Adelheid Schulz Explained
Adelheid Schulz (born 31 March 1955) is a former member of the West German terrorist Red Army Faction.
Early life
Having trained as a nurse,[1] Schulz moved to Karlsruhe[2] in the early 1970s and took up residence in a flat with Günter Sonnenberg, Knut Folkerts and her boyfriend[3] 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.
Terrorism
Schulz became an important member of the second generation of the Red Army Faction.
- In 1977 she rented an apartment overlooking the villa of Jürgen Ponto, from which he was observed (he was later killed by RAF terrorists).
- Later in 1977, Schulz was involved in planning the kidnap-murder of Hanns Martin Schleyer.
- In 1978 she was involved in a gun-battle with four Dutch customs men in the border town of Kerkrade, 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.[4]
- On 11 November 1982, Schulz (along with Brigitte Mohnhaupt) was arrested when entering a hidden arms cache which had been staked out by police, in a forest in the Offenbach district.[5]
Imprisonment and release
Schulz was charged in connection with nearly all Red Army Faction actions between 1977 and 1981,[6] including the murders of Ponto, Siegfried Buback and Schleyer. She was sentenced to three times life imprisonment.[7]
In prison she took part in hunger strikes, for which she was force-fed. She described the force-feeding as follows;[6]
"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 Johannes Rau in 2002.[8]
Schulz now lives in Frankfurt, but is disabled as a result of her continued poor health, stemming from her hunger strikes.[9]
Notes and References
- Web site: Affluent, Educated and Deadly, Terrorist Shock Troops Are Laying Siege to West Germany . People.com . 2015-01-25 . 2016-01-25.
- Web site: Zeitungsarchiv - Hamburger Abendblatt . de . Abendblatt.de . 2016-01-25.
- [Jillian Becker|Becker, Jillian]
- Web site: RAF - Die Geschichte der Rote Armee Fraktion -Aktuelles . Raf-geschichte-der-rote-armee-fraktion.de . 2016-01-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170626123239/http://www.raf-geschichte-der-rote-armee-fraktion.de/Chronologie-der-Rote-Armee-Fraktion.asp . 2017-06-26 . dead .
- Web site: Rote Armee Fraktion | Social History Portal . Labourhistory.net . 2016-01-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131205050232/http://labourhistory.net/raf/chronology.php . 2013-12-05 . dead .
- Web site: Armed Struggle in the Federal Republic of Germany, 1967-1988, a timeline . August 21, 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070927223358/http://www.germanguerilla.com/red-army-faction/raf_timeline.html . September 27, 2007 .
- News: AROUND THE WORLD - West German Terrorists Given Life Terms - NYTimes.com . West Germany . . 1985-03-14 . 2016-01-25.
- Web site: Rau begnadigt Adelheid Schulz . August 21, 2008 . Spiegel Online.
- Web site: Lehrer, Schriftsteller, Buchhalter . August 21, 2008 . Spiegel Online .
