Ulrike Meinhof and the Red Army Faction - by L Passmore (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Ulrike Meinhof's entrance into the West German terrorist underground was both a footnote to the waning student movement of the late 1960s, and a preamble to the bloodiest period in Germany's post-war history. Meinhof fought to make herself heard as a high-profile journalist before becoming a founding member of the Red Army Faction (RAF) in 1970. She continued writing in the underground and from 1972, in prison, until she was found dead in her cell in 1976. Leith Passmore traces Meinhof's struggle to communicate from her time as a journalist, through her escape to the underground, her prison years, and the Stammheim trial. He examines for the first time the performativity of terrorist acts of language, imagery, and physical violence to reveal how Meinhof made and re-made RAF terrorism"--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

With a communicative approach to the phenomenon of terrorism and new archival sources, the book documents Meinhof's journalism and terrorism (1959-1976) and challenges many of the established narratives that have calcified around the story of Meinhof and the history of Germany's most infamous terrorist group.

Review Quotes

'Passmore has produced a lively, thought-provoking, and accessible work that uses the life of Ulrike Meinhof and her role as chief writer and propagandist of the Red Army Faction (RAF) to fruitfully explore the concept of terrorism as a theatrical, communicative act. Recommended.' CHOICE

"Passmore's study contributes to a nuanced understanding of the communicative strategies deployed by the RAF in its discursive struggle against the Federal Republic." - German History

About the Author

LEITH PASSMORE holds a doctorate in History and German Studies from the University of Western Australia and is a postdoctoral fellow at the Universidad de Chile.