Birgit Hogefeld
Encyclopedia
Birgit Hogefeld is a former member of the West German Red Army Faction
(RAF).
, Hogefeld joined the RAF in the eighties (around 1984) long after its founding members Andreas Baader
, Gudrun Ensslin
and Ulrike Meinhof
were dead. She became the girlfriend of fellow terrorist Wolfgang Grams
and moved in with him.
in Bad Kleinen
where a group of GSG 9
officers were waiting to arrest them (the officers had received a tip-off from a fellow GSG 9 officer who had infiltrated the RAF). According to the GSG 9 men, Hogefeld and Grams started firing at them on sight; Grams fatally shot an officer named Michael Newrzella
. According to the police Grams committed suicide and fell on the train tracks. However, it was suspected that Grams did not commit suicide but was shot by GSG 9 officers. The Staatsanwaltschaft Schwerin investigated these allegations and concluded in January 1994 that they were incorrect. Grams' parents challenged this conclusion in court, but it was upheld by five different courts, including the European Court of Human Rights in 1999. Interior Minister Rudolf Seiters took responsibility for the poor conducting and postprocessing of the operation and resigned in July of the year, as well as Chief Federal Prosecutor, Alexander von Stahl.
in Germany
were;
In November 1996 she was given three life imprisonment
sentences but was released on June 20, 2011.
In 2008 federal president Köhler denied her clemency request.
Hogefield was released on parole in June 2011.
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...
(RAF).
Early life
Born in WiesbadenWiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
, Hogefeld joined the RAF in the eighties (around 1984) long after its founding members Andreas Baader
Andreas Baader
Andreas Bernd Baader was one of the first leaders of the German left-wing militant organization Red Army Faction, also commonly known as the Baader-Meinhof Gang.- Life :...
, Gudrun Ensslin
Gudrun Ensslin
Gudrun Ensslin was a founder of the German militant group Red Army Faction . After becoming involved with co-founder Andreas Baader, Ensslin was influential in the politicization of Baader's voluntaristic anarchistic beliefs. Ensslin was perhaps the intellectual head of the RAF...
and Ulrike Meinhof
Ulrike Meinhof
Ulrike Marie Meinhof was a German left-wing militant. She co-founded the Red Army Faction in 1970 after having previously worked as a journalist for the monthly left-wing magazine Konkret. She was arrested in 1972, and eventually charged with numerous murders and the formation of a criminal...
were dead. She became the girlfriend of fellow terrorist 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...
and moved in with him.
Arrest
On 27 June 1993, Hogefeld and Grams arrived at a train stationTrain station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
in Bad Kleinen
Bad Kleinen
Bad Kleinen is a municipality in the Nordwestmecklenburg district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is located on the north bank of the Schweriner See.-Geography:...
where a group of GSG 9
GSG 9
The GSG 9 der Bundespolizei , is the elite counter-terrorism and special operations unit of the German Federal Police.-History and name:...
officers were waiting to arrest them (the officers had received a tip-off from a fellow GSG 9 officer who had infiltrated the RAF). According to the GSG 9 men, Hogefeld and Grams started firing at them on sight; Grams fatally shot an officer named Michael Newrzella
Michael Newrzella
Michael Newrzella was a German police officer and member of the GSG 9, the counter-terrorism and special operations unit of the German Federal Police...
. According to the police Grams committed suicide and fell on the train tracks. However, it was suspected that Grams did not commit suicide but was shot by GSG 9 officers. The Staatsanwaltschaft Schwerin investigated these allegations and concluded in January 1994 that they were incorrect. Grams' parents challenged this conclusion in court, but it was upheld by five different courts, including the European Court of Human Rights in 1999. Interior Minister Rudolf Seiters took responsibility for the poor conducting and postprocessing of the operation and resigned in July of the year, as well as Chief Federal Prosecutor, Alexander von Stahl.
Sentencing
Several terrorist activities that Hogefeld was later found guilty of by a Higher CourtJudiciary of Germany
The Judiciary of Germany is based on the concept of the , in which the exercise of governmental power is constrained by law. Federal law delineates the structure of the judiciary, but the administration of most courts is regulated by the states of Germany which are responsible for the lower levels...
in Germany
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...
were;
- The murder of a young GI, Edward PimentalEdward PimentalEdward F. Pimental was an United States Army specialist murdered in Germany by members of the Red Army Faction in 1985.Pimental was from New York City. Stationed with the U.S...
, in 1985 to obtain his I.D. to access the grounds of the U.S. Rhein-Main Air BaseRhein-Main Air BaseRhein-Main Air Base was a U.S. Air Force / NATO military airbase near the city of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It occupied the south side of Frankfurt International Airport. Its airport codes are discontinued....
near FrankfurtFrankfurtFrankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
. Supposedly Hogefeld lured him to her home after meeting him in a bar, where he was then shot through the neck and killed. Eva HauleEva HauleEva Sybille Haule-Frimpong was a terrorist associated with the third generation Red Army Faction. She took her abitur in Stuttgart before going underground in 1984.-Terrorist activities:...
was also involved with Pimental's murder. - A bomb attack on the aforementioned U.S. airbase, which killed A1C Frank Scarton and Becky Jo Bristol and left twenty others injured.
- A failed assassination attempt on Hans TietmeyerHans TietmeyerHans Tietmeyer is a German economist and regarded as one of the foremost experts on international financial matters. He was president of Deutsche Bundesbank from 1993 until 1999 and remains one of the most important figures in finance of the European Union....
, former PresidentPresidentA president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
of the Deutsche BundesbankDeutsche BundesbankThe Deutsche Bundesbank is the central bank of the Federal Republic of Germany and as such part of the European System of Central Banks . Due to its strength and former size, the Bundesbank is the most influential member of the ESCB. Both the Deutsche Bundesbank and the European Central Bank are...
. - The destruction of a jail.
- Involvement in a terrorist organisation.
In November 1996 she was given three life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
sentences but was released on June 20, 2011.
In 2008 federal president Köhler denied her clemency request.
Hogefield was released on parole in June 2011.