Andreas Baader

German militant anarchist and political activist. He headed the Baader-Meinhof gang for bank robberies and bombings, killing and maiming innocent people. His dad was killed when he was two and he was raised as a spoiled, work-shy boy known for his sex appeal and flashy cars. He went to Berlin at 20 and entered a ménage a trois with a couple; the woman bore his baby in 1965. When he met Gudrun Ensslin, a dedicated communist, at a student demonstration, they fell in love. After moving to Frankfurt, they met with other militants and formed "The People's War." "Heroes of the left," the group planted bombs in stores as a political protest of Vietnam. Caught, he served 14 months in prison from 4/1968 to 6/1969. When released, Baader teamed up with Ulrike Meinhof and formed the Baader-Meinhof gang. They began a series of efficient bank robberies in Berlin in 1/1971 and the killing began with their shooting of a cop in October, with a second cop killed on 12/22/1971. Building up an arsenal of guns and explosives, Baader led the gang in planting bombs in an army headquarters on 5/11/1972. The explosion killed one and wounded 13. The "People's War" continued with a series of bombings until a secret tip led to the police's discovery of their bomb factory-HQ. On 6/01/1972, Baader zoomed in driving a lilac Porsche with two of the other terrorists. They shut themselves in the garage while the police bombarded them with tear-gas grenades, all shown on live German TV. When Baader was shot in the thigh, they gave up and were captured. The trial began on 5/21/1975 of Baader, Meinhof, Ensslin and Raspe, with charges that covered 350 pages. Baader was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. After the conviction, the Red Brigade terrorist group engaged in a series of bloody bombings, kidnappings and murders. Baader had a pistol smuggled into prison, and he shot himself to death on 10/13/1977, although some believe he was murdered by the government and his death was simply declared a suicide. Link to Wikipedia biography