Waltrude Schleyer
Encyclopedia
Waltrude Schleyer was daughter of the Nazi advocate of Euthanasia
, SA
-Obergruppenführer
Emil Ketterer
. She campaigned against leniency for the murderers of her husband, Hanns-Martin Schleyer, following his assassination by the Red Army Faction
which shocked West Germany
during the 1970s.
Schleyer's husband, Hanns-Martin Schleyer, was the head of the employers association in West Germany
and a former SS
lieutenant. He was kidnapped and then killed by the Red Army Faction
(RAF) in 1977. The RAF was also known as the Baader-Meinhof gang, which was named after two of the group's early leaders, Andreas Baader
and Ulrike Meinhof
. The RAF was a radical Communist terrorist group, with a Marxist-Leninist ideology
, which sought to overthrow the West German government, which was capitalist
and a close ally of the United States
during the Cold War
.
The RAF kidnapping of Martin Schleyer was intended to force the West German government to release Andreas Baader and three other RAF members. Baader and the other RAF members were being held at the Stammheim
prison near the city of Stuttgart
. The West German government refused to give into RAF's demands or negotiate. The RAF sent the government a picture of Hanns-Martin Schleyer alive, but in captivity, on October 8, 1977. On October 18, 1977, on learning that three of their members had been found dead in prison, the RAF killed Martin Schleyer. His body was found on October 19, 1977, in a car in Mulhouse, France, which is just across the border from Germany. The RAF disbanded itself in 1998.
Waltrude Schleyer advocated against clemency for RAF members who had killed her husband. One of Martin Schleyer's kidnappers, Christian Klar
, was refused a pardon by German President
Horst Koehler, but was released on 19th of December 2008. Other former RAF terrorist members have also been granted clemency and released. These moves were sharply opposed by Waltrude Schleyer.
Waltrude Schleyer died on March 21, 2008 at the age of 92 in Stuttgart, Germany. Her death was announced in the Stuttgarter Nachrichten daily newspaper, which did not give a cause of her death.
Euthanasia
Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
, SA
Sturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
-Obergruppenführer
Obergruppenführer
Obergruppenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the SA and until 1942 it was the highest SS rank inferior only to Reichsführer-SS...
Emil Ketterer
Emil Ketterer
Emil Ketterer was a German track and field athlete who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics. Later in his life, he became an ardent Nazi and SA-Obergruppenführer. As a medical doctor, he was involved in approval and promotion of euthanasia under the Nazi regime...
. She campaigned against leniency for the murderers of her husband, Hanns-Martin Schleyer, following his assassination by 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...
which shocked West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
during the 1970s.
Schleyer's husband, Hanns-Martin Schleyer, was the head of the employers association in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
and a former SS
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
lieutenant. He was kidnapped and then killed by 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...
(RAF) in 1977. The RAF was also known as the Baader-Meinhof gang, which was named after two of the group's early leaders, 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 :...
and 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...
. The RAF was a radical Communist terrorist group, with a Marxist-Leninist ideology
Ideology
An ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to...
, which sought to overthrow the West German government, which was capitalist
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
and a close ally of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
.
The RAF kidnapping of Martin Schleyer was intended to force the West German government to release Andreas Baader and three other RAF members. Baader and the other RAF members were being held at the Stammheim
Stammheim
Stammheim may refer to:* Stammheim - 1986 West German film directed by Reinhard Hauff* Stammheim, Cologne - municipal part of the city of Cologne, Germany* Stammheim, Stuttgart - municipal part of the city of Stuttgart, Germany...
prison near the city of Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
. The West German government refused to give into RAF's demands or negotiate. The RAF sent the government a picture of Hanns-Martin Schleyer alive, but in captivity, on October 8, 1977. On October 18, 1977, on learning that three of their members had been found dead in prison, the RAF killed Martin Schleyer. His body was found on October 19, 1977, in a car in Mulhouse, France, which is just across the border from Germany. The RAF disbanded itself in 1998.
Waltrude Schleyer advocated against clemency for RAF members who had killed her husband. One of Martin Schleyer's kidnappers, Christian Klar
Christian Klar
Christian Klar was a leading member of the second generation Red Army Faction between the 1970s and 80s...
, was refused a pardon by German President
President of Germany
The President of the Federal Republic of Germany is the country's head of state. His official title in German is Bundespräsident . Germany has a parliamentary system of government and so the position of President is largely ceremonial...
Horst Koehler, but was released on 19th of December 2008. Other former RAF terrorist members have also been granted clemency and released. These moves were sharply opposed by Waltrude Schleyer.
Waltrude Schleyer died on March 21, 2008 at the age of 92 in Stuttgart, Germany. Her death was announced in the Stuttgarter Nachrichten daily newspaper, which did not give a cause of her death.