From Hash Rebels to Urban Guerrillas - A Documentary History of the 2nd of June Movement

This book is not a nostalgic tribute to militants of a distant past, but a source of inspiration for revolutionary politics in a time that needs them as much as ever.
In the early 1970s, across the Americas and Western Europe, armed groups emerged out of the social movements of the late 1960s. In Germany, the Red Army Faction received most attention, but a less well-known, antiauthoritarian counterpart operated in its shadows: the 2nd of June Movement, named after the date when, in 1967, a Berlin cop killed the unarmed student Benno Ohnesorg during a demonstration. The group was composed of working-class youth who got politicized in Berlin’s underground culture. They first emerged as a political collective under the name “Hash Rebels” before forming the 2nd of June Movement as a revolutionary organization. After the group’s dissolution in 1980, its principles lived on in the militant network of the Revolutionary Cells and the German autonomist movement.
From Hash Rebels to Urban Guerrillas, the first book to present the 2nd of June Movement in English, documents the group’s history and politics through translations of original documents and reflections by former members. This is mandatory reading for anyone interested in the politics of the era and the ongoing quest to challenge the rule of the state and capital.

List of contents

Introduction
Preface Gabriel Kuhn
Acronyms and Abbreviations
Protagonists
Timeline
From Hash Rebels to Urban Guerrillas Roman Danyluk
Documents
The Beginnings
From the Hash Rebels to the 2nd of June Movement (1992)—Ronald Fritzsch and Ralf Reinders
2nd of June Movement Program (1972)—Anonymous
A Nest Egg for the Revolution: The Banks of the 2nd of June Movement (2000)—Klaus Viehmann
Schmücker
2nd of June Movement Leaflet (1974)—2nd of June Movement
Drenkmann
Those Who Sow Violence (1974)—2nd of June Movement
Regarding the Assassination of Berlin’s Highest Judge: Terror or Resistance (1974)—2nd of June Movement
Baumann
Friends, Throw Away the Gun (1974)—Michael “Bommi” Baumann
Bommi Baumann: How It All Ends (1975)—2nd of June Movement members
Sauber
Backs to the Wall (1975)—Werner Sauber and comrades
Regarding the Death of Our Comrade Werner Sauber (1975)—2nd of June Movement
Lorenz
The Lorenz Kidnapping (1995)—Ronald Fritzsch and Ralf Reinders
The Kidnapping as We See It (1975)—2nd of June Movement
Analysis
Tunix (1978)—Revolutionary Guerrilla Opposition from the 2nd of June Movement’s Bankruptcy Estate
On Till Meyer’s Address to the Court (1978)—2nd of June Co-Defendants
Indians Don’t Cry—They Struggle (1979)—Fritz Teufel
Trials
Our Contribution to the Teach-In on January 27 (1977)—The Moabit Gang of Six
May 9 Declaration in Court (1978)—2nd of June Defendants
Regarding the Torture Week of 1977 (1979)—Ralf Reinders
The Unrelenting of the Spree (1978)—Ronald Fritzsch, Gerald Klöpper, Ralf Reinders, and Fritz Teufel
From A-libi to B-libi (1980)—Fritz Teufel
The Lorenz Trial Closing Statement Marathon I (1980)—Fritz Teufel
The Lorenz Trial Closing Statement Marathon II (1980)—Ralf Reinders
Pigs to Outer Space (1981)—Klaus Viehmann
Prison
Us in Here—You Out There (1977)—Norbert “Knofo” Kröcher
The Years in Prison (1990)—Ralf Reinders
Prison Round Trip (2003)—Klaus Viehmann
Amnesties Are No Gifts (ca 1985)—Ralf Reinders and Ronnie Fritzsch
Dissolution (or Not)
Statement Dissolving the 2nd of June Movement (1980)—Gabriele Rollnik et al.
Regarding the Alleged Dissolution of the 2nd of June Movement (1980)—Ralf Reinders, Klaus Viehmann, and Ronald Fritzsch
Evaluation
How It All Began (1987)—Norbert “Knofo” Kröcher
What’s Not Written (1997)—Klaus Viehmann
Servant of Many Rulers (1997)—Norbert “Knofo” Kröcher
junge Welt Interview (June 2003)—Andreas-Thomas Vogel
The Urban Guerilla and Class Struggle (2004)—Klaus Viehmann
Index

About the author

Roman Danyluk is a worker, grassroots labor unionist, and writer from Munich. He is the author of Blues der Städte: Die Bewegung 2. Juni—eine sozialrevolutionäre Geschichte.
Gabriel Kuhn is an Austrian-born writer and translator living in Sweden. His numerous authored and edited books include All Power to the Councils! A Documentary History of the German Revolution of 1918–1919, Turning Money Into Rebellion: The Unlikely Story of Denmark’s Revolutionary Bank Robbers, Liberating Sápmi: Indigenous Resistance in Europe's Far North, and Soccer vs. the State: Tackling Football and Radical Politics.

Summary

In the early 1970s, all across the Americas and Western Europe, armed groups emerged out of the social movements of the late 1960s. Their goal was to advance the struggle for a socialist society. In Germany, the Red Army Faction received most attention, but a less well-known, anti-authoritarian and social-revolutionary counterpart operated in its shadows: the 2nd of June Movement, named after the date when, in 1967, the unarmed student Benno Ohnesorg was shot and killed by a Berlin cop during a demonstration. The 2nd of June Movement was comprised of working-class youth who got politicized in Berlin’s underground culture. They first emerged as a political collective under the name “Hash Rebels,” before they formed the 2nd of June Movement as a revolutionary organization. The 2nd of June Movement received most attention for the 1975 kidnapping of conservative politician Peter Lorenz. Lorenz was exchanged for six comrades in prison, one of the biggest successes of any urban guerrilla group in Europe. Dissolved in 1980, the principles of the 2nd of June Movement lived on in the militant network of the Revolutionary Cells and the German autonomist movement. From Hash Rebels to Urban Guerrillas is the first book presenting the 2nd of June Movement in English. It documents the group’s history and politics based on translations of original documents and reflections by former members. The editors provide an introduction, extensive notes, a timeline, and an overview of key protagonists. This is mandatory reading for anyone interested in the politics of the era and the ongoing quest to challenge the rule of the state and capital.

Product details

• Assisted by: Roman Danyluk (Editor), Gabriel Kuhn (Editor), Kuhn Gabriel (Editor)
• Publisher: Ingram Publishers Services
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 12.12.2024
• EAN: 9798887440613
• ISBN: 979-8-88744-061-3
• Illustrations: Illustrationen, nicht spezifiziert
• Series: Kersplebedeb
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; HISTORY / Europe / Germany, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Ideologies / Anarchism, HISTORY / Military / Guerrilla Warfare