Stammheim - Die Baader-Meinhof-Gruppe vor Gericht (1986) - full transcript
Stammheim Prison in Stuttgart, West Germany, as the five defendants--Andreas Baader, Ulrike Meinhof Gudrun Ensslin, Jan-Carl Raspe, and Holger Meins--are brought before the judge and accused of the murder of four US servicemen in a terrorist bombing attack. After a hunger strike at the trial's start, Meins dies. The next to die is Meinhof, an apparent suicide. As the trial stretches on, Baader, Ensslin, and Raspe continuously disrupt the proceedings with accusations that they are being purposely undernourished and spied upon.
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
Studied German, English, Greek,
philosophy in Tübingen, 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: teacher
Parents died young.
Brought up by foster-mother
Studied pedagogy
State grant for exceptional ability
Editor of journal Konkret.
Radio and TV journalist
Mother of two children
Met Baader and Ensslin
during arson 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:
Jürgen Flimm and Eberhard Junkersdorf
Director:
Reinhard Hauff
The Baader-Meinhof trial began on
May 21st, 1975, in Stuttgart-Stammheim
It lasted over 2 years.
The court 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 Stefan Raspe, sociologist
You are accused jointly in
9 independent actions..
…of killing 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 accused stuck to their goals
I do not, as yet,
have a defense counsel
We do not accept the legalistic
packaging of this event
Defense is impossible when laws
are constantly being changed
We insist, however,
on a legal platform…
…to demonstrate the collapse of the
bourgeois state's ideological arguments…
…and to explain
revolutionary politics
You are free to call
any lawyer you trust
Not easy to find one who can stand
the persecution of the State
For 3 years the prosecution has
vetted the defense's every word…
…search law practices,
confiscating mail…
…and bugging lawyers' cell visits
We don't accept the laws of
the bourgeois state
But if you kick them around, what then?
The Public Prosecutor barred
3 defense counsel…
…less than 30 days before
the trial began
This smashed the defense
Herr Baader is adequately defended…
…by 2 state-appointed counsel
Those lawyers were forced upon 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, counsel!
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 that too?
There's no rule saying they must sit
Oh yes, there is
In the interests of security.
the accused must be seated
Resume your seats
We shall of course not sit.
The choice is yours
Either the compulsory squad shuts up
or we force you to remove us
All right. Remain standing for now
I understand them not wanting…
…a court-appointed defense, but…
Damn it! Get us out of here!
If they speak, we disrupt proceedings
I suggest you bar us from
the court at such times…
…to avoid these idiotic scenes
Make the pigs shut their snouts
Whom do you mean?
It's them or us!
If the court-appointed defense 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, assholes…
…idiots, screwed-up people, etc…
Their lawyers may accept it
but not a state defense
If clients call us assholes, idiots,
and we say similar things to them…
…that is between
the client and ourselves
These points may seem absurd, but
they show this is a political trial
It is laudable that these counsel…
…are prepared to defend the accused
despite the abuse they receive
I observe that one of these ''laudable
counsel'' has 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
psychologically broken prisoners
That's why we insist on our own defense
Even though it won't change the outcome
Judges 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 criminal trial?
How long will it last?
For us it's a normal criminal case…
…although we can't deny political
motives will play a certain role
I cannot assess how long it will take
We shall conduct it as
concisely as possible
But that does not depend on the
good will ot the court alone
The other parties must also
be willing to cooperate
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 urged 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 defense counsel
If you wish to read the paper,
kindly do so outside
4 p.m. The accused cannot continue
My learned friend is obstructing
Adjournment 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
shriveling like a prune
The feeling I'm constantly alive with
electricity, as if remote-controlled
The feeling I'm pissing out my soul
I wake up, open my eyes.
The cell is moving
In the afternoon, when the sun 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 given 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 longer 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 being contentious
Yes!
Because 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 repeatedly refuses to admit
independent doctors
Trey would reveal the use of torture
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…
…because we have larger cells
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 our 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 defense 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 multiple murder
The prosecution and court
are at pains to maintain…
…the utmost objectivity
This is the first political 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,
but the authorities
They never answer our arguments.
They are merely formalistic
State your grounds for rejecting this court
In South Africa, political prisoners…
…are interrogated 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 treated
more humanely in South Africa
What I mean is…
…where torture fails as a means
of extorting information…
…all that's left is death
The purpose of detention is
the death of the prisoner
No such purpose exists in German law.
I rule you out of order
Superficial examination
by the person doctor…
…cannot assess fitness to stand trial
We'll resume our defense 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!
Do you want us to start screaming?
Stop your nonsense, idiot!
Be seated and participate
in a peaceful fashion
So you refuse to sit?
So you want us to make a formal protest?
Remove us!
If you continue to disrupt proceedings
you'll be barred
Do it, you old fool
Are you all agree?
Yes… are you deaf?
You refuse to remain?
The public must be seated
to leave the room
The accused have disrupted proceedings
and will be barred
The witness may withdraw
We shall move on to the particulars
of the accused
They have to be present.
Bring them in again… one by one
First, Raspe. By force if need be
Please 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, asshole!
I note the fact you called the judge
''asshole''
Note it then!
The accused is barred from proceedings
Be seated
No, someone knocked my chair over
Pick the chair 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 to stay?
I have to. I don't want to
Want insults?
I'd rather you didn't utter abuse.
I'll stop your dirty maneuver
It's not a dirty maneuver.
I'm bound by procedural rules
Do you want physical violence?
I want you to sit end take part calmly
It's a dirty maneuver, damn it!
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 to?
You can have it in various ways
I don't want it
For instance, you're a Fascist asshole
Fascist asshole, eh?
- Remove me.
- Me too, you fat pig
I hereby state you're an old Fascist asshole
Turn his microphone off
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 asshole''
- 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-Meinhof
trial in Stammheim…
…reports were presented
by 3 medical experts
They conclude that the accused…
…are suffering from debility,
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 Meinhof'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 speak
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 ass!
Remove Raspe!
An unbelievably 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 grounds 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…
…willfully 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 in Frankfurt
It went dark and we thought
a storm was brewing
Then a flash, and a shattering sound
The roof and everything caved in
I got out
I saw Col. Bloomquist lying there
He had a lump of glass from the door
in his artery
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 tended me
I worked as an ambulance driver
in the US hospital in Heidelberg
I was called to the computer center
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
but the man was dead
I then saw an officer whose body was
torn apart, only the top half left
The other bits were scattered
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 himself ''Erwin''.
Now I know he was Holger Meins
Later he brought Jan-Carl Raspe
whom he introduced as ''Lester''
They looked round my metal workshop
Said they needed props for
a film about revolution
They had something like
the top of a hand grenade
And asked if I could make a similar one
I made more objects
Weapons and bombs for the lilm
You're a metal sculptor. Aren't
you interested in films too?
To a certain extent
If you work on a film, don't you
ask questions?
What king of film? Who's involved?
Don't you ever know?
I asked, but ''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 to him
You dummy-maker!
One more interruption, Raspe,
and you'll be barred.
Later I supplied more bomb casing
-…I withdrew
- Withdrew? That's good
You rattled off your statement…
…like an automatic train…
…as if you knew it by heart
Why is Frau Meinhof familiar with him?
It's up to the witness…
Your statement doesn't interest much
But are you aware that it will be used…
…to portray Andreas
and the media as the boss?
The government wants
the public to believe…
…that Andreas is the one they must
break and ultimately kill…
…so that the urban guerrilla problem
in West 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 described.
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 statement 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 incredible. Not his
own words, but a judge's
Did the interrogating officer promise you
a new life in the US?
I don't think I can answer.
For my own safety.
Were you offered…
…financial help, false documents?
Money wasn't mentioned
I can't say yes or no
to the other question
Was a 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 nauseated 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 person who can help him
The only person he has contact with
Sometimes the interrogator
lends a sympathetic ear
The victim feels indebted to him
Witnesses are not manipulated
Their evidence affords deep insight
into 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 because
a phony witness pops up?
I request Frau Ensslin be parred for abuse
The accused is barred from court
until end February 1976
I support 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 farce.
This court is here to stay
but you…
…pass sentence on yourselves too
Shit! You take us for fools!
Remove that man.
This is unbelievable
More unbelievable is your declaration
of war against the accused
but 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 conditions lawful
The prisoners are dangerous adherents
of the Red Army Faction
Ideological justice!
It's absurd to say we would
disrupt prison order
How? When? Where?
How can we disrupt when in 3 years we've
never even spoken to another inmate?
How can a prisoner in isolation reveal to
the authorities a change in behavior?
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 provides two 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 murder
but if he gave evidence, they'd help him
start a new life in the US
- Why are you in jail?
- Politics
We have no political prisoners
What's your offense?
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 ass
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 mark 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
brutality of this machine
I'll read what Ulrike wanted to say
but was not allowed to
To say my strained relations with you…
…come from my lack of
revolutionary force…
…was shameful, considering
what I'm going through
My Fascist conditioning,
through sadism and religion…
…caught up with me because L never
broke my links wit the ruling class
I crawled to the Red Army Faction
as I did to he bourgeoisie
Treating 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 blocked 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 chest
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 bang, 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 center.
They'd have damaged Springer more
Terrorism is the
destruction of facilities…
…dykes, reservoirs, hospitals…
…power stations…
All those have been bombed by
the US in Vietnam since 1964
Terrorism intimidates the masses.
Urban guerrillas 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 imperialist 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 in 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
''but the tendency is to introduce
special international laws''
For 5 years, Herold used us as
an excuse to extend 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 grammar, destructiveness,
misunderstanding, etc. …
I've 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 to say I can't go on
I can't stand feeling so defenseless
Lots goes on in my head, I say nothing
but 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
Paranoia. You pig!
How can I pull myself together…
…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 West Germany
That is not, however, a statement
if individual responsibility
We wish to call the following witnesses;
Former US President Richard M. Nixon
Former Defense Secretary Melvin Laird
Ex-Chief of Staff,
US Forces in Vietnam…
The witnesses will testify that they…
…willfully 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 go?
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…
…control of the state by US capital
The petitions are of course futile
In fact, compared to this trial…
…a Fascist court martial at least has
the courage of its convictions
We shall also call…
…two former US secret agents…
..to testify that the computer at
US headquarters, Heidelberg…
…was used to plot the aerial bombing…
..of civilian areas of South Vietnam…
…and the bombing
of dykes in North Vietnam
The aim was to achieve 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 West German territory
was used to abet US war crimes…
…thes West 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 coordinated
in that establishment?
Every lawyer knows that in
certain circumstances…
…there is a legal right of
''justifiable defense''…
…even when it leads to loss of life
There is no such right 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 napalm
running towards the photographer
The evidence hinges on this
Does one tolerate such acts of murder?
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 defense''
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
for commando raids…
…such as the Springer bombing…
…which we did not make part in,
and which we reject
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…
…will 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 legal point. Common decency
demands 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 to die…
…as the one way of preserving
her revolutionary identity…
…she would certainly have told us -
Andreas at least
No memorial speeches, please
Do you wish to bring a charge?
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 request for adjournment
Why not say that before? Proceed
Sadist!
You interrupt to confuse him
Is was a brother/sister relationship,
based on political ideals
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 sadism, 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
of Ulrike Meinhof…
…is associated with high
standards of morality
It's therefore worth reflecting…
…that her death occurred when the defense
introduced a political element
It's hard for me to say anything
We shouldn't speak to you at all now
It is time to act
- Antagonism between state and…
- Out of order
You stop me speaking?
Yes, if it'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 reason enough to suspend
the proceedings of this court
The situation needs to be clarified
A sense of piety should make it
impossible to proceed…
…until the deceased is laid to rest
There's no reason to grant the request
There is no provision 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
Plea to suspend proceedings denied
The defense will not proceed until
after Ulrike Meinhof's funeral
Your behavior here allows
no relationship with you…
…other than waiting for you with a gun
She did not have the mental and
emotional 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 happened in Frankfurt exactly?
Ulrike Meinhof came to Frankfurt
She suggested attacking the
Springer building in Hamburg
She was responsible for planning
and organization
She was given bombs
Afterwards the rest of the group
criticized her. Why?
Because workers were injured as a result
Wasn't that to be expected
in an action like that?
Yes, people were targets as well
Baader complained that
print workers were hurt
Really licking asses 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 climbed the ladder
How were you to react…
…if threatened with capture?
We had instructions to shoot
Carrying guns was idealized,
the image of the true guerrilla
Anyone involved in a shootout
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 1971?
Kiel and Hamburg
know the Saseler Damm in Hamburg?
Saseler Damm, you mean
So you know the car park
behind the shopping center?
That's going too far
You needn't incriminate yourself
Where were you…
…on 21st October 1971?
The microphone's off
The questions obviously refer to the
murder 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 to 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 lives…
…taken by the Ministry of Justice?
- Do you recall?
- I heard something of the kind
The Ministry refuses to release these files
Do they contain your statement?
It's possible
How would your statement damage
West Germany if it were made public?
What do you mean?
Part of your statement has
been 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
brainwashed by the West German authorities
The witness may also be guilty,
but 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 chosen not to appear
in court on the days…
…that the victims of the 6 bomb
explosions gave evidence
We thank the Chief Public 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 favor…
…nor threatened with any penalty…
…nor was any influence 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
counter-insurgency apparatus…
…which be integrated with NATO,
and based in West 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
murder charges against you
The military/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 questions, nothing else
Okay! I'll ask him if he know
these directives
1. Infiltrate terrorist organizations
2. Locate terrorist headquarters
3. Eliminate leaders
Irrelevant to the charges against you
Whatever you think, the Public Prosecutor
does not initiate such measures
Out of order
Do you know of NATO
papers advocating…
…military action against the
Red Army Faction?
Inadmissible
I renew my rejection of this court
Dismissing this question proves you
want to label the Red Army Faction…
…a purely ''criminal alliance''…
- And not a political…
- Anyone else?
It's futile, but 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 rumor…
…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 criminal 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 quality 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 Ulrike's death…
…is to explain the true
structure of our group…
…not the one invented by the witness
as psychological warfare
Strategy was decided collectively
by discussion
The allegation that Ulrike 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 building
This talk of tension…
…attempts to legitimate her murder
This murder 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 people 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 got a bucket of tar over her,
and a sign around her neck:
''This informer's in league
wit the killer pigs''
When a police informer gets nothing
but a bucket 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 decision…
…whether he wanted to give up
the struggle and live
When I came here, I had only
one thing in mind: resistance
Not only because it was
important politically
But also because I needed it
to preserve my identity
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 strike?
- 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
Naturally the group said:
''Hey, start again''
And Holger Meins wrote to me saying:
''If you shit your pants, wash them''
Pretty strong stuff
That was the group
The letter 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 chief 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 no pressure?
Of course
You imply it's the witness's letter
- Your writing?
- Yes
As I said, 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 pressure
was not applied?
Yes, I do
Fine, that's all
Can I only say yes or no?
Being told to hang oneself
is the toughest sanction
So there were sanctions?
No! The problem is you imply
an authoritarian 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 do 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 get a quick transfer. You too!
We won't accept closed doors
at recreation time
Leave the door open, pig
They've gone 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 floor
have been suspended
These stringent conditions…
…contravene the minimum standards
set out in the medical reports
Baader is obviously afraid of
losing 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 Frau Ensslin's position…
…describing a little violin practice
as generous conditions…
…is a degree of cynicism..
…I wouldn't have believed possible
This woman has spent over 4 years
in group isolation…
…which Amnesty 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 of Die Welt
''Dear fraternity member…
''Please destroy these documents ofter use
''No need to send me a copy
of Die Welt. I subscribe''
And where did the judge
get the trial documents?
From our presiding judge. That means..
Ach, a new dodge by your lawyers.
What's the point?
In the name of the accused Ensslin…
62nd!
…I reject the presiding judge
on grounds of bias
Unbeknownst to fellow judges…
…he gave trial documents (including
verbatim evidence) to a third person…
…that is to Judge Mayer,
of the Court Appeal
That Court of Appeal…
…will be responsible for any
appeal against the sentence…
…which you, Your Honor, pass
The High Court judge gave these
documents to the editor of Die Welt
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 Honor?
I know your decision today
was not easy, but…
Your Honor, I don't really think…
Your challenge was my worst moment
in the whole 2 years
Your Honor, I…
It makes a difference if a challenge
comes from your side of the defense
But from the accused's point of view,
any appeal is now futile
Two members in 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 your lawyers''
Imagine the terrible strain I'm under
I'm finished if I don't stick it out
I warn that if you show
disrespect for the court…
..,you will be barred from proceedings
The court is now in session
Baader rejects the presiding judge…
63rd!
…on the grounds that he contacted
a defense lawyer outside this court
During their conversation, he said…
…it makes a difference whether
a plea of rejection…
..comes from this side
of the defense 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 the Interior Minister
to explain…
…and between the accused
and defense 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 institute 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 two cases of emergency…
…warranted by Clause 3
of the Penal Code…
…we listened to conversations…
…between defense counsel
and the Baader-Meinhof gang
The grounds for the decision,
taken 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 adjourned until
the bugging has been explained
I support the submission
If a room provided for the defense
is bugged, counsel 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 legitimate this morass
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…
…in an illegal and unconstitutional manner
all right, out with it!
We wish to call the Interior Minister…
…to clarify whether the accused's
cells were bugged
We also call the Chancellor's office…
…to testify that bugging was carried out…
…by the Intelligence Service on the
7th floor of Stammheim 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 murder, the prosecution…
The prosecution also innocent
until proved guilty
- I didn't specify a person
- You said murder
Behind a murder is a murderer.
Otherwise it is merely a death
After Ulrike's death, the prosecution
spoke of tension between prisoners
How did they know, if not by bugging?
We were utterly ignorant of
this whole bugging affair
I wish to state the aims of the
hunger strike we begin today
No speaking of prison conditions
during the trial
It is obvious that political statements
are now superfluous
Accused and defense counsel
did not attend court again
On April 28th, 1977, the
192nd 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 Mogadishu
The next day, Baader, Ensslin and Raspe
were found dead in their cells
The state prosecutor's verdict was suicide
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
Studied German, English, Greek,
philosophy in Tübingen, 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: teacher
Parents died young.
Brought up by foster-mother
Studied pedagogy
State grant for exceptional ability
Editor of journal Konkret.
Radio and TV journalist
Mother of two children
Met Baader and Ensslin
during arson 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:
Jürgen Flimm and Eberhard Junkersdorf
Director:
Reinhard Hauff
The Baader-Meinhof trial began on
May 21st, 1975, in Stuttgart-Stammheim
It lasted over 2 years.
The court 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 Stefan Raspe, sociologist
You are accused jointly in
9 independent actions..
…of killing 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 accused stuck to their goals
I do not, as yet,
have a defense counsel
We do not accept the legalistic
packaging of this event
Defense is impossible when laws
are constantly being changed
We insist, however,
on a legal platform…
…to demonstrate the collapse of the
bourgeois state's ideological arguments…
…and to explain
revolutionary politics
You are free to call
any lawyer you trust
Not easy to find one who can stand
the persecution of the State
For 3 years the prosecution has
vetted the defense's every word…
…search law practices,
confiscating mail…
…and bugging lawyers' cell visits
We don't accept the laws of
the bourgeois state
But if you kick them around, what then?
The Public Prosecutor barred
3 defense counsel…
…less than 30 days before
the trial began
This smashed the defense
Herr Baader is adequately defended…
…by 2 state-appointed counsel
Those lawyers were forced upon 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, counsel!
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 that too?
There's no rule saying they must sit
Oh yes, there is
In the interests of security.
the accused must be seated
Resume your seats
We shall of course not sit.
The choice is yours
Either the compulsory squad shuts up
or we force you to remove us
All right. Remain standing for now
I understand them not wanting…
…a court-appointed defense, but…
Damn it! Get us out of here!
If they speak, we disrupt proceedings
I suggest you bar us from
the court at such times…
…to avoid these idiotic scenes
Make the pigs shut their snouts
Whom do you mean?
It's them or us!
If the court-appointed defense 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, assholes…
…idiots, screwed-up people, etc…
Their lawyers may accept it
but not a state defense
If clients call us assholes, idiots,
and we say similar things to them…
…that is between
the client and ourselves
These points may seem absurd, but
they show this is a political trial
It is laudable that these counsel…
…are prepared to defend the accused
despite the abuse they receive
I observe that one of these ''laudable
counsel'' has 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
psychologically broken prisoners
That's why we insist on our own defense
Even though it won't change the outcome
Judges 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 criminal trial?
How long will it last?
For us it's a normal criminal case…
…although we can't deny political
motives will play a certain role
I cannot assess how long it will take
We shall conduct it as
concisely as possible
But that does not depend on the
good will ot the court alone
The other parties must also
be willing to cooperate
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 urged 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 defense counsel
If you wish to read the paper,
kindly do so outside
4 p.m. The accused cannot continue
My learned friend is obstructing
Adjournment 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
shriveling like a prune
The feeling I'm constantly alive with
electricity, as if remote-controlled
The feeling I'm pissing out my soul
I wake up, open my eyes.
The cell is moving
In the afternoon, when the sun 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 given 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 longer 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 being contentious
Yes!
Because 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 repeatedly refuses to admit
independent doctors
Trey would reveal the use of torture
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…
…because we have larger cells
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 our 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 defense 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 multiple murder
The prosecution and court
are at pains to maintain…
…the utmost objectivity
This is the first political 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,
but the authorities
They never answer our arguments.
They are merely formalistic
State your grounds for rejecting this court
In South Africa, political prisoners…
…are interrogated 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 treated
more humanely in South Africa
What I mean is…
…where torture fails as a means
of extorting information…
…all that's left is death
The purpose of detention is
the death of the prisoner
No such purpose exists in German law.
I rule you out of order
Superficial examination
by the person doctor…
…cannot assess fitness to stand trial
We'll resume our defense 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!
Do you want us to start screaming?
Stop your nonsense, idiot!
Be seated and participate
in a peaceful fashion
So you refuse to sit?
So you want us to make a formal protest?
Remove us!
If you continue to disrupt proceedings
you'll be barred
Do it, you old fool
Are you all agree?
Yes… are you deaf?
You refuse to remain?
The public must be seated
to leave the room
The accused have disrupted proceedings
and will be barred
The witness may withdraw
We shall move on to the particulars
of the accused
They have to be present.
Bring them in again… one by one
First, Raspe. By force if need be
Please 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, asshole!
I note the fact you called the judge
''asshole''
Note it then!
The accused is barred from proceedings
Be seated
No, someone knocked my chair over
Pick the chair 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 to stay?
I have to. I don't want to
Want insults?
I'd rather you didn't utter abuse.
I'll stop your dirty maneuver
It's not a dirty maneuver.
I'm bound by procedural rules
Do you want physical violence?
I want you to sit end take part calmly
It's a dirty maneuver, damn it!
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 to?
You can have it in various ways
I don't want it
For instance, you're a Fascist asshole
Fascist asshole, eh?
- Remove me.
- Me too, you fat pig
I hereby state you're an old Fascist asshole
Turn his microphone off
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 asshole''
- 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-Meinhof
trial in Stammheim…
…reports were presented
by 3 medical experts
They conclude that the accused…
…are suffering from debility,
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 Meinhof'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 speak
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 ass!
Remove Raspe!
An unbelievably 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 grounds 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…
…willfully 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 in Frankfurt
It went dark and we thought
a storm was brewing
Then a flash, and a shattering sound
The roof and everything caved in
I got out
I saw Col. Bloomquist lying there
He had a lump of glass from the door
in his artery
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 tended me
I worked as an ambulance driver
in the US hospital in Heidelberg
I was called to the computer center
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
but the man was dead
I then saw an officer whose body was
torn apart, only the top half left
The other bits were scattered
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 himself ''Erwin''.
Now I know he was Holger Meins
Later he brought Jan-Carl Raspe
whom he introduced as ''Lester''
They looked round my metal workshop
Said they needed props for
a film about revolution
They had something like
the top of a hand grenade
And asked if I could make a similar one
I made more objects
Weapons and bombs for the lilm
You're a metal sculptor. Aren't
you interested in films too?
To a certain extent
If you work on a film, don't you
ask questions?
What king of film? Who's involved?
Don't you ever know?
I asked, but ''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 to him
You dummy-maker!
One more interruption, Raspe,
and you'll be barred.
Later I supplied more bomb casing
-…I withdrew
- Withdrew? That's good
You rattled off your statement…
…like an automatic train…
…as if you knew it by heart
Why is Frau Meinhof familiar with him?
It's up to the witness…
Your statement doesn't interest much
But are you aware that it will be used…
…to portray Andreas
and the media as the boss?
The government wants
the public to believe…
…that Andreas is the one they must
break and ultimately kill…
…so that the urban guerrilla problem
in West 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 described.
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 statement 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 incredible. Not his
own words, but a judge's
Did the interrogating officer promise you
a new life in the US?
I don't think I can answer.
For my own safety.
Were you offered…
…financial help, false documents?
Money wasn't mentioned
I can't say yes or no
to the other question
Was a 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 nauseated 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 person who can help him
The only person he has contact with
Sometimes the interrogator
lends a sympathetic ear
The victim feels indebted to him
Witnesses are not manipulated
Their evidence affords deep insight
into 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 because
a phony witness pops up?
I request Frau Ensslin be parred for abuse
The accused is barred from court
until end February 1976
I support 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 farce.
This court is here to stay
but you…
…pass sentence on yourselves too
Shit! You take us for fools!
Remove that man.
This is unbelievable
More unbelievable is your declaration
of war against the accused
but 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 conditions lawful
The prisoners are dangerous adherents
of the Red Army Faction
Ideological justice!
It's absurd to say we would
disrupt prison order
How? When? Where?
How can we disrupt when in 3 years we've
never even spoken to another inmate?
How can a prisoner in isolation reveal to
the authorities a change in behavior?
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 provides two 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 murder
but if he gave evidence, they'd help him
start a new life in the US
- Why are you in jail?
- Politics
We have no political prisoners
What's your offense?
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 ass
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 mark 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
brutality of this machine
I'll read what Ulrike wanted to say
but was not allowed to
To say my strained relations with you…
…come from my lack of
revolutionary force…
…was shameful, considering
what I'm going through
My Fascist conditioning,
through sadism and religion…
…caught up with me because L never
broke my links wit the ruling class
I crawled to the Red Army Faction
as I did to he bourgeoisie
Treating 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 blocked 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 chest
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 bang, 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 center.
They'd have damaged Springer more
Terrorism is the
destruction of facilities…
…dykes, reservoirs, hospitals…
…power stations…
All those have been bombed by
the US in Vietnam since 1964
Terrorism intimidates the masses.
Urban guerrillas 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 imperialist 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 in 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
''but the tendency is to introduce
special international laws''
For 5 years, Herold used us as
an excuse to extend 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 grammar, destructiveness,
misunderstanding, etc. …
I've 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 to say I can't go on
I can't stand feeling so defenseless
Lots goes on in my head, I say nothing
but 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
Paranoia. You pig!
How can I pull myself together…
…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 West Germany
That is not, however, a statement
if individual responsibility
We wish to call the following witnesses;
Former US President Richard M. Nixon
Former Defense Secretary Melvin Laird
Ex-Chief of Staff,
US Forces in Vietnam…
The witnesses will testify that they…
…willfully 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 go?
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…
…control of the state by US capital
The petitions are of course futile
In fact, compared to this trial…
…a Fascist court martial at least has
the courage of its convictions
We shall also call…
…two former US secret agents…
..to testify that the computer at
US headquarters, Heidelberg…
…was used to plot the aerial bombing…
..of civilian areas of South Vietnam…
…and the bombing
of dykes in North Vietnam
The aim was to achieve 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 West German territory
was used to abet US war crimes…
…thes West 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 coordinated
in that establishment?
Every lawyer knows that in
certain circumstances…
…there is a legal right of
''justifiable defense''…
…even when it leads to loss of life
There is no such right 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 napalm
running towards the photographer
The evidence hinges on this
Does one tolerate such acts of murder?
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 defense''
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
for commando raids…
…such as the Springer bombing…
…which we did not make part in,
and which we reject
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…
…will 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 legal point. Common decency
demands 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 to die…
…as the one way of preserving
her revolutionary identity…
…she would certainly have told us -
Andreas at least
No memorial speeches, please
Do you wish to bring a charge?
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 request for adjournment
Why not say that before? Proceed
Sadist!
You interrupt to confuse him
Is was a brother/sister relationship,
based on political ideals
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 sadism, 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
of Ulrike Meinhof…
…is associated with high
standards of morality
It's therefore worth reflecting…
…that her death occurred when the defense
introduced a political element
It's hard for me to say anything
We shouldn't speak to you at all now
It is time to act
- Antagonism between state and…
- Out of order
You stop me speaking?
Yes, if it'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 reason enough to suspend
the proceedings of this court
The situation needs to be clarified
A sense of piety should make it
impossible to proceed…
…until the deceased is laid to rest
There's no reason to grant the request
There is no provision 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
Plea to suspend proceedings denied
The defense will not proceed until
after Ulrike Meinhof's funeral
Your behavior here allows
no relationship with you…
…other than waiting for you with a gun
She did not have the mental and
emotional 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 happened in Frankfurt exactly?
Ulrike Meinhof came to Frankfurt
She suggested attacking the
Springer building in Hamburg
She was responsible for planning
and organization
She was given bombs
Afterwards the rest of the group
criticized her. Why?
Because workers were injured as a result
Wasn't that to be expected
in an action like that?
Yes, people were targets as well
Baader complained that
print workers were hurt
Really licking asses 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 climbed the ladder
How were you to react…
…if threatened with capture?
We had instructions to shoot
Carrying guns was idealized,
the image of the true guerrilla
Anyone involved in a shootout
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 1971?
Kiel and Hamburg
know the Saseler Damm in Hamburg?
Saseler Damm, you mean
So you know the car park
behind the shopping center?
That's going too far
You needn't incriminate yourself
Where were you…
…on 21st October 1971?
The microphone's off
The questions obviously refer to the
murder 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 to 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 lives…
…taken by the Ministry of Justice?
- Do you recall?
- I heard something of the kind
The Ministry refuses to release these files
Do they contain your statement?
It's possible
How would your statement damage
West Germany if it were made public?
What do you mean?
Part of your statement has
been 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
brainwashed by the West German authorities
The witness may also be guilty,
but 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 chosen not to appear
in court on the days…
…that the victims of the 6 bomb
explosions gave evidence
We thank the Chief Public 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 favor…
…nor threatened with any penalty…
…nor was any influence 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
counter-insurgency apparatus…
…which be integrated with NATO,
and based in West 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
murder charges against you
The military/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 questions, nothing else
Okay! I'll ask him if he know
these directives
1. Infiltrate terrorist organizations
2. Locate terrorist headquarters
3. Eliminate leaders
Irrelevant to the charges against you
Whatever you think, the Public Prosecutor
does not initiate such measures
Out of order
Do you know of NATO
papers advocating…
…military action against the
Red Army Faction?
Inadmissible
I renew my rejection of this court
Dismissing this question proves you
want to label the Red Army Faction…
…a purely ''criminal alliance''…
- And not a political…
- Anyone else?
It's futile, but 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 rumor…
…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 criminal 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 quality 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 Ulrike's death…
…is to explain the true
structure of our group…
…not the one invented by the witness
as psychological warfare
Strategy was decided collectively
by discussion
The allegation that Ulrike 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 building
This talk of tension…
…attempts to legitimate her murder
This murder 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 people 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 got a bucket of tar over her,
and a sign around her neck:
''This informer's in league
wit the killer pigs''
When a police informer gets nothing
but a bucket 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 decision…
…whether he wanted to give up
the struggle and live
When I came here, I had only
one thing in mind: resistance
Not only because it was
important politically
But also because I needed it
to preserve my identity
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 strike?
- 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
Naturally the group said:
''Hey, start again''
And Holger Meins wrote to me saying:
''If you shit your pants, wash them''
Pretty strong stuff
That was the group
The letter 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 chief 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 no pressure?
Of course
You imply it's the witness's letter
- Your writing?
- Yes
As I said, 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 pressure
was not applied?
Yes, I do
Fine, that's all
Can I only say yes or no?
Being told to hang oneself
is the toughest sanction
So there were sanctions?
No! The problem is you imply
an authoritarian 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 do 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 get a quick transfer. You too!
We won't accept closed doors
at recreation time
Leave the door open, pig
They've gone 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 floor
have been suspended
These stringent conditions…
…contravene the minimum standards
set out in the medical reports
Baader is obviously afraid of
losing 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 Frau Ensslin's position…
…describing a little violin practice
as generous conditions…
…is a degree of cynicism..
…I wouldn't have believed possible
This woman has spent over 4 years
in group isolation…
…which Amnesty 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 of Die Welt
''Dear fraternity member…
''Please destroy these documents ofter use
''No need to send me a copy
of Die Welt. I subscribe''
And where did the judge
get the trial documents?
From our presiding judge. That means..
Ach, a new dodge by your lawyers.
What's the point?
In the name of the accused Ensslin…
62nd!
…I reject the presiding judge
on grounds of bias
Unbeknownst to fellow judges…
…he gave trial documents (including
verbatim evidence) to a third person…
…that is to Judge Mayer,
of the Court Appeal
That Court of Appeal…
…will be responsible for any
appeal against the sentence…
…which you, Your Honor, pass
The High Court judge gave these
documents to the editor of Die Welt
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 Honor?
I know your decision today
was not easy, but…
Your Honor, I don't really think…
Your challenge was my worst moment
in the whole 2 years
Your Honor, I…
It makes a difference if a challenge
comes from your side of the defense
But from the accused's point of view,
any appeal is now futile
Two members in 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 your lawyers''
Imagine the terrible strain I'm under
I'm finished if I don't stick it out
I warn that if you show
disrespect for the court…
..,you will be barred from proceedings
The court is now in session
Baader rejects the presiding judge…
63rd!
…on the grounds that he contacted
a defense lawyer outside this court
During their conversation, he said…
…it makes a difference whether
a plea of rejection…
..comes from this side
of the defense 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 the Interior Minister
to explain…
…and between the accused
and defense 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 institute 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 two cases of emergency…
…warranted by Clause 3
of the Penal Code…
…we listened to conversations…
…between defense counsel
and the Baader-Meinhof gang
The grounds for the decision,
taken 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 adjourned until
the bugging has been explained
I support the submission
If a room provided for the defense
is bugged, counsel 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 legitimate this morass
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…
…in an illegal and unconstitutional manner
all right, out with it!
We wish to call the Interior Minister…
…to clarify whether the accused's
cells were bugged
We also call the Chancellor's office…
…to testify that bugging was carried out…
…by the Intelligence Service on the
7th floor of Stammheim 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 murder, the prosecution…
The prosecution also innocent
until proved guilty
- I didn't specify a person
- You said murder
Behind a murder is a murderer.
Otherwise it is merely a death
After Ulrike's death, the prosecution
spoke of tension between prisoners
How did they know, if not by bugging?
We were utterly ignorant of
this whole bugging affair
I wish to state the aims of the
hunger strike we begin today
No speaking of prison conditions
during the trial
It is obvious that political statements
are now superfluous
Accused and defense counsel
did not attend court again
On April 28th, 1977, the
192nd 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 Mogadishu
The next day, Baader, Ensslin and Raspe
were found dead in their cells
The state prosecutor's verdict was suicide