Hanns-Martin Schleyer
| Hanns Martin Schleyer | |
|---|---|
Hanns Martin Schleyer in November 1973
|
|
| Born |
1 May 1915 Offenburg, Baden, Germany |
| Died | 18 October 1977 (aged 62) en route to Mulhouse, France |
| Cause of death | Gunshot |
| Occupation | business executive, employer and industry representative |
| Spouse(s) | Waltrude Schleyer (1939–1977, his death) |
| Children | 4 |
| Relatives | Johann Martin Schleyer (great-great uncle) |
Hanns Martin Schleyer (1 May 1915 – 18 October 1977) was a German business executive and employer and industry representative, and a former SS Untersturmführer, who served as President of two powerful commercial organizations, Confederation of German Employers' Associations (Bundesvereinigung der Deutschen Arbeitgeberverbände, BDA) and Federation of German Industries (Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie, BDI). He was targeted as an enemy by radical elements of the German student movement due to his role in those business organisations and his past activities as an officer of the SS.
He was kidnapped on 5 September 1977 by the far left Red Army Faction (Rote Armee Fraktion, RAF) and subsequently murdered. The abduction and murder are commonly seen as the climax of the RAF campaign in 1977, known as the German Autumn. After his death Schleyer has been honoured in Germany; the Hanns Martin Schleyer Prize, the Hanns Martin Schleyer Foundation and the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle are named in his honour; while his former roles in the Hitler Youth and SS were ignored.
Born in Offenburg, Baden, Hanns Martin Schleyer came from a national-conservative family. His father was a judge and his great-great uncle was Johann Martin Schleyer, a renowned Roman Catholic priest who invented the Volapük language.
Schleyer began studying law at the University of Heidelberg in 1933, where he joined the Corps Suevia, a student fraternity. In 1939 he obtained a doctorate at the University of Innsbruck. Early in his life he became a follower of National Socialism. After a stint in the Hitler Youth, the youth organization of the National Socialist Party, he joined the SS on 1 July 1933, SS number (Nr. 221.714) and was an SS Untersturmführer (Second Lieutenant). During his studies he was engaged in the Nazi student movement. One of his mentors at this time was the student leader Gustav Adolf Scheel.
...
Wikipedia