Leftist Terror Group Attacks West German Government

Siegfried Buback was an ardent anti-communist.  He had seen his country split in two at the end of the Second World War and knew that the communists were to blame.  His own hometown in Saxony was behind the Iron Curtain.  

It was no wonder, that when Buback was appointed the Attorney General of West Germany in 1973, he used the law to push back against leftist criminal organizations such as The Red Army Faction.  He saw them for the terrorists they were and was determined to arrest their members.  Several RAF members were in prison due to Buback’s vigorous prosecutions.  

The Red Army Faction was not an organization to be trifled with.  During their history they were responsible for dozens of assassinations and violent crimes.

On April 7, 1977, Siegfried Buback was travelling from his house to his office in the Bundesgerichtshof (federal courthouse).  His driver and a protection officer were with him in his Mercedes 230.6.  When the car stopped at a red light, two people drove up next to his car on a motorcycle.  The rear passenger opened fire with a HK43 rifle. 

At least 15 shots riddled the Mercedes.  Buback and his driver were killed immediately.  His bodyguard was mortally wounded and died six days later.   The driver and shooter sped off, and despite a vigorous manhunt, were never apprehended. 

Several members of the Red Army Faction were arrested and prosecuted for organizing the murder, but the two perps were never identified.  The Red Army Faction went on a violence spree that shocked the world.  In 1977 they assassinated several businessmen and politicians and hijacked an airliner in what would come to be known as the “German Autumn”.