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Andreas Baader, born Munich, 1943
Father: historian. Presumed dead in war
Brought up by mother and grandmother
Abandoned art school in Munich
From 1963 lives in Berlin
Set fire to Frankfurt store in 1968
Escaped from jail 1970
Re-arrested 1972 in Frankfurt
Gudrun Ensslin, born 1940
Daughter of a Protestant clergyman
Secondary School exchange pupil in USA
Studiend German, English, Greek, philosophy in Tubingen, then Berlin
State grant for exceptional ability
Mother of one child
Set fire to Frankfurt store in 1968 with Andreas Baader
Arrested in 1972 in Hamburg
Ulrike Marie Meinhof, born 1934
Father: historian. Mother: leacher
Parents died young. Briught up by foster-mother
Studied pedagogy
State grant for exceplional ability
Edintor og journal 'Konkret'. Radio and TV journalist
Mother of two children
Met Baader and Ensslin during aeson trial
Involved in freeing Baader 1970
Arrested 1972 in Hanover
Jan-Carl Raspe, born 1944
Father: businessman- died young. Grew up East Berlin
Studied chemistry, then sociology in West Berlin. First class degree
Member of German Socialist Students' Association
Member of Red Army Faction from 1970
Arrested 1972 in Frankfurt
STAMMHEIM
The Trial of the Baader-Meinhof Group
Original Music by Marcel Wengler
producers: Ju"rgen Flimm end Eberhard Junkersdorf
Director: Reinhard Hauff
The Baader-Meinhol trial began on May 21st, 1975, in Stuttgart-Stammheim
It lasted over 2 years. The coirt sat on 192 days
The action and dialogue are based on authentic documents and events
Andreas Bernd Baader, unemployed
Gudrun Ensslin, student
Ulrike Marie Meinhof, journalist
Jan- Carl Stefon Raspe, sociolodist
You are accused jointly in 9 independent actions..
...of killind 4 persons by means constituting a public menace...
...and of attempting to kill 54 other persons...
...and of causing explosions...
...which endangered the lives and property of other persons...
...and of forming an organization...
...the aim of which was to perpetrate criminal acts
Even after their arrest...
...the accusted stuck to their goals
I do not, as yet, have a defence counsel
We do not accept the legalistic packaging of this event
Defence is impossible when laws are constantly being changed
We insist, however, on a legal platform....
...to demonstrate the collapse of the bourgeois state's odeological arguments...
...and to explain revolutionary politics
You are free to call any lawyer you trist
Not easy to find one who can stand the persecution of the State
For 3 years the prosecution has vetted the defence's every word...
...search low prastices, confiscating mail...
...and bugging lawyers' cell visits
We don't accept the Laws of the bourgeois state
Bud if you kick them around, what then?
The Public Prosecutor barred 3 defence counsel...
...less than 30 days before the trial began
This smashed the defence
Herr Baader is adequately defended...
...by 2 state-appointed counsel
Those lawyers were forced uron me
They've never even spoken to me
Someone's written ''Off with his head''
Someone's written ''Off with his head'' on my microphone
That's too deep for me
Yes, counse!
These remarks compel me to state the following...
Don't speak for me!
I'm not speaking to Frau Ensslin
Shut your trap!
It's not your turn to speak
That creep should shut up!
- Frau Ensslin! - Stop babbling on!
I'm not babbling. Just listen
You are incompetent!
Just a minute. Calm down!
You may not leave
Please sit down
Do you refuse thet too?
There's no rule saying they must sit
Oh yes, there is
In the interests of sedurity. the accised must be seated
Resume your seats
We shall of course not sit. The choice is yours
Either the compulsory squad shuts up ot we force you to remove us
All right. Remain standing for now
I understand them not wanting...
...a court- appointed defence, but...
Dommint! Get us out of here!
If they speak, we disrupt proceedings
I suggest you bur us from the court at such times....
...to avoid these idioric scenes
Make the pigs shut their snouts
Whom d'you mean?
It's them or us!
If the court-appointed defence speaks...
...you'll continue to obstruct?
The accused have no confidence it them.
They also call them who should keep their ''snouts'' shut
That's exactly the tone they adopt for their own counsel out of court
In writing they have repeatedly called them pigs, arseholes...
...idiots, screwed-up people, etc. ...
Their lawysrs may accept it but not a state defence
If clients call us arseholes, idiots, and we say similar things to them...
...that is between the client and ourselves
These points may seem absurd, bud they show this is a political trial
It is laudable that these counsel....
...are prepared ti defend the accused depsite the abuse they receive
I abserve that one of these ''laudable counsel'' gas fallen asleep
- Are you sure? - Yes, first on the left
No expresson of mirth from the public, please
Yes, Herr Baader
You are staging a trial with psychogically broken prisoners
That's why we insist on our own defence
Even though it won't change the outcome
Jidges sometimes turn down promotion to avoid cases like this
Can you stay the course?
I hope so. Time will tell
Is it a political or sriminal trial? How long will it last?
For us ot's a normal sriminal case...
...althiugs we can't deny political motives will play a certain role
I connot assess how long it will take
We shall conduct it az concisely az possible
But that does not depend ot the doodwill ot the court alone
The other parties must also be willing to co-operate
I request a 10-day adjournment...
...to prepare the case and study the material
We'll decide that later
I don't even have the papers,
Get them from your barred colleagues
We have no spare copies here
I'm sure his colleagues will help
Can you credit it?
In this trial, millions have been spent on security
Yet the court balks at providing my colleague with document
For reasons of cost?
You cannot be taken seriously
Yesterday a prison officer handed me an anonymous letter
It urget me to use this
It got past your censor
I ordered the letter delivered; not the noose
Desist from further provocation
I said nothing
Nothing to say, you mean?
It I misunderstood something. I don't need a chorus...
...of 4 defence counsel
If you wish to read the paper, kindly do so outside
4 p.m The accused cannot continue
My learned friend is obstructing
Anjournment refused
I shall retire at 4 p.m.
We cannot force you to stay. The court will proceed till 4.15
The common room tap is broken.
The common room tap is broken.
How can it break when it's never used?
I assume something's being done?
I'll look info it
The accused cannot continue
As far as I'm concerned, the day is over
The feeling my head is exploding
The feeling my marrow is being pressed info my brain
The feeling my brain is shrivelling like a prune
The feeling I'm constantly alive with electricity, as if remote-controlled
The feeling I'm *** out my soul
I wake up, open my eyes. The scell is moving
In the afternoon, when the sub shines, it suddenly stops
Impossible to stop the sensation of movement
Impossible to say if I'm shivering with fever or cold
Raging aggression with no outlet
The worst thing is knowing I have no chance of survival
With expensive nutrients...
...we have done our best to improve the prisoners' health
They were even diven dark glassed when visual disorders arose
Did you know the aim of the hunger strike?
The aim?
I believe the aim was an improvement in prison conditions
Can you be more specific?
Being together
So, the aim was an end to isolation?
Yes, that was why they refused food and drink
If conditions had improved...
...would it have ended earlier?
You mean, would release from prison have reduced donger to life?
You're just repeating the lies...
...propagated by the media...
...that it was to gain their release
We always said the hunger strike would end if isolation ended
You're beind contentious
Yos! Becouse I want the truth
I do too
You said better conditions lead to better health?
And the reverse?
- I don't understand - Is the opposite true?
That severe conditions can ruin a prisoner's health?
Obviously
You've been a prison doctor for 20 years
Have you even seen conditions like those in Stammheim?
No, never
Are they fit?
The accused are fit to stand trial
I declare I'm not fit
I'm in no condition to express clearly the things I wish to say
It's absurd to thing that these past 3 years have not affected us
We want independent medical examination
And a maximum of 3 hours per day in court
Requests denied
I challenge the bias of this court
It repearedly refuses to admit independent doctors
Trey would reveal the use of tortute against political prisoners
The prosecution and intelligence services...
...will only be satisfied when the prisoners are dead
- Like justice in the Third Reich... - That comparison is an insult to this court
Think of the insult your occupying that chair is to us
Challenge dismissed
They always say we're not isolated...
...besause we have larger sells than other prisoners
But the fasts remain
Apart from the hunger strike, we've been in total isolation for 3 years
When we talk to each other through a slit in the door...
...someone stands outside and writes it down
Herr Baader is out of order
To quote a US Supreme Court ruling:
''Disrespect for iou courts of justice must not go unpunished''
''The indefinite disruption of a trial by the accused will not be tolerated''
''It debases our country and our system of justice...
''...if we allow our courts to be tyrannized, insulted, or humiliated''
All present should consider these words
The defence would happily accept US law
This trial would then be invalidated through prejudice...
...as you remarks in court demonstrate
It is not the role of the accused to judge the officers of justice.
You stand accused of multible ***
The prosecution and court are at pains to meaintain...
...the utmist objectivity
This is the first oilitical trial in West Germany since 1945
The authorities cannot see a victim in the object ot their destruction
They see only a foe they want to crush
This shows a basic difference with our struggle
Even in a Fascist, we can see the victim of a system
It's not we who are fanatics, bud the authorities
They never answer our arguments. They are merely folmalistic
State your grounds for rejesting this court
In South Africa, political prisoners...
...are interrodated for 3 months
If they haven't talked by then, it's clear they will die under torture
So they are shot
I'm not saying prisoners are treared more humanely in S. Africa
What I mean is...
... where torture fails as a means of extorting information....
...all thet's left is death
The purpose of detention is the death of the prisoner
No suhe puprose exists in German low. I rule you out of order
Superficial examination by the person doctor...
....connot assess litness to stand trial
We'll resume our defence when evidence is based on fact, not on expedients
The trial will proceed in your absence
We refuse to continue when the accused are not fit
What's the meaning of this?
You should bar us!
Be seated!
Have us removed!
D' you want us to start screaming? Stop your nonsensem, idiot!
Be seated and porticipate in a peaceful fashion
So you refuse ti sit?
So you wabt us to make a farmal protest?
Remove us!
If you continue to disrupt proceedings you'll be parred
Do it, you old fool
Are you all agrees?
Yes... are you deaf?
You refuse to remain?
The public must be seated ot leave the room
The accused have disrupted proceeding and will be barred
The witness may withdraw
We shall move ot to the particulars of the accused
They have to be present. Wring them in again.... one by one
First, Raspe. By force if need be
Prease identify anyone in the public creating a disturbance....
...so appropriate measures may be taken
- Please be seated - No
- The evidence is about your preson - I'm not interested
- Speak about yourself - I've been dragged here
Use the microphone
If you don't bar me. I'll jump...
The accused Raspe is barred
Bring Frau Meinhof in
Be seated
No
Will you use the microphone at least?
I don't want you to hear
I'm not fit to defend myself
A statement about yourself?
Not under these circumstances. I want to leave
- It's your duty to stay - You can't force me, arsehole!
I note the fact you called the judge ''arsehole''
Note it then!
The accused is barred from proceedings
Be seated
No, someone knocked my shair over
Pick the shait up
Please have me barred
It's not a case of what you want.
Tell me some disruptive acts, then
Must I insult you? I don't want to
You force me ti stay?
I have to. I don't want to
Want insults?
I'd rather you didm't utter abuse.
I'll stop your dirty manoeuvre
It's not a dirty manoeuvre. I'm bound by procedural rules
D' you want physical violence?
I want you to sit end take part calmly
It's s dirly manoeuvre, dammmit! Forcing me to insist you bar me
I just want to leave
It's not a case of personal wishes. It's your duty.
Fine. Carry on with this silly procedure. I'll carry on disrupting
You haven't disrupted yet
Have me removed, or I'll have to insult you
Want ot? You can have it in various ways
I don't want it
For instance, you're a Fascist arsehole
Fascist arsehole, eh?
- Remove me. - Me too, you fat pig
I hereby state you're an old Fascist arsehole
Turn his mikrofone olt
We're not in a fit state to defend ourselves. Pig!
You have disrupted proceedings and called me ''pig''. Is that correct?
And Herr Baader said ''Fascist arsehole''
- You may speak about your person - Dirty rat!
Remove the accused!
The court will retire to deliberate
11 o'clock news from Radio Stuttgart
On the 39th day of the Baader-Meinhol trial in Stammheim...
...reports were presented by 3 medical experts
They conclude that the accused...
...are suffering from debilyty, perception and articulation disorders...
...weight loss, low blood pressure, and loss of concentration
In Andreas Baader's case....
...a low heart-rate was diagnosed
And in Frau Meinhol's case, an inability to concentrate
They are fit taje part 3 hours a day
- Hear the radio? - The pigs finally caught on
The trial will proceed without the accused on grounds of...
- Do not interrupt - I wish to speake
No one may speak at present
We have a legal right to be heard
You no longer have the right
I haven't spoken yet, you pig!
I will now give the grounds
This is real brutality
Stick your pig's head up your ***!
Remove Raspe!
Au inbelievably repressive act!
Remove the accused
Request for adjournment refused
After the medical report, you want to bar the accused....
...because they are not fit to take part. It's outrageous!
You will not prevent us stating the grouds for our decision
You merely reveal your manners
Killer! Your purpose as a judge is to thin the ranks
Remove Ensslin!
We shan't forger your role here
Your trial of bent witnesses and false evidence will fail
You can't escape the fact we're not fit, after 3 years of torture
Remove Meinhof!
Imperialist pig!
You won't be forgotten, you swine!
Your time will come
Now you can have your show trial
The accused are considered unfit to take part in the proceedings
An accused person cannot impede a trial...
...by unfitness of his own causing
Try the code for the protection of birds
That is piece of impertinence
So is your handling of this case
The evidence will take a long time
The prosecution has called 997 witnesses and 80 experts
Limiting proceedings to 9 hours per week would make the trial too long
The accused's hunger strike...
...wolfully weakened their health
Shame on you
They may return when fit
Incredible! Incredible!
You destroy the constitutional state
My congratulations!
I was in the officers' mess, US headquarters i Frankfurt
It went dark and we thougt a storm was brewing
Then a flash, and s shattering sound
The roof and everything caved in
I got out
I saw Col. Brooquist lying there
Ne had a lump of glass from the door in his astery
No one came to help. They were afraid other bombs would do off
He lay with his face to the right
To the right?
There was blood.. red blood
Yes, blood is usually red
Were you hurt?
No, I was shaken, that's all
An American officer took me to his flat and tenden me
I worked as an ambulance driver in the US hospital. Heidelberg
I was called to the computer centre at US headquarters
I searched the rubble for survivors
Under a window was a body, still moving
I saw a second body under a Coca Cola machine... just his foot stuck out
We moved the machine bud the man was dead
I then saw an officer whose body was torn apart, only the top falf left
The other bits were scottered in the lime trees nearby
The soles of his feet were still on the ground - not a pretty sight
We took a pillowcase and gathered up the bits of the body
After the second bomb explosion...
... there was an officer who looked like he'd been scalped
We bandaged him and took him to hospital
He called himsels ''Erwin''. Now I know he was Holger Meins
Later he brought Jan-Carl Raspe whom he introduced as ''Lester''
They lolked round my metal workshop
Said they needed props for a film about revolution
They had something like the top of a hand drenade
And asked if I could make a similar one
I made more abjects
Weapons and bombs for the lilm
You're a metal sculptor. Aren't you interesred in films too?
To a certain extent
If you work on a film, don't you ask questions?
What king of film? Who's invoived?
Don't you ever know?
I asked, bud ''Erwin'' was evasive
I became uneasy, and said:
''You're mixed up in something. Count me out, or I'll call the police''
Then ''Erwin'' pulled a gun and said I was in it up to my neck
One day he brought a man I now know is Baader
It was a strange scene
He marched info my workshop
He walked round looking at this and that inspecting everything...
...as if it belonged ti him
You dummy-maker!
One more interruption, Raspe, and you'll be barred.
Later I suppelied more bomb casing
-...I withdrew - Withdrew? That's good
You rattled off your statemrnt...
...like an automatic train...
...as if you knew it by heart
Whu is Flau Meinhof familiar with him?
It's up to the witness...
Your statement doesm't interest much
But are you aware that it will be used...
...to partray Andreas an the mediq as the boss?
The government wants the public to believe...
...trat Andreas is the one they must break and ultimately kill...
...so that the urban guerrilla problem in W. Germany will be solved
Question not valid. Personal opinion
you say you were coerced
The group's relations with sympathizers preclude coercion
Were you forced to work?
Yes, it was like I descrobed. You know very well
Nearer the microphone, please
I won't tolerate all remarks being met with laughter
I fail to see anything funny here
Your statemeat sounds like it's written by someone working for the police
The wording is by the interrogator. The witness says when he disagrees
that's incedible. Not his own words, bud s judge's
Did the interrogating officer promise you a new life in the US?
I lod't think I can answer. for my own safety.
Were you affered...
...financial help, faise documents?
Money wasn't mentioned
I can't say yoe or no to the other question
Was s pardon mentioned?
Or clemency?
They spoke of ''voluntary penitence'', and gave me the law to read
You can't read!
The masks of tiredness. How sick of them I am
How they have nauseared me. Forever and everywhere
Murmuring clergymen, boy scouts, maiden aunts
Scoffing women, youths
Ancient creatures, smothered in make-up
How sick I am of it. Hinger, simple to know
Am I in a film?
Or am I real: fight!
Statements like the last one are always obtained the same way
The techniques used are dependence, exhaustion end fear
The victim becomes totally dependent on his interrogator
The only peson who can help him
The only peson he has contect with
Sometimes the interrogator lends a sympathetic ear
The victim feels indebted to him
Witnesses are not manipulated
Their evidence allords deep insight info the group's hierarchy
The accused still haven't explained it
It would be an act of courage
Does that super-hypocrite expect, after 3 years' isolation...
...that we suddenly confess becouse a phoney witness pops up?
I request Frau Ensslin be parred for abuse
The accused is barred from court until end February 1976
I sipport Gudrun's rejection
It's 4 p.m. Can I give my reasons tomorrow?
No. But you can withdraw. You're not obliged to stay
''Rejection is a farse. This court is here to sray
Bud you...
...pass sentence on yourselves too
***! You take us for fools!
Remove that man.
This is unbelievable
More unbelievable is tour declaration of war against the accused
Bud wars have the Geneva Convention
That protects prisoners against the calculated destruction of their health...
...for which you blame the prisoners themselves
I'm warning you
The High Court found the condetions lawful
The prosoners are dungerous adherents of the Red Army Faction
Ideological justice!
It's absurd to say we wounld disrupt prison order
How? When? Wrere?
How can we disrupt when in 3 years we've never even spoken to anather inmate?
How can a prisoner in isolation reveal to the authorities a change in behaviour?
How?
In a situation in which all expression of life is suppressed
The prisoner in isolation has only one way to express a change of heart
By betrayal
There is no other way
Isolation provide 2 possibilities
Either they force a prisoner to silence
That is, he dies there
Or, he talks
And that is betrayal
That is torture, clear-cut torture
Forcing confessions by means of isolation
Punishing and confusing the prisoner
You are out of order
Next witness!
You occupied a cell next to the witness accused ot making bombs?
Yes, I asked him why he was making a confession.
He said they threatened to charge him with conspiracy to ***
Bud if he gave evidence, they'd help him start a new life in the US
- Why are you in jail? - Politics
We have po political prisoners
What's your offence?
Waging war against capitalist exploitation
By what means?
That's how you coerce your witnesses
Herr Baader is barred from proceedings
You have to reply
I don't
Yes, you do
Ridiculous!
Quiet!
Don't shout!
Stop playing the clown
The consequences for...
Stick your consequences up your ***
Silence! Or I'll clear the court
I sentence you to 3 days punishment
Know what being on oath means?
I don't swear oaths. You believe me or you don't
You refuse to take the oath?
On principle
- There's a 1,000 kark fine -Cash?
According to Clause 61...
...oaths are waived if the accused agree
The accused are not all present
Bring Baader
Can we waive the oath?
Couldn't care less. They're your rules
Yes or no?
This is a farce!
-Do you waive it? Yes or no? - I already did
Frau Ensslin?
Don't give a damn
Of course I waive it
Me too
I also bring a plea to reject this court...
...because of the way you throw Andreas out...
...then bring him in but don't let him speak
- It's grotesque - Witness dismissed
- I wish to speak - Remove the witness!
I wish to state why I am a political prisoner
I'll smash you, you pigs!
Like that sort of thing, don't you?
Do you wish to justify your rejection?
The court knows, because you bug our conversations...
...that we intend to set this case straight politically
This case, the peak of political justice...
...is just plain Fascist
- It's capitalist politics - Out of order!
This scene reveals the total blutality of this machine
I'll read what Ulrike wanred to say bud was not allowed to
To say my strained relations with you...
...come from my lack of remolutionary force...
...was shameful, considering what I'm going through
My Fascist conditioning, through *** and religion...
...caught uo with me becouse L never broke my links wit the ruling class
I crawled to the Red Army Faction as I did to he bourgeoisie
Treting you like cops means having been a pig myself
A hypocritical swine from the ruling classes
We knew the Springer building....
...had been surrounded by students...
...and we'd been prevented from going to work
It was brocked off
We had to put up with their abuse
But putting a bomb there?
No one could've believed that
Were you hurt?
Yes, a bruised shest
And your workmates?
Yes. Broken ribs, cuts, lacerations, impaired hearing...
It,s a wonder no one was killed
You're an editor with Springer Press?
I was in a meeting when it went off
It was one of 5 bombs - not all of them exploded
Most people fled. But journalists are inquisitive
We stood chatting, when suddenly there was a ***, ant it went dark
I looked round at the wounded
I was amazed they'd hit at proofreaders
They are usually left-wing
If they'd hit the computer centre. They'd have damaged Springer more
Terrorism is the destruction of facilities...
...***, reservoirs, hospitals...
...power stations...
All those have been bombed by the US in Vietnam since 1964
Terrorism intimidates the masses. Urban guerrillias only threaten the state
I cannot accept irrelevant arguments
You want to stop us saying anything at all
Frau Meinhof, go on
Urban guerrilla actions are not aimed at the people
They combat the terrorism of the imprerialist state
Enough!
You're a washout
Turn Baader's microphone off
Master of microphones, not of this court
This is not a normal case
It's a clash between the bourgeois capitalist state and its radical opponents
Dr. Horst Herold, President of the Criminal Investigation Bureau, said:
''Is terrorism id Germany and the world the brainchild of a Baader or a Meinhof?
''The sick brain as many see it
''Or does terrorism...
...stem from the economic situation in the Western world?
''Does it merely reflect a problem?
''The crucial question is: who fights terrorism?
''Police or politicians?
''I say this with reluctance
''Bud the tendency is to introduce special international laws''
For 5 years, Herold used us as an excuse to extent his apparatus
He wants international anti-guerrilla laws for his own ends
He says:''I am the man to wage this war
''Give me the apparatus, the money
''And above all, the political power''
Herold advocates the police state- the height of reaction
While our judge here keeps banging away at us
What's the matter with her?
Who are you kidding?
You hate us
There are plenty of signs
It shows in your passivity, withdrawal...
...bad drammar, destructiveness, misunderstanding, etc. ...
I'vi no time for that type of self-criticism
Pull yourself together or go to hell!
You undermine us - even the law can't
It's not mystical ti say I can't go on
I can't stand feeling so defenceless
Lots does on in my head, I day nothing
Bud I could scream at your malice
It's as if there's a deal I'm no part of
I keep quiet while Gudrun lies
Parania. You pig!
How can I pull myself tigether...
...when her image of me is a pig?
Two total lunatics!
The accused do not deny Red Army Faction political responsibility...
...for attacks on US Army installations in W. Germany
That is not, however, a statement if individual responsibility
We wish to call the following witnesses;
Former US President Richard M. Nixon
Former Defence Secretary Melvin Laird
Ex-Chief of Staff, US Forces in Vietnam...
The witnesses will testify that they...
...wilfully killed a great many Vietnamese...
...and inflicted suffering on others...
How low would you stoop to eradicate baseness?
To change the world, to what lengths would you do?
It is terrible to kill
Not only others... we kill ourselves
This lethal world must be changed by force
Everyone knows that
We accept these charges. In part we conceived them
But our politics are not bound by state laws
Condemning revolutionary politics...
...only shows the system is a lie
I rule you out of order
These charges reveal that the purpose of this trial is...
...coutrol of the state by US capital
The petitions are of course futile
In fact, compared ti this trial...
...a Fascist court martial at least has the courage of its convictionas
We shall also call...
...two former US secter agents....
..to testfy that the computer at US headquarters, Haidelberg...
...was used to plot the aerial bombing...
..of civilian areas of S. Vietnam...
...and the bombing of *** in N. Vietnam
The aim was to aghieve the maximum number of civilian deaths
The accused are not interested in establishing the truth
They want to use this trial for agitation and self- glorification
If evidence shows W. German territoru was used to abet US war crimes...
...thes W.Germany itself is contravening international law
Imagine a bomb attack on the Security Headquarters of the Third Reich
Imagine a trial conducted against those accused of planting the bomb
Would you refuse to allow evidence which showed...
...that the decisions to exterminate Jewish fellow-citizens...
...were co-ordinated in that establishment?
Every lawyer knows that in certain circumstances...
...there is a legal right of ''justifiable defence''...
...even when it leads to loss of life
There is no such tight that would justify these attacks
But the images are the same
Jewish children walking towards the SS men who destroyed the ghetto
And Vietnamese children burned by *** running towards the photographer
The evidence hinges on this
Does one tolerate such acts of ***?
Or is one justified in taking action against the mechanism which allows it?
The Vietnam war is irrelevant here
Within the jurisdiction of our law...
...''justifiable defence'' notwithstanding...
What's the difference between our heads and hands...
...and American bombers in Vietnam?
Pity we weren't more effective militarily
We attacked the CIA headquarters...
... the 5th Army Corps HQ in Frankfurt
...and the US Army HQ in Heidelberg
We joined the Red Army Faction in 1970...
...and adhered to its politics and its structure
So we are also politically responsible fro commando raids...
...sugh as the Springer bombing...
...which we did not make part in, and which we teject
109th day of the trial
The trial will proceed of Baader, Ensslin and Raspe
Frau Meinhof's death closes her case
Some members of the public did not rise
May I remind you that provocations of this type...
...witt mean your removal from the courtroom
Proceed with your cross-examination
I request a 10-day adjournment
Ulrike Meinhof's death creates a new situation
It's not a ledal point. Common decency demonds an adjournment
I just want to say that we believe Ulrike was executed
We don't know how. But we know by whom, and why
A cold act of execution
The court will not tolerate contempt
It Ulrike had chosen ti die...
...as the one way of preserving her remolutionary identity...
...she would certainly have told us - Andreas at least
No memorial speeches, prease
Do you wish to bring a sharge?
I'll be brief
To what purpose?
- Let me finish - Do you intend bringing a charge?
Hurry, or you can't proceed
I support the requset for adjournment
Why not say that before? Proceed
***!
You interrupt to confuse him
Is was a brother/sister relationship, based on political doals
She was free; freedom only exists in the struggle for liberation
To say there were tensions between Ulrike and Andreas...
...and use Ulrike's death in your psychological warfare...
...shows how stupid you are!
Out of order
Oh yes, your ***, your methods...
You're a killer!
Yes, you are. Under your presidency of this court...
...3 out 5 prisoners have been killed
And when we denounce the machine you so sadistically represent...
...you stop us speaking
You've no right to speak for Raspe
In the public's eyes, the name pf Ulrike Meinhof...
...is associated with high standards of morality
It's therefore worth reflecting...
...that her death occurred when the defence introduced a political element
It's hard for me ti say anything
We shouldn't speak ti you at all now
It is time to act
- Antagonosm between state and... - Out of order
You stop me speaking?
Yes, if ti's not a submission
Not in front of this horde of rats
Contempt of court
A person deprived of freedom...
...has employed the profound, puzzling freedom of suicide
That's raeson enough to suspend the proceedings of this court
The situation needs to be clorified
A sense of piety should make it impossible to proceed...
...until the deceased is laid to rest
There's no reason ti grant the request
There is no povision for adjournment on the death of an accused
It the funeral occurs on a day the court is sitting...
... the prosecution does not object to an afternoon start
Prea to suspend proceedings denied
The defence will not proceed until after Ulrike Meinhof's funeral
Your behaviour here allows no relationshop with you...
...other than waining for you with a gun
She did not have the mental and amotional make-up of a true terrorist
She was often no more than a tool
Her name was used to influence certain people
But it's wrong to think she was just a victim
What happned in Frankfurt exactly?
Ulrike Meinhof came to Frankfurt
She suggested attacking the Springer building in Hambutg
She was responsible for planning and organization
She was given bombs
Afterwards the rest of the group ariticized her. Why?
Because workers were injuted as a resulf
Wasn't that to be expected in an action like that?
Yes, people were targets as well
Baader complained that print workest were hurt
Really licking arses now, you pig
Was there any kind of hierarchy?
A natural pecking order, so to speak
Yes. Baader was the brains at the top
Then there was the nucleus of Meinhof, Meins, Raspe, Ensslin
Then same rank and file members, and fringe members
You slimbed the ladder
How were you ti react...
...if theatened with capture?
We had instructions to shoot
Carrying guns was idealized, the image of the true guerrillero
Anyone involved in a shoot-out was idolized
Anyone Killed or injured was treated like a martyr
Members would stand in front of mirrors drawing guns
Where were you in October ''71?
Kiel and Hamburg
know the Seseler Damm in Hamburg?
Seseler Damm, you mean
So you know the car park behind the shopping centre?
That's going too far
You needn't incriminate yourself
Where were you....
...on 21st October 1971 ?
The microphone's off
The questions obviousle refer to the *** of the policeman Schmid
The case is still on progress. I don't wish to comment
But I didn't shoot the policeman
I won't answer further questions on this
Did you shoot PC Schmid?
He said no
If you didn't, who did?
I refuse to reply
When others accused you, did you say you were proud?
- Proud you shot a pig? - Disgraceful!
- Ever held a gun? - No reply
Ever talk about Schmid?
No comment
In this case I find refusal ti reply unjustified
It's justified
Is your evidence...
...contained in files 3 ARP 74/75, held by the Public Prosecutor?
What are they?
Was a decision about these lifes...
...tajen by the Ministry of Jistice?
- Do you recall? - I heard something of the kind
The Ministry refuses ti release these files
Do they contain your statement?
It's possible
How wonld your statement damage W. Germany if it were made public?
What d'you mean?
Paet of your statement has bee declared ''secret''
That's not a proper question. Invalid
Did your interrogators in Bonn...
-...threaten you? - Yes
They said if I didn't talk I'd be tried, like the others
That scared you?
I protest against the insinuation...
...that the witness was bought off ot btainwashed by the W.German authorities
The witness may also be guilty, bud I find him credible
Saul converted to Paul too
In a constitutional state which believes in rehabilitation...
...this should be recognized
Anyone who succeeds in breaking free from a criminal group...
...deserves understanding, even respect
It's noticeable that the accused have not confronted the witnesses
They have shosen not to appear in court on the days...
....that the victims of the 6 bomb explosions gave evidence
We thank the Chief Publiv Prosecutor for being present
Did the investigating officers...
...promise the witness special treatment for making his statement?
The Public Prosecutor's Office has already replied to this question
I declare that none of the persons named was promised any form of favour...
...nor thereatened with any penalty...
...nor was any inflience exerted on the contend of their statements
Do you know of file ARP 74/75?
Of course I know of its existence
And the contents?
I'm not permitted to answer
Does it contain the interrogation...
- ...of the last witness? - I can't say
You ordered it classified?
I suggested it
There's a blueprint to integrate internal and external security
It will create a central cointer-insurgency apparatus...
....which be integrated with NATO, and based in W.Germany...
...because parliamentary opposition is unlikely
Irrelevant to the presence of this witness
You are digressing
They're his initiatives
London Institute for Conflict Studies: how to combat terrorism
What concerns us here are the *** charges adainst you
The miliraty/strategic background concerns me
So do the peculiarities of this trial, and the elimination of prisoners
I should rule you out of order for that
Special court, judges, building
You're not here to make a case against the witness
Ask qouestions, nothihg else
Ok! I'll ask him if he know these directives
1. Infiltrate terrorist organizations
2. Locate terrorist headquarters
3. Eliminate leasers
Irrelevant to the charges against you
Whatever you think, the Public Prosecutor does not initiate such meansures
Out of order
Do you know of NATO papers advocating...
...militaty action against the Red Army Faction?
Inadmissable
I renew my rejection of this court
Dismissing this question proves you want to label thr Red Army Faction...
...a purely ''criminal alliance''...
- And not a political... - Anyone else?
It's lutile, bud I second the rejection
The propaganda element is obvious:
a campaign to exterminate the accused
Here the law is a facade...
...for the elimination of undesirables
Out of order
Did you know the authorities spread the rumour...
...that the Red Army Faction has nuclear devices?
I read something to the effect
Where?
In the papers
Did you investigate the report?
It may have been discussed
To what effect?
I don't know any derails to date
Who discussed it?
I can't remember
When was it discussed?
I don't remember that either
Isn't it too unusual to forget?
No, I don't think so
You mean it's common...
...to discover that certain groups have nuclear devices?
The Public Prosecutor's Office deals with sriminal prosecution
That includes investigation
Yes, of course
So, ins't activity involving nuclear devices...
...of such vital interest...
...that your memory shouldn't fade so quickly?
I repeat, this is irrelevant to the case
We're assuming quatity and quality...
... of Red Army Faction operations
If information concerning nuclear devices plays a role...
...then the question is relevant
Is anyone accused of possessing nuclear devices?
- No, they aren't - Exactly
Keep to the accusation
Not everything comes under Clause 129 - ''criminal alliance''
Otherwise, a question like...
... ''Did you know the Red Army Faction kills babies?''...
...would also be valid
Is that the kind of thing you thins of?
The only reason we are here after Ulkire's death...
...is to explain the true structure of our group...
...not the one invented by the witness as psychological warfare
Strategy was decided collectivery by discussion
The allegation that Ulkire bombed the Springer building on her own initiative...
...or that there was in-fighting as that pig says..
Please refrain from abusing witnesses
After the Springer operation, Ulrike went to face her critics in Hamburg
They said her plan did not foresee...
...Springer's refusal to clear the builing
This talk of tension...
...attempts to legitimate her ***
This *** accusation will lead to disciplinary measures
I could't care less
Did people leave the group? If so, how?
Of course people left
In the liberation struggle, conflicts always arise
Some peole want out, though it's not really possible once you've fought
You just step back info the dirt
But, of course, people left
There was never talk of reprisals, though
Only that case in Berlin
But that woman betrayed several people. She gave names, and addresses
She gol a bucket of tar over her, and s sign round her neck:
''This informer's in league wit the killer pigs''
When a police informer gest nothing but a bicket of tat over her...
...it's absurd to say that people who leave are shot
During the hunger strike...
...was pressure applied not to break it?
No, it was an individual's decisoon...
...whether he wanted to give up the struggle and live
When I cam here, I had only one thing in mind: resistance
Not only because it was important politically
But also becauce I needed it to preserve my identily
Soom there was only one question: how?
I nearly went out of my mind trying to answer it
Give me another one
- You began the hunger stike? - Yes
- Then you broke it off? - Yes
Why did you start again?
It was a clear decision
I just didn't take it immediately
Breaking it off like that was the result of being isolated
We'd been in isolation for 3 years
Why did you start again?
It was an existential decision, dammit. Can't you understand?
Was it you own decision?
Of course
Haturally the group said: ''Hey, start sgain''
And Holger Meins wrote to me saying:
''If you *** your pants, wash them''
Pretty strong stuff
That was the group
The ketter helped a lot. I didn't feel so lost
Your own free will...
No! The Public Prosecutor is determined to destroy us
That's not free will
We had 2 choices: keep fighting, ot be manipulated...
..like your chirf witness
After Holger was murdered, they tried to break me...
...but they backed the wrong horse
In a letter to Baader, you wrote:
''You threaten me just like a cop
''Haing myself, you say. Nothing new it that''
At another point:
''You can't expect any more from us...
''...unless it's an order
''Ok, I obeyed the order and began the hunger strike again''
Still say there was po pressute?
Of course
You imply it's the wintess's letter
- Your writing? - Yes
As I soid, the hunger strike was part of the struggle...
...a last-ditch stand, an existential decision...
...between life and death, as in any armed action
For a revolutionary, life's not the most precious thing
The choices were; hanging oneself...
We are not concerned with hanging, but with...
That's the worst penalty
Do you still say pressute was not applied?
Yes, I do
Fine, That's all
Can I only say uyes or no?
Being told to hang oneself is the toughest sancion
So there were sanctions?
No! The problem is you imply an authoritation structure!
I told you I had completely flipped
I lost contact. I wouldn't have stopped the hunger strike otherwise
The whole letter is muddled ideas
I forget that, although I'd stopped the hunger strike..
...I could resume the fight any time
Another bit of self-criticism?
You fool! What d'you know of criticism ot self-criticism?
It's absurd!
- Further questions? None - I haven't finished
This is for Ulrike, you pig!
Open the door!
What's up?
Better ger a quick transfer. You too!
We won't accept closed doors ar recreation time
Leave the door open, pig
They've done mad
Open the door!
You insinuated I was in there for a screw.
They want war? They'll get it
It the name of the accused Ensslin I request...
...removal of the presiding judge
61st plea against bias
He has ordered more stringent conditions
Recreation periods on the 7th florr have been suspended
These stringent conditions...
...coutravene the minimum standards set out in the medical reports
Baader is obviously afraid of lising his position as boss
Why else would a prisoner who has hitherto remained aloof...
...suddenly attack a warder?
All I can say about the prisoner's health is:
See what a person...
...allegedly tortured by isolation...
...is capable of
Prison conditions are generous. Ensslin is allowed to play the violin
Given Flau Ensslin's position...
...describing a little violin practice as generous conditions...
...is a degree of synicism..
...I wouldn't have beliveved possible
This woman has spent over 4 years in group isolation...
...which Amnesly International lists...
...as a clear from of torture
But you lack the sensitivity to imagine it
The plea to reject this court dismissed
This is from a High Court judge to the editor if 'Die Welr'
''Dear fraternity member...
''Please destroy these documents ofter use
''No need to send me a copy of 'Die West'. I subscribe''
And where did the judge get the trial documents?
From our presiding judge. That means..
Ach, a new dodge by you lawyers. What's the point?
Inthe name of the accused Ensslin...
62nd!
...I reject the presiding judge on grouds of bias
Unbeknownst ti fellow judges...
...he gave trial documents( including verbatim evidence) to a third person...
...that is to Judge Mayer, of the Coirt Appeal
That Court of Appeal...
...will be responsible for any appeal against the sentence...
...which you, Your Honour, pass
The Hihg Court judge gave these documents to the editor of 'Die Weft'
I support the plea to reject this court
The grounds for this plea need clarifying
If not, the trial will be permanently flawed
Forgive me phoning you privately
Your Honour?
I know your decision today was not easy, bud....
Your Honour, I don't really think...
Your shellenge was my worst moment in the whole 2 years
Your Honour, I...
It makes a difference if a challenge comes from your side of the defence
But from the accused's point of view, any appeal is now futile
2 members it the High Court have collaborated...
...to secure an appeal-proof verdict
The accused don't care. Only the lawyers
That's hard to imagine in their position
I know for certain that the accused couldn't care less
The warders told me this document thing doesn't interest them
One even said: '' A new dodge by you lawyers''
Imagine the terrible strain I'm under
I'm finished if I don't strick it out
I warn that if you show disrespect fot the court...
..,you will be barred from procceedings
The court ir now in session
Baader rejects the presiding judge...
63rd!
...on the grounds that he coutacted a defence lawyer outsude this court
During their conversation, he said...
...it makes a difference whether a plea of rejection...
..comes from this side of the defence ot that
The presiding judge is guilty of bias once again
The court will reconvene at 10 a.m.
A decision will be announced then
The plea of rejection is sustained
The court will retire to reconsider the course of the trial
The trial will proceed
You wish to make a submission
I wish to call rhe Interior Minister to explain...
...and between the accused and defence counsel..
...have been illicitly recorded...
...and made available to security forces
In his attempt to attract publicity...
...counsel is confusing a plea to hear evidence...
with a plea to instritute investigations
The accusations are inventions. Calling this witness is not justified
I beg you to avoid pointed and defamatory remarks
It is alleged that bugging devices...
...were employed to spy on the accused
Prosecution may surely use such terms
The court will look the matter
I wish to clarify that in Stammheim...
...in 2 cases of emergency...
...warranted by Clause 3 of the Penal Code...
...we listened to conversations...
...between defence counsel and the Baader-Meinhof gong
The grounds for the decision, tajen jointly...
...to listen in to Baader-Meinhof leaders and their lawyers...
...was to avert a concrete danger...
...which could not otherwise have been averted...
...to the lives of innocent
The prosecution has the nerve to talk of propaganda ruses
What is happening is this trial can only be described...
...as the systematic destruction of constitutional guarantees
This is of vital importance to the nation
The case must be adjoutned until the bugging has been explainded
I support the submission
If a room provided for the defence is bugged, counse cannot use it
Both the Justice Minister...
...and Interior Minister...
...said they would do the same again in a similar situation
The court must say how it will prevent further bugging
It must adjourn until such time
None of the prosecuting counsel knew of these actions
A statement will be made when we have...
...full knowledge of the facts
The trial will proceed with...
I withdraw in protest
As you wish
Our continued presence would merely legitimatr this moress
There is a strong suspicion...
...that this trial and this prison are run by a criminal alliance
I too am unable to continue. I beg the court to respect my decision
- You wish to speak? - A submission
I submit that Brandt and Schmidt be called, as heads of government
They can testify that since 1972 the Red Army Faction has been persecuted...
...inan illegal and unconstitutional manner
all right, out with it!
We wish to call the Interior Minister...
...to slarify whethe the accused's cells were bugged
We also call the Chancellot's office...
...to testify that bugging was carried oud...
...by the Intelligence Servise on the 7th floor of Stammhein prison...
...and that they had continued uncontrolled access to this area
At the outset of the trial, we said our conversations were bugged
The prosecution denied it...
...hypocritically, and with a great show of indignation
But it's absurd to think they did not know
After Ulrike's ***, the prossecution...
The prosecution also innocent until proved guilty
- I didn't specify a person - You said ***
Behind a *** is a murderer. Otherwise it is merely a dreath
After Ulrike's death, the prosecution spoke of tension between prisoners
How did they know, if not by bugging?
We were ittlerly ignorant of this whole bugging affair
I wish to state the aims of the hunger strike we begin togay
No spealking of prison conditions during the trial
It is obvious that political statements are now superfluous
Accused and defence counsel did not attent court again
On April 28th, 1977, the 192th day of the trial...
...Baader, Ensslin and Raspe were sentenced to life imprisonment
The Red Army Faction kidnapped Hans Martin Schleyer...
...to force the prisoners's release
The government refused any exchange
Hijacking a Lufthansa jet ended with the storming of the plane in Magadishu
The next day, Baader, Ensslin and Raspe were found dead in their cells
The state prosecutor's verdict was suicide
Subtitles: Hristo8484 (�.�.�. Hristo Vyrbanov)