How it all began: the personal account of a West German urban guerrilla - Bommi Baumann

Bommi Baumann

A memoir of Bommi Baumann, a member of the 2 June Movement, one of West Germany's urban guerrilla groups in the 1960s and 70s. First published in 1975, after he renounced violence and left the group in 1972. Libcom.org does not agree with all the politics of the author but reproduces this text for reference.

We heartily recommend you buy this book:

AttachmentSize
how-it-all-began.pdf4.56 MB

Posted By

Anonymous
Jul 20 2014 13:25

Share


  • Others should understand why people take the road of armed struggle, how they come to it, how the seeds are planted, and what the emotions behind it are, what kind of considerations and psychic preconditions are needed to overcome the fear involved

    Bommi Baumann

Attached files

Comments

Entdinglichung
Jul 20 2016 19:44

he passed away yesterday, he was suffering from Hepatitis C for a long time and had also become addicted to opiates again: http://www.taz.de/!5320956/ (in German)

Steven.
Jul 25 2016 12:06

That's very sad to hear, but thanks for letting us know

Entdinglichung
Jul 26 2016 15:28

a short, generally accurate biography of him up to his arrest in 1981 on Wikipedia, from the 80ies on, he always stayed a libertarian and non-dogmatic socialist, he admitted somewhere that his political thinking was more influenced by London, Kerouac and Ginsberg than by Marx or Bakunin (pirated editions of Bakunin's works were an important source of his group's finances and his personal income around 1970). Due to his health problems and drug consumption not able to work regularly, he lived for some time after 1990 from revenues he got from selling a restituted villa in East Germany which he had inherited from his grandmother and often dressed in public like a toff. He was up to his death regularly interviewed by the media on urban guerilla-related stuff, during the last 20 years, he increasingly stressed that he thought that secret services and "deep state"/gladio structures played a major, if not a leading role in the foundation process of the urban guerilla scene (e.g. via the agent provocateur Peter Urbach) in Germany

Steven.
Jul 26 2016 16:06

As always, your encyclopaedic knowledge and comments are appreciated!

Entdinglichung
Oct 20 2016 13:46

critical obituary by former 2nd June Movement member Klaus Viehmann, who accuses Baumann of being a grass: http://www.akweb.de/ak_s/ak620/12.htm (in German)

Entdinglichung
Oct 24 2016 13:18

another former 2nd June member, Norbert "Knofo" Kröcher took his own life one month ago after being diagnosed with terminal cancer

http://blogs.taz.de/contextishalfthework/2016/09/29/requiem-for-knofo-a-k-a-norbert-kroecher/