Petra Schelm

Petra Schelm (16 August 1950 – 15 July 1971) was a German member of the Red Army Faction (RAF) far-left terrorist group. She was killed in a shootout with the police and was the first RAF member to die in a police operation, being shot in Hamburg when caught in a massive cordon and search operation in northern Germany in July, 1971.[1]

Petra Schelm
Born(1950-08-16)16 August 1950
Hamburg
Died15 July 1971(1971-07-15) (aged 20)
Hamburg
OrganizationRed Army Faction

Early years

Schelm had completed her training as a hairdresser, because she had the desire to later work as a make-up artist. After her trainings, she worked for some time in a craft shop, after which she got a job as a guide of an American travel company. Then she lived in Berlin in a Commune and was involved in the so-called extra-parliamentary opposition, where she also met her boyfriend Manfred Grashof. She is said to have been active with Ulrike Meinhof and Horst Mahler in the working group on renting and living in the Märkisches district of Berlin, which was dedicated to the "re-socialization of marginalized social communities". However, the extent of her involvement in the working group is not clear. A former employee told Der Spiegel: "Actually, I would have had to know her, but I do not know her." In June 1970 she traveled via East Berlin to Jordan, where she together with other RAF members, received military training in a Fatah camp. Due to various differences with the hosts, the Palestinian Fatah, the training was terminated prematurely. The group returned to Berlin in August 1970. In the spring of 1971, the German Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof) issued a warrant for Petra Schelm and took her photo in a wanted poster. This was based on the suspicion that her acquaintance with Ulrike Meinhof and her environment could have developed into participation in a criminal organization. At the time of her death, Petra Schelm had already lost contact with her parents for a longer time. She had introduced Manfred Grashof to her parents, who asked her father for his daughter's hand in marriage. When he refused to agree, their relationship came to a break.

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References

Citations
  1. de Graaf 2011, p. 161.

Sources
  • de Graaf, Beatrice (2011), Evaluating Counterterrorism Performance, Routledge, ISBN 9781136806551
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