October 13 - The Landshut Crisis

This Day in History: 13 October 2020

 

13 October 1977

 

43 years ago, today, four Palestinians hijacked a Lufthansa airliner, named the 'Landshut', and demanded for the release of 11 imprisoned members the German terrorist group, Baader-Meinhof, also known as the Red Army Faction. This was a group of ultra-left revolutionaries who terrorised Germany for three decades, as they assassinated more than 30 corporate, military and government leaders in an attempt to topple German capitalism. Their activity had peaked in the same year, leading to the national crisis of the 'German Autumn'. In total, they were responsible for 34 deaths, and many injuries, and 27 members or supporters were killed.

 

The Palestinian hijackers had taken the plane on a 6-country journey, eventually landing in Mogadishu, Somalia, four days later, after shooting one of the plane's pilots. Early the next morning, a German special forces team stormed the aircraft, releasing 86 hostages and killing three of the four hijackers. Luckily, only one of the German soldiers was wounded. Later that day, the Red Army Faction's imprisoned leaders responded to the news by committing suicide in their jail cell. After the crisis, the German government stated that it would never again negotiate with terrorists. Chancellor Helmut Schmidt was widely praised for his decision to rescue the hostages, although some countries criticised the risk-taking.

 

Want to find out more about the Landshut crisis? Click here for more information, or here for more about the Red Army Faction.