Stammheim Prison
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Stammheim Prison (German: Justizvollzugsanstalt Stuttgart-Stammheim) is a prison in Stuttgart, Baden Württemberg, Germany. The prison was built as a high security prison in 1959-1963 and taken into operation in 1964.
Stammheim Prison became famous when it housed the leading members of the Baader-Meinhof terrorist group during their trials, as well as the courthouse in which they were tried. The section in which the terrorists were kept was specially built in 1975 and at the time recognized as one of the most secure prison blocks in the world. In spite of this, the arrested terrorists had firearms smuggled to them.
After Ulrike Meinhof had hanged herself on May 9, 1976, Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin and Jan-Carl Raspe reportedly committed suicide in the high security block during the night of October 18, 1977, which became known as the "Death Night" for the leaders of the Red Army Faction. Andreas Bader and Jan-Carl Raspe were said to have shot themselves, whereas Gudrun Ensslin apparently chose a method of suicide similar to that of Ulrike Meinhof. A fourth member, Irmgard Möller, stabbed herself four times in the chest with a stolen knife. She survived her suicide attempt.
[edit] External links
- Stammheim Prison Official site
- Sinnbild für das Ende der Terroristen, article about Stammhein Prison in the Stuttgarter Zeitung
- Interview mit Irmgard Möller, the only RAF survivor of the "Death Night".
