Rolf Clemens Wagner (30 August 1944 – 11 February 2014) was a member of the left wing
terrorist
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
organisation
Red Army Faction
The Red Army Faction (RAF, ; , ),See the section "Name" also known as the Baader–Meinhof Group or Baader–Meinhof Gang (, , active 1970–1998), was a West German far-left Marxist-Leninist urban guerrilla group founded in 1970.
The ...
(RAF).
Terrorism
Wagner carried out most of his terrorists actions in the 1970s, and became an active member of the
second generation RAF. Some of the major points of his terrorist career are listed below;
*Suspected active role in the
kidnap
In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the p ...
-
murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
of
Hanns-Martin Schleyer
Hans "Hanns" Martin Schleyer (; 1 May 1915 – 18 October 1977) was a German business executive, and employer and industry representative, who served as President of two powerful commercial organizations, the Confederation of German Employers' A ...
, September 1977.
*In May 1978, Wagner was arrested in
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
(alongside
Brigitte Mohnhaupt
Brigitte Margret Ida Mohnhaupt (born 24 June 1949) is a German convicted former terrorist associated with the second generation of the Red Army Faction (RAF) members. She was also part of the Socialist Patients' Collective (SPK). From 1971 until 1 ...
,
Peter-Jurgen Boock and
Sieglinde Hofmann
Sieglinde Hofmann (born 14 March 1945) was a German militant and member of both the Socialist Patients' CollectiveWolfgang Kraushaar"Die RAF und der linke Terrorismus" Hamburger Edition, 2006, Volume 1, p. 473 and the Red Army Faction.
Biography ...
), and faced extradition to
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
. He was released however, and allowed to travel to a country of his choice because West Germany turned down an offer from Yugoslavia to extradite them in exchange for eight
Croatian political fugitives in West Germany. It is thought that Wagner travelled to
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
.
*In June 1979 Wagner took part in the failed assassination attempt on
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
Commander
Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain.
...
Alexander Haig
Alexander Meigs Haig Jr. (; December 2, 1924February 20, 2010) was United States Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan and White House Chief of Staff under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Prior to and in between these c ...
.
*In November later that year, he was involved in a
bank raid in a
Swiss
Swiss may refer to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
*Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
*Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports
*Swiss Internation ...
Volksbank
There are several banks that operate under the name "Volksbank" (Afrikaans, Dutch and German for "people's bank").
There are also 1,099 independent local Volksbanken in Germany. They are completely separate from the Austrian Association of Volksba ...
, where a policeman was shot and seriously injured, and an innocent bystander (housewife Edith Kletzhandler) died when she was hit in the throat by a
ricochet
A ricochet ( ; ) is a rebound, bounce, or skip off a surface, particularly in the case of a projectile. Most ricochets are caused by accident and while the force of the deflection decelerates the projectile, it can still be energetic and almost ...
ing bullet.
On 19 November 1979, Wagner was arrested in
Zurich.
Imprisonment and release
Wagner was extradited to West Germany, and in 1985 he was sentenced to two life terms in prison for murder. His sentence was extended however when another RAF member,
Werner Lotze, made a statement implicating Wagner in the Haig attack, and he was sentenced to another 12 years
imprisonment
Imprisonment is the restraint of a person's liberty, for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is "false imprisonment". Imprisonment does not necessari ...
.
In 2003
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Johannes Rau
Johannes Rau (; 16 January 193127 January 2006) was a German politician (SPD). He was the president of Germany from 1 July 1999 until 30 June 2004 and the minister president of North Rhine-Westphalia from 20 September 1978 to 9 June 1998. In the ...
pardoned Wagner, who was then 59 and suffering from ill-health.
Wagner caused controversy again in October 2007 when he made a statement about his previous crimes;
In retrospect, many of our decisions seem correct even today. Take, for example, the decision to kidnap Hanns-Martin Schleyer
Hans "Hanns" Martin Schleyer (; 1 May 1915 – 18 October 1977) was a German business executive, and employer and industry representative, who served as President of two powerful commercial organizations, the Confederation of German Employers' A ...
. He, with his SS history, acting as the business leader in the occupied zones and in his new role as strong-arm and President of the Employers Association; we didn’t choose him by chance.
Many members of German society were outraged at Wagner’s remarks, such as
Rupert Scholz
Rupert Scholz (born 23 May 1937) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (Germany), Christian Democratic Union.
Early life and education
Scholz was born in Berlin and received his Abitur in 1957. He studied law and economic at ...
, the former
Federal
Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to:
Politics
General
*Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies
*Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
Minister of Defense
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
who called for Wagner to be charged with “speech encouraging criminality.”
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wagner, Rolf Clemens
1944 births
2014 deaths
People from Vrchlabí
Sudeten German people
Members of the Red Army Faction
People convicted of murder by Germany
People convicted on terrorism charges
German people convicted of murdering police officers
German people convicted of murder
German prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment
Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Germany
People extradited from Switzerland
People extradited to Germany