Adelheid Schulz
Encyclopedia
Adelheid "Heidi" Schulz (born 31 March 1955 in Lörrach
) was a member of the West German terrorist Red Army Faction
.
in the early 1970s and took up residence in a flat with Günter Sonnenberg, Knut Folkerts and her boyfriend Christian Klar
– who would all at a later time be convicted of terrorist crimes. It was around this time that Schulz was exposed to radicalism
, and it was in the seventies that Schulz decided to embark on a life of terrorism.
and Schleyer. She was sentenced to three times life imprisonment
.
In prison she took part in hunger strikes, for which she was force-fed. She described the force-feeding as follows;
The hunger-strikes left Schulz weakened, and on account of her poor health she was released from prison in 1998 and eventually pardoned by President
Johannes Rau
in 2002.
Schulz now lives in Frankfurt
, but is disabled as a result of her continued poor health, stemming from her hunger strikes.
Lörrach
Lörrach is a city in southwest Germany, in the valley of the Wiese, close to the French and the Swiss border. It is the capital of the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg. The biggest industry is the chocolate factory Milka...
) was a member of the West German terrorist Red Army Faction
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...
.
Early life
Having trained as a nurse, Schulz moved to KarlsruheKarlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
in the early 1970s and took up residence in a flat with Günter Sonnenberg, Knut Folkerts and her boyfriend Christian Klar
Christian Klar
Christian Klar was a leading member of the second generation Red Army Faction between the 1970s and 80s...
– who would all at a later time be convicted of terrorist crimes. It was around this time that Schulz was exposed to radicalism
Political radicalism
The term political radicalism denotes political principles focused on altering social structures through revolutionary means and changing value systems in fundamental ways...
, and it was in the seventies that Schulz decided to embark on a life of terrorism.
Terrorism
Schulz became an important member of the second generation of the Red Army Faction.- In 1977 she rented an apartment overlooking the villaVillaA villa was originally an ancient Roman upper-class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became small farming compounds, which were increasingly fortified in Late Antiquity,...
of Jürgen PontoJürgen PontoJürgen Ponto, was a German banker and chairman of the Dresdner Bank board of directors. Previously, he had worked as a lawyer...
, from which he was observed (he was later killed by RAF terrorists).
- Later in 1977, Schulz was involved in planning the kidnap-murderMurderMurder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
of Hanns Martin SchleyerHanns Martin SchleyerHanns-Martin Schleyer was an SS officer, a German business executive and employer and industry representative, serving as President of the two influential organizations Confederation of German Employers' Associations and Federation of German Industries...
.
- In 1978 she was involved in a gun-battle with four DutchNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
customsCustomsCustoms is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, transports, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country...
men in the border town of KerkradeKerkradeKerkrade is a town and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands.It is the western half of the divided region and de facto city, taken together with the eastern half, the German town of Herzogenrath...
, which resulted in the deaths of two of the Dutchmen.
- Between November 1978 and April 1979, Schulz was involved in at least three bank robberies.
- On 11 November 1982, Schulz (along with Brigitte MohnhauptBrigitte MohnhauptBrigitte Margret Ida Mohnhaupt is a German militant associated with the second generation of the Red Army Faction members. She was also part of the Socialist Patients' Collective...
) was arrested when entering a hidden arms cache which had been staked out by police, in a forest in the Offenbach districtOffenbach (district)Offenbach is a Kreis in the south of Hesse, Germany and is part of the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Neighbourhood districts are Main-Kinzig, Aschaffenburg, Darmstadt-Dieburg, Groß-Gerau and the cities of Darmstadt, Frankfurt and Offenbach.-History:The district Offenbach was first...
.
Imprisonment and release
Schulz was charged in connection with nearly all Red Army Faction actions between 1977 and 1981, including the murders of Ponto, Siegfried BubackSiegfried Buback
Siegfried Buback was the Attorney General of Germany from 1974-1977.Buback studied at the University of Leipzig. From 1940 to 1945 he was a member of the Nazi Party. From 1945 to 1947 he was a POW...
and Schleyer. She was sentenced to three times 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...
.
In prison she took part in hunger strikes, for which she was force-fed. She described the force-feeding as follows;
"hours of nausea, a racing heartbeat, pain, and effects similar to fever. At times one experiences hot flashes; then one is freezing cold."
The hunger-strikes left Schulz weakened, and on account of her poor health she was released from prison in 1998 and eventually pardoned by President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
Johannes Rau
Johannes Rau
Johannes Rau was a German politician of the SPD. He was President of Germany from 1 July 1999 until 30 June 2004, and Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia from 1978 to 1998.-Education and work:...
in 2002.
Schulz now lives in Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt 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...
, but is disabled as a result of her continued poor health, stemming from her hunger strikes.