Sieglinde Hofmann (born 14 March 1945) was a German militant and member of both the

Socialist Patients' Collective The Socialist Patients' Collective (German: ''Sozialistisches Patientenkollektiv'', and known as the SPK) is a patients' collective founded in Heidelberg, West Germany, in February 1970, by Wolfgang Huber (born 1935). The kernel of the SPK's ideol ...

Wolfgang Kraushaar
"Die RAF und der linke Terrorismus"
Hamburger Edition, 2006, Volume 1, p. 473 and the

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 ...

Biography

As a child Hofmann attended a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

girls' school and went on to train to become a

nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...

and then a

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

. She was believed to have joined the Red Army Faction (as part of their second generation) in 1976 after having first joined the SPK and was suspected of involvement in the killing of banker

Jürgen Ponto Jürgen Ponto (17 December 1923 Bad Nauheim, Hesse - 30 July 1977 Frankfurt am Main) was a German banker and since 1969 chairman of the Dresdner Bank board of directors. Previously, he had worked as a lawyer. He was murdered by members of the Red ...

. It is now known that it was actually the terrorists

Susanne Albrecht Susanne Albrecht (born 1 March 1951) is a former member of the Red Army Faction. Early life Albrecht was the daughter of a successful maritime lawyer, and spent her childhood living in a wealthy suburb of Hamburg. She did not fit in well in pub ...

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 ...

and

Christian Klar Christian Klar (born 20 May 1952) is a former leading member of the second generation Red Army Faction (RAF), active between the 1970s and 1980s. Imprisoned in 1982 in Bruchsal Prison, he was released on 19 December 2008, after serving over 26 ...

who took part in the Ponto assassination. Aust, Stefan. ''

Der Baader Meinhof Komplex ''The Baader Meinhof Complex'' (german: Der Baader Meinhof Komplex, ) is a 2008 German drama film directed by Uli Edel. Written and produced by Bernd Eichinger, it stars Moritz Bleibtreu, Martina Gedeck, and Johanna Wokalek. The film is base ...

''. Bodley Head Ltd Publishing 1987, Hofmann was among the group of terrorists who took part in the kidnapping 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 ...

. She walked along the road that Schleyer's convoy was passing pushing a pram laden with guns. She pushed the pram out into the middle of the street to stop the convoy from driving past, and as the cars slowed to a stop, she, along with a group of RAF terrorists, ambushed the cars, murdering Schleyer's driver, his bodyguard and two police officers. Hofmann, along with

Peter-Jürgen Boock Peter-Jürgen Boock (born 3 September 1951) is a former terrorist of the Red Army Faction. Earlier life After completing secondary school, Boock began training as a mechanic but soon quit. Claiming that his father was a staunch Nazi, Boock then ...

and Rolf Wagner was arrested on 11 May 1978 in

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, but they were all freed and flown to an undisclosed country of their choice. A lot of them went immediately back

underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground (S ...

, including Hofmann. Two years later, however, on 5 May 1980, Hofmann was rearrested in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

(alongside Ingrid Barabass), following a raid on a

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

safehouse.

Imprisonment

Although initially only charged with involvement in the murder of Ponto and condemned to serve fifteen years in prison, Hofmann was taken back into custody three days before the end of her sentence in August 1995 to be tried for other offences. The second trial was only possible after a judicial clarification in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. On 26 September of the same year, Hofmann, then 50 years old, was found guilty of involvement in five cases of

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 ...

, and three cases of

attempted murder Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions. Canada Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seven ye ...

by the Higher Regional Court in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

, and was sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

. Her crimes included her offences against Ponto, and other crimes such as a failed bomb attack 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 Meigs Haig, Jr. and the murder/kidnapping of the President of the German Employer's Association,

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 ...

. She was, however, released from prison on 5 May 1999.

References

External links

Hofmann bio - in German
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hofmann, Sieglinde 1945 births Living people People from Bad Königshofen People imprisoned on charges of terrorism German prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Germany German female murderers People paroled from life sentence German people convicted of murder People convicted of murder by Germany Members of the Red Army Faction Members of the Socialist Patients' Collective

Biography

Imprisonment

See also

References

External links