German Autumn

The German Autumn (German: Deutscher Herbst) refers to the period and political atmosphere in the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) during September and October 1977. This period was marked by a series of attacks by the Red Army Faction (RAF), a far-left militant group designated as a terrorist organization by the West German government. The German Autumn included the kidnapping and murder of German industrialist and former SS officer Hanns Martin Schleyer, the hijacking of Lufthansa Flight 181, and the suicides of the imprisoned leading members of the first generation of the RAF. These events represented the final act of the RAF's so-called "Offensive 77". The German Autumn is considered one of the most serious crises in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany. The term "German Autumn" is derived from the 1978 film Deutschland im Herbst (Germany in Autumn), a collage of several documentaries by eleven directors of the "New German Cinema." The film critically examines the state's reaction to terrorism from different perspectives.