Meinhof, Ulrike (1934–1976)

The left-wing journalist Ulrike Meinhof was known for her affiliation with the West German Red Army Faction (RAF), often referred to in the media as the Baader-Meinhof Gang, after its two most prominent members.

Meinhof's parents were killed when she was young, and she was raised in West Germany by her foster mother, Renate Riemack, who was a socialist and profoundly influenced Meinhof's political views. As a college student, Meinhof married Klaus Rainer Rohl and became an editor and journalist for his left-wing student newspaper. They had twin girls together but then separated in the late 1960s.

At that time, Meinhof was becoming more involved in the radical left student movement. She joined the Red Army Faction after she interviewed their leader, Andreas Baader, while he was in prison for arson. The aims of the RAF were to revolutionize the working people, to convert the [Page 386]capitalist society, and to eliminate the U.S. presence in West Germany, which they believed to be the cause of many injustices. They committed several bank robberies, murders, kidnappings, and bombings to forward their cause.

Meinhof became infamous on May 14, 1970, when she helped free Baader from prison in Berlin. After this event, journalists began calling RAF the Baader-Meinhof Gang. This name stuck, and has led to the frequent incorrect assumption that Meinhof was a co-leader of the group. In fact, the other leader was not Meinhof but Baader's girlfriend, Gudrun Ensslin.

Meinhof evaded the law for two years after she aided Baader's escape. In these years, she continued to rob banks and bomb buildings before being caught and sentenced to prison in 1972. While incarcerated, she grew increasingly depressed and on May 9, 1976, Ulrike Meinhof committed suicide.