Wolfgang Grams | |
---|---|
Born |
Wiesbaden, West Germany |
March 6, 1953
Died | June 27, 1993 Bad Kleinen, Germany |
(aged 40)
Organization | Red Army Faction |
Wolfgang Grams (March 6, 1953 – June 27, 1993) was a member of the Red Army Faction, a German far-left terrorist organisation.
Wolfgang Grams was born in Wiesbaden, Germany. His parents, Werner and Ruth Grams, were expelled from the east. Werner Grams volunteered for service in the Waffen-SS. They had another son, Rainer.
During Grams' younger years, his family lived near the Wiesbaden Army Airfield, and he demonstrated against the Vietnam War.
While living in a commune, he was given the nickname Gaks. After the arrest of Andreas Baader and Gudrun Ensslin, he started visiting RAF prisoners in jail. He found the conditions of solitary confinement inhumane.
Grams' name was found in a note book by an RAF terrorist who was killed during an arrest attempt. He was kept in custody for 153 days, but was given remuneration in 1980. He then met Birgit Hogefeld, and they began dating and moved in together.
On February 15, 1987, the Tagesschau on ARD ran a bulletin on Grams and Hogefeld. He was described as 180 cm tall and with blue green eyes and a striking dark skin discoloration on his face. From 1984 on he lived underground. Only in the Autumn of 1990 did he come home to meet with his parents in Taunus.
New DNA evidence hints at Gram's participation in the killing of Detlev Karsten Rohwedder in 1991.
On June 27, 1993, members of the GSG 9 were to arrest Grams and Hogefeld at the train station in Bad Kleinen. During the process of the arrest, he managed to pull a gun and shoot two officers, succeeding in killing one, Michael Newrzella. Officers were quoted as saying they saw Grams "suddenly fall backward" off the station platform and onto the track. Either before or after he fell, he allegedly shot himself in the head. He was taken to the Medizinische Universität zu Lübeck by helicopter where he died from his wounds a few hours later.