 2.6.2 The Attack 133 2.6.3 Public Responses 138 2.6.4 The First Trial Against Members of the RAF 144 2.6.5 Discussion: A Tactical Use of Femininity as Camouflage 149 1 3 The Movement of June Second 157 3.1 Introduction 157 3.2 Existing Literature and Data Collection 159 3.3 History 161 3.3.1 The Subcultural Background of the MJ2 161 3.3.2 First Forms of Organised Political Militancy 171 3.3.3 Formation and Disintegration of the MJ2 177 3.4 Ideology 181 3.5 Activities 187 3.6 Case Study: The Abduction of Peter Lorenz in February 1975 191 3.6.1 The Context 191 3.6.2 The Attack 195 3.6.3 Public Responses 209 3.6.4 Discussion: Doing and Undoing Gender Underground 212 4 The Revolutionary Cells 219 4.1 Introduction 219 4.2 Existing Literature and Data Collection 221 4.3 History 226 4.3.1 The Formation of the First Revolutionary Cell 226 4.3.2 From One to Many Revolutionary Cells 233 4.3.3 The Separation From the ‘International’ Cell 237 4.3.4 Feminism in the RC 240 4.4 Ideology 245 4.5 Activities 251 4.6 Case Study: The Bombing at the Federal Court of Justice in March 1975 260 4.6.1 The Context 260 4.6.2 The Attack 267 4.6.3 Public Responses 272 4.6.4 Discussion: A Struggle on Two Fronts 277 5 The Red Zora 283 5.1 Introduction 283 5.2 Data Collection: Green Tea with the Red Zora 284 5.3 History 292 5.3.1 Militant Feminist Group in the RC (1977 – 1984) 292 5.3.2 Independent Women’s Guerrilla (1984 – 1995) 299 5.4 Ideology 304 5.5 Activities 314 2 5.6 Case Study: The Arson Attacks against the Clothing Chain ‘Adler’ in August 1987 321 5.6.1 The Context 321 5.6.2 The Attack 329 5.6.3 Public Responses 337 5.6.4 Discussion: Reflective and Proactive Solidarity 344 Conclusion 352 Appendix 361 Bibliography 365 3 List of Figures Image 1 Flyer by a Women’s Group in the SDS 39 Table 1 Attacks by Militant Leftist Groups in the 52 FRG 1968-80 Image 2 Wanted Poster Ulrike Meinhof 101 Image 3 Wanted Poster RAF 101 Image 4 The RAF ‘Baby’ Bomb 126 Image 5 Police Handouts on Ulrike Meinhof 1972 137 Image 6 Photograph Consfiscated during 137 Ulrike Meinhof’s arrest Image s 7 Police Photographs of Masks 200 and 8 Image 9 Election Poster with Picture of Peter Lorenz 202 Image 10 The Hostage Peter Lorenz 202 Image 11 The bombing at the Israeli Transport Office 254 Image 12 Basic Incendiary Device Used in RC Attack 258 Image 13 The Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe 266 Image 14 Alarm Clock Used for Bomb by the Red Zora 287 Image 15 Claim of Responsibility by the Red Zora 294 Image 16 EMMA: ‘Clandestine Joy’ 316 Image 17 Attacked Adler Stores 331 4 Abbreviations APO Außerparlamentarische Opposition [Extraparliamentary Opposition] BAK Bundesarchiv Koblenz [The Federal Archives, Koblenz] CCCS Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies CDU Christdemokratische Union Deutschlands [Christian Democratic Union of Germany] DM Deutschmark FDP Freie Demokratische Partei Deutschlands [Free Democratic Party Germany] FFBIZ Frauenforschungs-, -bildungs- und -informationszentrum e.V. [Women’s Research and Education Centry] FMT Frauenmediaturm [Women’s media tower] FRG Federal Republic of Germany GDR German Democratic Republic HIS Hamburger Institut für Sozialgeschichte [Hamburg Institute for Social Research] IISH International Institute of Social History ITT International Telephone & Telegraph K1/K2 Kommune 1 und 2 [Commune No 1 and 2] MJ2 Movement of June Second [Bewegung 2. Juni] NGO Non-governmental organisation OPEC Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries PFLP Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine RAF Red Army Faction [Rote Armee Fraktion] RC Revolutionary Cells [Revolutionäre Zellen] RZ Red Zora [Rote Zora] SDS Sozialistischer Studentenbund [Socialist German Student League] SPD Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands [Social Democratic Party of Germany] taz Die Tageszeitung TdF Terre des Femmes TW Tupamaros Westberlin WoRC Women of the Revolutionary Cell WWII World War II 5 Acknowledgements It is almost impossible to mention all people by name who have helped me to develop and to complete this research project. First of all, I want to thank my interviewees. Without their input, patience, and active support, it would not have been possible to realise this project. In particular Adrienne Gerhäuser’s passion and ideas were of vital importance to this investigation. Staff and volunteers at the Federal Archives in Koblenz, the Papiertiger Archive in Berlin, the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam, and the Frauenmediaturm in Cologne have done more to help me than I could have expected. Many thanks go to Tobias who saved me from an awful experience at the Stasi-archive. I am deeply indebted to my family and friends who were patient and supportive throughout this research project. This thesis is dedicated to the women in my family. Those alive have all encouraged me to pursue this study, those long dead and new born were an inspiration. Thanks to Guy, and to Beth, Dasi and Dave at the Coventry Peace House, who are an ongoing source of support and who keep me sane. Thanks to the inspiring teachers at the Graduate Gender Programme in Utrecht, who helped me to come up with the initial plan for this research project. Many people at Warwick have helped me with this thesis. I am particularly grateful to my personal tutor Helmut Schmitz and to my supervisors Christine Achinger and Miranda Alison. Christine and Miranda have helped with constructive criticism and constant encouragement literally until the last minute. A big thank you to Adda, James, Liz, Maria and Virginia for their useful feedback on different drafts of different chapters. Finally, thanks to Dariush, who made all of this possible. 6 Abstract This dissertation offers a qualitative study of female participation in leftist political violence in the Federal Republic of Germany since 1970. It focuses on four militant leftist groups: the ‘Red Army Faction’ (RAF), the ‘Movement of June 2’ (MJ2), the ‘Revolutionary Cells’ (RC), and the ‘Red Zora’ (RZ). Unlike the RAF, the MJ2 has attracted little attention by scholars and journalists; and there is virtually no literature on the RC and the RZ. To offer a nuanced analysis of the history, ideologies and activities of the four groups, this thesis draws on semi-structured interviews with former group members and contemporary witnesses, autobiographical accounts, scholarly literature, newspaper articles, and a range of archival sources. The guiding questions for the analysis are: what roles have women played in the four organisations and in concrete manifestations of political violence? And, to what extent could female participation in political violence be understood as a form of feminist militancy? To answer these questions, this study combines theories and methods from new feminist materialisms, philosophies of sexual difference, gender theory and Cultural Studies. It finds that whilst opposing the existing gender regime, women in the RAF and MJ2 effectively used femininity as camouflage to carry out violent attacks. Neither groups had a feminist agenda. The RZ and some of the women in the RC, by contrast, took up central themes in the women’s movement. This thesis argues that their activities evolved into a form of feminist militancy. Beyond the specific context of research on political violence in Germany, this study makes a more general contribution to scholarship on female participation in armed conflicts, as it works towards a methodological and conceptual approach that accounts for the material-discursive nature of political violence, and for situational dynamics and gendered performances during concrete attacks.