Rewriting Berlin's 2nd of June 1967 shooting & German history.

international | history and heritage | other press

Wednesday May 27, 2009 19:47

by iosaf

"oh lord won't you buy me a mercedes benz"

June 2nd 1967 was a watershed in German postwar history so pivotal that the date would be used by a terrorist grouping as their name. Benno Ohnesorg was shot dead by a policeman. Ohnesorg had been peacefully protesting the visit of the then Shah of Iran to the then West Berlin. It has now emerged the policeman in question, Karl-Heinz Kurras had been a member of the STASI since 1955 though there is no evidence he was acting on their orders at the time of the shooting.

was postwar Germany more fascistic before or after his death?

June 2nd 1967 was a watershed in German postwar history so pivotal that the date would be used by a terrorist grouping as their name & a monument in Berlin would be raised in memory of the student Benno Ohnesorg was shot in the back of the head & quite dead by a policeman. Ohnesorg had been peacefully protesting the visit of the then Shah of Iran to the then West Berlin Opera to hear Mozart's Magic. After that shooting many believe the 1968 and subsequent social movements and agitation in the then West German state began. TThe "fascist cop" had shot "the innocent kid".

It has now emerged the policeman in question, Karl-Heinz Kurras had been a member of the STASI or East German secret service since 1955 though there is no evidence he was acting on their orders at the time of the shooting.

Those who understand German might enjoy this short vid on the shooting with commentary by Ulrkie Meinhof, whose group the RAF or "Baader Meinhof" were to cite in justification of their subsequent armed actions. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5yvzwjN8NY

[.....The Movement 2nd June (German: Bewegung 2. Juni) was a well known West German militant group based in West Berlin. Named after the date on which Benno Ohnesorg was killed, the group mostly bombed property in Berlin. The most significant operation of the group was when they successfully kidnapped Peter Lorenz in 1975. Lorenz was the CDU candidate for mayor in Berlin. The kidnappers managed to free four of their imprisoned comrades, who were flown to South Yemen. Lorenz was released the next day, dropped off with some small change so he could call a taxi. Movement 2nd June was allied with the Red Army Faction (RAF) (referred to by the German media as the Baader-Meinhof Gang after the two founding members), but was ideologically anarchist as opposed to the Marxist RAF. In the early eighties, the movement disbanded. Many members then joined the RAF......] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movement_2_June

Indeed the Bernad Eichinger's 2008 film The Baader Meinhof Complex begins with a graphic depiction of the shooting which is to this day central to many German's imaginary awareness of their own society.
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a back article from IMC Ireland on the RAF saw a lot of information in the comments on the people who would in the space created by that shooting find their place in history & we might muse also find their place in prison, some to this very day :-

http://www.indymedia.ie/article/80970

Whereas the former STASI spy, Kurras, who is now 81 years of age only got suspended from the West Berlin policeforce after the shooting for a paltry 4 years. During which he put bread on his table by working in private security. In 1971 he rejoined the police force and was subsequently promoted to Kriminaloberkommissar (Detective Chief Inspector). He retired from the service in 1987.

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“It makes a hell of a difference whether John F. Kennedy was killed by just a loose cannon running around or a Secret Service agent working for the East,” “I would never, never, ever have thought that this could be true.”
:- Stefan Aust, who served from 1994 to 2008 as editor in chief of the "Der Spiegel".

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original story from Monday's German newspaper "Bild" with interview & archive links.
http://www.bild.de/BILD/politik/2009/05/24/karl-heinz-k....html