Movement 2 June - Bombings, Kidnappings, and Other Violent Acts

Bombings, Kidnappings, and Other Violent Acts

Although the Movement 2 June achieved their greatest feat kidnapping Peter Lorenz, the extremist group’s most frequent activity was bombing. On February 2, 1972, the Movement 2 June declared responsibility for a bombing at the British Yacht Club in West Berlin. The attack, which killed the boat’s engineer, was later found out to be an act of assistance for the Irish Republican Army. During the trial, which took place in February 1974, Movement 2 June and other extremists started a riot at the court’s exterior. On the fifth anniversary of Benno Ohnesorg’s death, a bomb exploded in West Berlin. To this day, no group has taken responsibility for the bombing, although it was inferred that attack was the action of Movement 2 June. In West Berlin on July 27, 1973, the Movement 2 June stole 200,000 Deutsch Marks from a local bank. In mid-1974, Movement 2 June member Ulrich Schumücker was shot to death by others in the organization. Although it is not clear what the rationale was for the shooting, Schumücker was believed to be an informant. The opposing argument was that the murder was an accident. After Red Army Faction member Holger Meins died in prison, the Movement 2 June attempted a kidnapping of Superior Court Justice Günter von Drenkmann, who was killed in the process. The effort to kidnap von Drenkmann was believed to be retaliation for the poor treatment of Meins during his time in prison. Meins and other Red Army Faction associates were force-fed during a hunger strike, an action that angered the radical groups of West Berlin. While much of the general public was horrified by the death of the Superior Court Justice, many others believed that the Meins’ cruel treatment by security officers was unethical, and justified von Drenkmann’s death.