Alfred Herrhausen
Encyclopedia
Alfred Herrhausen was a German
banker and Chairman of Deutsche Bank
. From 1971 onwards he was a member of the bank's board of directors.
Herrhausen fell victim to a sophisticated roadside bomb
shortly after leaving his home in Bad Homburg
on 30 November 1989. He was being chauffeured to work in his armoured Mercedes-Benz
, with bodyguards in both a lead vehicle and another following behind. The bomb had been hidden in a saddle bag on a bicycle next to the road that the assassins knew Herrhausen would be traveling in his three-car convoy. In the bag was a 20 kg bomb that was detonated when Herrhausen's car interrupted a beam of infrared light as it passed the bicycle. The bomb targeted the most vulnerable area of Herrhausen's car—-the door where he was sitting—-and required split-second timing to overcome the car's special armour plating. The bomb utilized a Misznay-Schardin
mechanism. A copper plate, placed between the explosive and the target, was deformed and projected by the force of the explosion. It is unlikely that this improvised explosive device
had the precise engineering required to form the liner into a more effective slug or "carrot" shape (as in a shaped charge
or an EFP
) but in any case, the detonation resulted in a mass of copper being projected toward the car at a speed of nearly two kilometers per second, effectively penetrating the armoured Mercedes. Herrhausen's legs were severed and he bled to death.
No one has ever been charged with the murder. For a long time, the German federal prosecutor office listed Andrea Klump
and Christoph Seidler of the Red Army Faction
as the only suspects. The Federal Criminal Police Office (Germany)
presented a chief witness Siegfried Nonne who later retracted his statements in which he claimed to have sheltered four terrorists in his home. His half-brother Hugo Föller (died 23 January 1992) furthermore declared that no other persons had been at the flat at the time. German Television on 1. July 1992 broadcast Nonne's explanations how he was coached and threatened by the Verfassungsschutz, the German internal intelligence agency, to become the main witness. In 2004 the federal prosecutor dropped the charges against the Red Army Faction; the investigation was to continue without naming a suspect.
The award-winning German documentary movie of 2001 Black Box BRD
retells the lives and deaths of Alfred Herrhausen and Wolfgang Grams
, a radical activist (who was a major suspect in the attack on Herrhausen).
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
banker and Chairman of Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank AG is a global financial service company with its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. It employs more than 100,000 people in over 70 countries, and has a large presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and the emerging markets...
. From 1971 onwards he was a member of the bank's board of directors.
Herrhausen fell victim to a sophisticated roadside bomb
Improvised explosive device
An improvised explosive device , also known as a roadside bomb, is a homemade bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action...
shortly after leaving his home in Bad Homburg
Bad Homburg
Bad Homburg vor der Höhe is the district town of the Hochtaunuskreis, Hesse, Germany, on the southern slope of the Taunus, bordering among others Frankfurt am Main and Oberursel...
on 30 November 1989. He was being chauffeured to work in his armoured Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
, with bodyguards in both a lead vehicle and another following behind. The bomb had been hidden in a saddle bag on a bicycle next to the road that the assassins knew Herrhausen would be traveling in his three-car convoy. In the bag was a 20 kg bomb that was detonated when Herrhausen's car interrupted a beam of infrared light as it passed the bicycle. The bomb targeted the most vulnerable area of Herrhausen's car—-the door where he was sitting—-and required split-second timing to overcome the car's special armour plating. The bomb utilized a Misznay-Schardin
Misznay-Schardin effect
The Misznay–Schardin effect, or platter effect, is a characteristic of the detonation of a broad sheet of explosive. The explosive blast expands directly away from the surface of an explosive...
mechanism. A copper plate, placed between the explosive and the target, was deformed and projected by the force of the explosion. It is unlikely that this improvised explosive device
Improvised explosive device
An improvised explosive device , also known as a roadside bomb, is a homemade bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action...
had the precise engineering required to form the liner into a more effective slug or "carrot" shape (as in a shaped charge
Shaped charge
A shaped charge is an explosive charge shaped to focus the effect of the explosive's energy. Various types are used to cut and form metal, to initiate nuclear weapons, to penetrate armor, and in the oil and gas industry...
or an EFP
Explosively Formed Penetrator
An explosively formed penetrator , also known as an explosively formed projectile, a self-forging warhead, or a self-forging fragment, is a special type of shaped charge designed to penetrate armour effectively at standoff distances...
) but in any case, the detonation resulted in a mass of copper being projected toward the car at a speed of nearly two kilometers per second, effectively penetrating the armoured Mercedes. Herrhausen's legs were severed and he bled to death.
No one has ever been charged with the murder. For a long time, the German federal prosecutor office listed Andrea Klump
Andrea Klump
Andrea Martina Klump was a Red Army Faction terrorist.-Early life:From 1978 to 1981 Klump studied Ethnology, Sociology and Political Science in Frankfurt/Main. In 1984 she went underground...
and Christoph Seidler of the Red Army Faction
Red Army Faction
The radicalized were, like many in the New Left, influenced by:* Sociological developments, pressure within the educational system in and outside Europe and the U.S...
as the only suspects. The Federal Criminal Police Office (Germany)
Federal Criminal Police Office (Germany)
The Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany is a national investigative police agency in Germany and falls directly under the Federal Ministry of the Interior...
presented a chief witness Siegfried Nonne who later retracted his statements in which he claimed to have sheltered four terrorists in his home. His half-brother Hugo Föller (died 23 January 1992) furthermore declared that no other persons had been at the flat at the time. German Television on 1. July 1992 broadcast Nonne's explanations how he was coached and threatened by the Verfassungsschutz, the German internal intelligence agency, to become the main witness. In 2004 the federal prosecutor dropped the charges against the Red Army Faction; the investigation was to continue without naming a suspect.
The award-winning German documentary movie of 2001 Black Box BRD
Black Box BRD
Black Box BRD is a 2001 German documentary film written and directed by Andres Veiel. The film deals with West German politics of the 1970s and 1980s, a period marked by turmoil and the highly publicized activities of the left-wing terrorist group known as the Red Army Faction .The film focuses on...
retells the lives and deaths of Alfred Herrhausen and Wolfgang Grams
Wolfgang Grams
Wolfgang Grams was a member of the Red Army Faction, a German far-left terrorist organisation.-Life:Wolfgang Grams was born in Wiesbaden, Germany. His parents, Werner and Ruth Grams, were expelled from the east. Werner Grams volunteered for service in the Waffen-SS...
, a radical activist (who was a major suspect in the attack on Herrhausen).
External links
- 2007 Wall Street Journal article speculating about communist assassins