Answers to Questions

1. The opposition to the German authorities, as developed and implemented by the first generation of Baader-Meinhof group members needs to be defined.

How did they organize their protest?  What actions did they execute?

The first generation protesters were organized by Andreas Baader.  Although Andreas was bold in his actions, he wasn’t exactly ruthless.  Protests were mild at first and became increasingly more dangerous, but during the first generation of protesters, there weren’t many civilians in harms way.  It was the beginning and they were a small group.  Bombings were executed with careful consideration of time and place, which was successful to their cause - to get the Governments attention.  Besides the bombing at a department store, a protest was held at the newspaper publishing building.  Rocks were thrown into the building, and vehicles were burned and tipped over.  Guns, during the first executed actions, were used only in defense or to motivate their opposition.

2. In what ways did your level of identification with the group change from the beginning of the movie to the end?

At first I was confused as to who was on what side.  It was clear there was the government, but I wasn’t clear of whom the opposition was and why.  But eventually the cause and fight against government became known.  Seeing the government/police force act against protesters in the beginning of the movie really set the tone.  Their violence gave way to fight back with violence, which is exactly what the RAF group did.  I can understand why the RAF group formed, and believe they had a viable cause; however, as the movie progressed and the fighting and killing was more prevalent, I had less and less of an understanding as to why the RAF was taking the actions they did. At the end, the killings were absurd.  One shot would have been enough to kill a person, but when they unloaded their guns on a person, something was lost along the way. 

3. Did the determination and rudeness displayed by Andreas Baader have a key role in the group dynamics, and in what ways?

Yes, I believe the determination and rudeness of Andreas Baader played a key role in the group's dynamics.  A leader needs to be determined and not wishy-washy.  Determination and drive to change something like government, is a huge undertaking and only a strong leader can prevail in forming a group and motivate them to fight for a cause.  As for rudeness, this too has its place.  Rudeness defines a guerilla group.  If there wasn’t rudeness, then be politically correct and call yourself government.