The German communist urban guerrilla group known as the Red Army Faction (RAF) kidnapped the German businessman Hanns Martin Schleyer on this day in 1977. But did you know that Schleyer was a former SS officer? A fact often ignored in the historical narrative. Schleyer’s aggressive anti-communist views, his history with the Nazi Party, and later his position as a prominent member of the right-wing Christian Democratic Union made him one of the main enemies of the 1968 student movement and a target for the RAF’s kidnapping operation. The RAF used Schleyer to blackmail the West German government into releasing imprisoned RAF members, including two of its founders, Andreas Baader and Gudrun Ensslin. After all the imprisoned members were found dead in their jail cells, Schleyer was killed by the RAF. Early in his life, Schleyer became an enthusiastic Nazi follower and quickly rose in the ranks of the Nazi Party. After being held as a prisoner of war following the defeat of Nazi Germany, Schleyer was released in 1948 and became one of the most influential German businessmen. He was simultaneously president of the Confederation of German Employers’ Association and the Federation of German Industries. The RAF was a West German communist, anti-imperialist urban guerrilla group that emerged from the 1968 student movement. It was founded in 1970 and remained active until 1998. Due to the RAF’s numerous activities against the West German state and its NATO allies, it became one of the leading communist urban guerrilla groups in Europe. The infamous picture of Schleyer being held by the RAF, taken 20 days into his capture, has since become one of the most iconic pictures of the 20th century. (@redstreamnet) wordsmith.social/protestation/…