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Tupamaros West-Berlin

Narrative Summary

Leadership

1. Dieter Kunzelmann (January 1, 1969 to July 1, 1970): Dieter Kunzelmann (b. 1939) is a German left-wing activist. In the early 1960s he was a member of the Situationist-inspired artists' group Gruppe SPUR. He was one of the founders of Kommune 1 in 1967. At the end of the 1960s he was one of the leaders of the Tupamaros West-Berlin, which carried out bombings and arsons. He was arrested in July 1970 and served five years in prison. From 1983 to 1985 he served in the Berlin state parliament as a member of the Alternative List (now Alliance '90/The Greens). In 1997 he was sentenced to a year in prison for throwing an egg at the mayor of Berlin, Eberhard Diepgen. He went into hiding for two years, reappearing to serve his sentence in 1999.[1]
2. Georg von Rauch (January 1, 1969 to December 4, 1971): Georg von Rauch (12 May 1947 — 4 December 1971) was a member of the left-radical Blues-Scene in West-Berlin at the end of the 1960s during the German student movement. After having beaten up a journalist together with Michael Baumann and Thomas Weissbecker, von Rauch was arrested on 2 February 1970. He was held imprisoned as a suspect until his court trial started in summer 1971. When the sentence was proclaimed on 8 Juli, 1971, von Rauch fled the court in Berlin-Moabit by changing roles with Weisbecker (who was freed of all charges). An act that was never fully explained. On 5 December of the same year, von Rauch was caught in Berlin-Schöneberg by plainclothes policemen. A shootout ensued, during which von Rauch was fatally wounded.

Ideology & Goals

• Left wing
• Marxist

Size Estimates

• January 1, 1970: 15 ()[2]

Resources

External Influences

The Tupamaros West-Berlin adopted their name directly from a group in Uruguay that was active between 1963 and the early 1970s. The Tupamaros in Uruguay's a city guerrilla group with attacks in major cities, kidnapping of high-ranking personalities of public life, and bank robberies to procure funds. Their name is based on an Inca-elder who under the adopted name of Tupac Amaru II, fought unsuccessfully against the Spanish conquistadors in the beginning of the 18th century. 

The Tupamaros West-Berlin formed part of a loose, informal personal and political network that has been termed "Blues" [3]. At the same time there existed a Tupamaros Munich - a sister cell active in the city of Munich in Bavaria, South Germany.

Geographical Locations

Germany - West Berlin

Targets & Tactics

The Tupamaros' first action was an attempted bombing of West Berlin's Jewish Community Centre on November 9, 1969 (the anniversary of Kristallnacht). The attack ultimately failed as the bomb, supplied by the undercover government agent Peter Urbach, failed to explode.[4] [5] This was followed in the fall of 1969 by a number of bombings and arsons targeting police, judges, and US and Israeli targets. [6]  The TW claimed responsibility for these attacks under a variety of different names in order to exaggerate the size of their movement. [7]  

Major Attacks

1. February 27, 1969: American president Richard Nixon visits Berlin. Kommune I members Dieter Kunzelmann and Rainer Langhans, also members of TW attempt to bomb Nixon’s motorcade, but the bomb is discovered before it can be triggered. Kunzelmann and Langhans are arrested. (None.).
2. November 9, 1969: Attempted bombing of West Berlin's Jewish Community Centre on November 9, 1969 (the anniversary of Kristallnacht). Bomb failed to explode. (None.).

Relationships with Other Groups

The group was led by Kunzelmann and von Rauch, and dissolved after the former was arrested in 1970 and the latter was killed by police in 1971.[8] Its core members then formed the Movement 2 June, while some others joined the Red Army Faction.[9] 

Community Relationships

In 1971, former members of Kommune I, and former members of the now-disbanded West Berlin Tupamaros, form “Movement 2 June.” Andreas Baader and Gudrun Ensslin encourage the group, which includes Bommi Baumann and Fritz Teufel, to join the RAF. They demure, wary of Baader’s insistence on total leadership, and prefer to stay in Berlin. 

References

1. ^ Kundnani, Hans (2009). Utopia Or Auschwitz: Germany's 1968 Generation and the Holocaust. Columbia University Press. pp. 99, 215.
2. ^ Hauser, Dorothea (2008). "Terrorism". In Martin Klimke, Joachim Scharloth. 1968 in Europe: a history of protest and activism, 1956-1977. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 271–72.
3. ^ Michael Bommi Baumann: Wie alles anfing. Trikont Verlag, München 1975 (Reihe: Romane, Reportagen, Autobiographien) ISBN 3-920385-68-3.
4. ^ Kundnani, Hans (2009). Utopia Or Auschwitz: Germany's 1968 Generation and the Holocaust. Columbia University Press. pp. 88, 90.
5. ^ Gessler, Philipp; Stefan Reinecke (25 October 2005). "The anti-Semitism of the 68ers". die tageszeitung. Retrieved 22 April 2010. Translated into English by Sign and Sight.
6. ^ Kundnani, Hans (2009). Utopia Or Auschwitz: Germany's 1968 Generation and the Holocaust. Columbia University Press. pp. 97.
7. ^ Kundnani, Hans (2009). Utopia Or Auschwitz: Germany's 1968 Generation and the Holocaust. Columbia University Press. pp. 97.
8. ^ Hauser, Dorothea (2008). "Terrorism". In Martin Klimke, Joachim Scharloth. 1968 in Europe: a history of protest and activism, 1956-1977. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 271–72.
9. ^ Hauser, Dorothea (2008). "Terrorism". In Martin Klimke, Joachim Scharloth. 1968 in Europe: a history of protest and activism, 1956-1977. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 271–72.