The Red Army Faction, A Documentary History: Volume 2: Dancing with Imperialism

638 Pages·2013·5.87 MB·English

by  J. Smith

PRAISE FOR VOLUME 2: DANCING WITH IMPERIALISM
In this book Moncourt and Smith are offering some “institutional memory” for those of us
who are struggling against the horrible situations that unbridled capitalism and
imperialism have forced upon us. Such institutional memory is desperately needed.
They remind us that a generation ago a RAF political prisoner in Germany wrote that
the world was facing a “…fascism that no longer requires mass mobilization of
ideologically motivated fascists, but only bureaucrats and technocrats in the service of the
imperialist state.”
A political observation that a generation later we still have not adequately mobilized
around.
Here too, Ward Churchill lets us see that not nearly enough has been done to provide a
similar institutional memory regarding those who struggled against the same forces in the
United States in that same time period. Is it any wonder that the fight against prison
isolation in the U.S. is hobbled by a failure to realize that this country’s 80,000 isolated
prisoners suffer under hellish conditions originally designed to destroy political prisoners?
Knowledge that would force U.S. prisoners to recognize that their struggle requires political
and not “legal” solutions.
Moncourt and Smith also remind us of the crucial strategic roles wimmin played in the
struggles centered in Germany. Widespread and courageous roles that even left me
stunned as to how little I really knew of that aspect! A realization that if patriarchal
conditions can blind one who has been struggling over four decades against these same
forces, then we all must step up our efforts to place the destruction of patriarchy and all
forms of gender oppression on the same level as the fight to overcome capitalist and
imperialist exploitation.
—Russell “Maroon” Shoatz, U.S. political prisoner
Dancing with Imperialism, the second volume in the Red Army Faction documentary
trilogy, continues to excavate a fascinating history of the German revolutionary left in the
1970s and 1980s. It powerfully situates the RAF within a broader orbit of revolutionary
politics and world events. It gives us the inside story of how militants did and might engage
with police, prisons, informants, media, and one another in the context of struggle. It is an
exciting story, a global story, and very much a story for today’s movements.
—Dan Berger, editor of The Hidden 1970s: Histories of Radicalism
PRAISE FOR VOLUME 1: PROJECTILES FOR THE PEOPLE
The editors of this work, J. Smith and André Moncourt, have created an intelligently
political work that honestly discusses the politics of the Red Army Faction during its early
years. Their commentary explains the theoretical writings of the RAF from a left
perspective and puts their politics and actions in the context of the situation present in
Germany and the world at the time. It is an extended work that is worth the commitment
required to read and digest it. Not only a historical document, the fact that it is history
provides us with the ability to comprehend the phenomenon that was the RAF in ways not
possible thirty years ago.
—Ron Jacobs, author of The Way the Wind Blew: A History of the Weather Underground
This first volume about the RAF is about a part of WWII that did not end when the so-
called allies defeated the nazis. The RAF warriors come from a strong socialist history and
knew they were fighting for the very life of their country. Many victories and many errors
were scored which provide this important look into REAL her/history lessons. A must read
for all serious alternative history students who then in turn can use it as a teaching tool
towards a better future.
—b (r.d. brown), former political prisoner, George Jackson Brigade
This book about the Red Army Faction of American-occupied Germany is one that should
be read by any serious student of antiimperialist politics. Volume 1: Projectiles for the
People provides a history of the RAF’s development through the words of its letters and
communiqués. What makes the book especially important and relevant, however, is the
careful research and documentation done by its editors. From this book you will learn the
mistakes of a group that was both large and strong, but which (like our own home-grown
attempts in this regard) was unable to successfully communicate with the working class of
a “democratic” country on a level that met their needs. While the armed struggle can be
the seed of something much larger, it is also another means of reaching out and
communicating with the people. Students interested in this historic era would do well to
study this book and to internalize both the successes and failures of one of the largest
organized armed anti-imperialist organizations operating in Western Europe since World
War II.
—Ed Mead, former political prisoner, George Jackson Brigade

the red army faction: a documentary history
volume 2: dancing with imperialism
introductory texts and translations by André Moncourt and J. Smith
The opening epigraph is from Brigitte Mohnhaupt’s December 4, 1984, trial statement,
which appears in this volume on pages 304–315.
ISBN: 978-1-60486-030-6
Library of Congress Control Number: 2012914067
© 2013 Kersplebedeb
This edition © 2013 PM Press and Kersplebedeb
Many of the translated texts in this book
are available online at www.germanguerilla.com
Kersplebedeb Publishing and Distribution
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CCCP Van Horne
Montreal, Quebec
Canada H3W 3H8
www.kersplebedeb.com
PM Press
PO Box 23912
Oakland, CA 94623
www.pmpress.org
Layout and Index by Kersplebedeb
Cover Design: Josh MacPhee/Justseeds.org
The photo used on the front cover is of the 1981 bombing of the Ramstein airbase.
Printed in the United States on recycled paper by the Employee Owners of Thomson-
Shore in Dexter, Michigan
www.thomsonshore.com
dedicated to the memory of Christa Eckes
“The RAF’s struggle was always based on both the global balance of power and
the conflict in the metropole. The war is not just about escalating things in the
most developed sectors; rather it is the reality of the entire imperialist system,
and will be until victory.”
Brigitte Mohnhaupt
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
NOTE ON TRANSLATIONS AND SOURCES
PREFACE
ACRONYM KEY
GERMAN TERMS
ON THE NECESSITY OF ARMED STRUGGLE: REFLECTIONS ON THE RAF
AND THE QUESTION OF MOVING FORWARD BY WARD CHURCHILL
1
PREVIOUSLY ON RED ARMY FACTION
what is a rear base area?
the raf and the gdr: benign neglect no more
2
TWILIGHT OF THE SEVENTIES GUERILLA
anti-imperialism defined
3
THE ANTINUCLEAR MOVEMENT: OLD MEETS NEW
4
KICK AT THE DARKNESS 93
the verfassungsschutz
christian klar regarding zurich
Sixth Hunger Strike (March 14, 1978)
Seventh Hunger Strike (April 20, 1979)
Attack on Alexander Haig (June 25, 1979)
Statement Calling Off the Seventh Hunger Strike (June 26, 1979)