Hitler's Children
Encyclopedia
Hitler's Children is a 1977 biography of the West German militant left-wing group, the Red Army Faction
(also known as The Baader-Meinhof Gang), by South African author Jillian Becker
.
It accounts the deeds of the group up to the suicide of Ulrike Meinhof
, having been written before German Autumn
.
It not only chronicles the group but provides a brief bio of the main members Andreas Baader
and Gudrun Ensslin
, and devotes many chapters to Ulrike Meinhof's life leading up to her terrorist career.
Despite offering the reader the opportunity to "draw his own conclusions" on the subject, the book has been accused of a pro-state bias. Jillian Becker has been accused repeatedly of bias in her books, to which she has responded: "Of course I am biased, it is the choice between the epitome of evil and a free democratic state. Whom do you think I favour?"
Tom Vague in his book Televisionaries claims that Becker "gleefully points out" the deaths of two German terrorists during a hijacking who are affiliated with a similar group.
Elsewhere in the book the author refers to Ulrike Meinhof's "characteristic inefficiency" and fellow member Siegfried Hausner
's persistent bungling as an urban guerilla.
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...
(also known as The Baader-Meinhof Gang), by South African author Jillian Becker
Jillian Becker
Jillian Becker is a novelist, prize-winning story-writer, critic, journalist, lecturer, best known internationally as a writer, researcher, and authority on the subject of terrorism.-Life:...
.
It accounts the deeds of the group up to the suicide of 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...
, having been written before German Autumn
German Autumn
The German Autumn was a set of events in late 1977, associated with the kidnapping and murder of industrialist Hanns-Martin Schleyer, President of the Confederation of German Employers' Associations and the Federation of German Industries , by the Red Army Faction , and the hijacking of the...
.
It not only chronicles the group but provides a brief bio of the main 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 :...
and 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 devotes many chapters to Ulrike Meinhof's life leading up to her terrorist career.
Despite offering the reader the opportunity to "draw his own conclusions" on the subject, the book has been accused of a pro-state bias. Jillian Becker has been accused repeatedly of bias in her books, to which she has responded: "Of course I am biased, it is the choice between the epitome of evil and a free democratic state. Whom do you think I favour?"
Tom Vague in his book Televisionaries claims that Becker "gleefully points out" the deaths of two German terrorists during a hijacking who are affiliated with a similar group.
Elsewhere in the book the author refers to Ulrike Meinhof's "characteristic inefficiency" and fellow member Siegfried Hausner
Siegfried Hausner
Siegfried Hausner was a student member of the German Socialist Patients' Collective and later the Red Army Faction.-As a Terrorist:...
's persistent bungling as an urban guerilla.