Margrit Schiller
Encyclopedia
Margrit Schiller was a West German militant
leftist associated with the Socialist Patients' Collective
and later the second generation Red Army Faction
.
, North Rhine-Westphalia
in March, 1948. She studied psychology
in Bonn and Heidelberg
and became a student member of the Socialist Patients' Collective
(SPK) and was one of the members who turned militant in 1970. After the SPK dissolved Schiller joined the Red Army Faction
.
-Basel
autobahn. However before they reached the vehicle, two people jumped out and started firing guns at them. Both policemen were shot albeit only one was seriously injured. The policemen later identified Schiller and Holger Meins
as their assailants.
On October 22 of the same year, Schiller left a Hamburg
train station around 10pm and realising she was being trailed by police she hid in a car park but the police were still tracking her. She ran into fellow terrorists Irmgard Moeller and Gerhard Müller and when the police tried to approach her she ran, followed by the police, Moeller and Müller. One of the police men caught Schiller but there was a scuffle and he was shot six times and killed, the other police man was shot in the foot.
Schiller later claimed that it was Müller that was responsible for the murder. Later that night around 2am, police approached a female suspect in a telephone booth who turned out to be Schiller. When she came out the police drew their weapons; “Oh, and I thought you wanted to fuck me!” Schiller exclaimed. When they searched her they found a 9 mm pistol
in her handbag. She was arrested and sentenced to 27 months in prison.
Schiller was released in 1973 and went underground straight away. She was involved in the reorganised RAF following the arrests of leading members Ulrike Meinhof
and Andreas Baader
. During this time she took part in bank robberies. However in January/February 1974 she was re-arrested after police carried out raids in Hamburg
and Frankfurt
. Whilst in prison Schiller took part, unsuccessfully, in some hunger strike
s.
and has lived in Uruguay
since 1993.
Militant
The word militant, which is both an adjective and a noun, usually is used to mean vigorously active, combative and aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in 'militant reformers'. It comes from the 15th century Latin "militare" meaning "to serve as a soldier"...
leftist associated with the Socialist Patients' Collective
Socialist Patients' Collective
The Socialist Patients' Collective was a patients' collective founded in Heidelberg in February 1970, by Wolfgang Huber. The kernel of the SPK's ideological program is summated in the slogan Turn Illness into a weapon, which remains actively practiced...
and later the second generation 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
Schiller was born in BonnBonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
, North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
in March, 1948. She studied psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
in Bonn and Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
and became a student member of the Socialist Patients' Collective
Socialist Patients' Collective
The Socialist Patients' Collective was a patients' collective founded in Heidelberg in February 1970, by Wolfgang Huber. The kernel of the SPK's ideological program is summated in the slogan Turn Illness into a weapon, which remains actively practiced...
(SPK) and was one of the members who turned militant in 1970. After the SPK dissolved Schiller joined the 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...
.
Militant leftist career
On September 25, 1971, two policemen approached a wrongly parked vehicle on the FreiburgFreiburg
Freiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. In the extreme south-west of the country, it straddles the Dreisam river, at the foot of the Schlossberg. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest in the Upper Rhine Plain...
-Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
autobahn. However before they reached the vehicle, two people jumped out and started firing guns at them. Both policemen were shot albeit only one was seriously injured. The policemen later identified Schiller and Holger Meins
Holger Meins
Holger Klaus Meins was a German cinematography student who joined the Red Army Faction in the early 1970s and died on hunger strike in prison.-As a Revolutionary:...
as their assailants.
On October 22 of the same year, Schiller left a Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
train station around 10pm and realising she was being trailed by police she hid in a car park but the police were still tracking her. She ran into fellow terrorists Irmgard Moeller and Gerhard Müller and when the police tried to approach her she ran, followed by the police, Moeller and Müller. One of the police men caught Schiller but there was a scuffle and he was shot six times and killed, the other police man was shot in the foot.
Schiller later claimed that it was Müller that was responsible for the murder. Later that night around 2am, police approached a female suspect in a telephone booth who turned out to be Schiller. When she came out the police drew their weapons; “Oh, and I thought you wanted to fuck me!” Schiller exclaimed. When they searched her they found a 9 mm pistol
Pistol
When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...
in her handbag. She was arrested and sentenced to 27 months in prison.
Schiller was released in 1973 and went underground straight away. She was involved in the reorganised RAF following the arrests of leading members 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...
and 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 :...
. During this time she took part in bank robberies. However in January/February 1974 she was re-arrested after police carried out raids in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
and 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...
. Whilst in prison Schiller took part, unsuccessfully, in some hunger strike
Hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance or pressure in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most hunger strikers will take liquids but not...
s.
Later life
In 1979 Schiller was released from prison. In 1985 she moved to CubaCuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
and has lived in Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
since 1993.
Sources
- Book: Hitler's ChildrenHitler's ChildrenHitler's Children is a 1977 biography of the West German militant left-wing group, the Red Army Faction , by South African author Jillian Becker....
by Jillian BeckerJillian BeckerJillian 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:... - Book: Remembering the Armed Struggle: Life in Baader-Meinhof by Margrit Schiller (autobiography)