Word: schmidts
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1970-1979
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Hours after ordering the man hunt, Schmidt appeared before a special session of the Bundestag. He warned that "terrorism is by no means dead, neither in Germany nor anywhere else in the world." Earlier in the week, the Paris daily Figaro had headlined: THE LIFE OF EVERY NATION IS AT STAKE. If that was the case, Schmidt had shown that his government was prepared to fight for Germany's life...
Following Schleyer's kidnaping, Schmidt had set up two crisis staffs that met frequently in marathon sessions, at the heavily guarded Chancellery in Bonn. Elected officials and political leaders spent countless hours there in conferences, and the normal functions of the government slowed discernibly. The Bundestag dealt with only the most pressing business; the Chancellor canceled a state visit to Poland and a number of speaking engagements across the country...
...Schmidt and his top aides were determined not to give in to the skyjackers, just as they had refused to yield to the ransom demands of Schleyer's kidnapers. The only decision left was when and to where the commandos would be dispatched. Largely because of a press blackout that had been in effect since Schleyer was seized, the government's deliberations were shrouded in hermetic secrecy. West German morale plummeted?particularly after news arrived of Pilot Schumann's death. But then came Mogadishu. Radio stations interrupted regular programming and punctuated coverage of the rescue and the return...
...group taking credit for the abduction. "After 43 days," he said, "we have put an end to the miserable and corrupt existence of Hanns-Martin Schleyer. His death does not measure up to our grief and anger after the slaughter at Mogadishu and Stammheim." The caller then said Schmidt could "take delivery [of Schleyer] in Charles Péguy Street in Mulhouse." which is about ten miles from the German border. There, in the trunk of a green Audi sedan, police found Schleyer's corpse. Medical examination later disclosed that he had been killed shortly after the word was flashed...
Security experts agree and have warned Schmidt to expect what they call a "spontaneous reaction for the freedom of other jailed terrorists." Even though the Baader-Meinhof gang has been largely destroyed, an estimated 120 hard-core terrorists remain at large in Germany; many of them claim affiliation with the Red Army Faction, the country's most dangerous guerrilla group. An additional 1,200 to 5,000 committed radicals provide them with food, money and safe houses, and occasionally join in acts of violence. The terrorists and their sympathizers "are standing, rifle by foot, waiting to go into action," says...