Renate Riemeck
Encyclopedia
Renate Riemeck was an historian
and energetic peace activist who became known as former foster parent of the terrorist Ulrike Meinhof
.
As a young woman she joined the "Christian Community"
(Christengemeinschaft) an anthroposophical denomination founded by a group of evangelical theologians in Switzerland in 1922, and which was banned in Germany in 1941. After the war she was among the millions who relocated away from the center and east of Germany, moving to Oldenburg
where she worked in teacher training, herself authoring one of the first democratic school text books of the period.
In the early 1940s, while living at Jena
, Riemeck befriended the newly widowed Dr Ingeborg Meinhof, moving in with the Meinhof family as a lodger. After the war, with Jena in the Russian occupation zone, the Meinhofs moved with her to Oldenburg where, following Ingeborg Meinhof’s death from cancer in 1949, Riemeck formally became guardian to her friend’s two orphaned children one of whom, Ulrike Meinhof
, would subsequently gain notoriety as a leading member of the terrorist Baader-Meinhof Gang
.
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and energetic peace activist who became known as former foster parent of the terrorist 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...
.
As a young woman she joined the "Christian Community"
The Christian Community
The Christian Community is a Christian denomination. It was founded in 1922 in Switzerland by a group of mainly Lutheran theologians and ministers led by Friedrich Rittelmeyer, inspired by Rudolf Steiner, the Austrian philosopher and founder of anthroposophy...
(Christengemeinschaft) an anthroposophical denomination founded by a group of evangelical theologians in Switzerland in 1922, and which was banned in Germany in 1941. After the war she was among the millions who relocated away from the center and east of Germany, moving to Oldenburg
Oldenburg
Oldenburg is an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the western part of the state between the cities of Bremen and Groningen, Netherlands, at the Hunte river. It has a population of 160,279 which makes it the fourth biggest city in Lower Saxony after Hanover, Braunschweig...
where she worked in teacher training, herself authoring one of the first democratic school text books of the period.
In the early 1940s, while living at Jena
Jena
Jena is a university city in central Germany on the river Saale. It has a population of approx. 103,000 and is the second largest city in the federal state of Thuringia, after Erfurt.-History:Jena was first mentioned in an 1182 document...
, Riemeck befriended the newly widowed Dr Ingeborg Meinhof, moving in with the Meinhof family as a lodger. After the war, with Jena in the Russian occupation zone, the Meinhofs moved with her to Oldenburg where, following Ingeborg Meinhof’s death from cancer in 1949, Riemeck formally became guardian to her friend’s two orphaned children one of whom, 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...
, would subsequently gain notoriety as a leading member of the terrorist Baader-Meinhof Gang
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...
.