Gabriele Kröcher-Tiedemann
Encyclopedia
Gabriele Kröcher-Tiedemann (1951–1995) was a West German political militant associated with Movement 2 June
Movement 2 June
Movement 2 June was a West German terrorist organization that was based out of West Berlin. Active only from 1971–1980, the anarchist group was one of the few violent groups at the time in West Germany. Although Movement 2 June did not share the same ideology as the Red Army Faction , these...

 and the Second Generation Red Army Faction
Red Army Faction
The radicalized were, like many in the New Left, influenced by:* Sociological developments, pressure within the educational system in and outside Europe and the U.S...

. She was the wife of the J2M terrorist Norbert Kröcher
Norbert Kröcher
Norbert Kröcher was a West German militant and member of J2M. He was also strongly associated with the second generation of the Red Army Faction. He was the husband of Gabriele Kröcher-Tiedemann.-As a Terrorist:...

.

Early life

Kröcher-Tiedemann was born in Ziegendorf
Ziegendorf
Ziegendorf is a municipality in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany....

 in Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 in 1951. She studied at a high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 in Bielefeld
Bielefeld
Bielefeld is an independent city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 323,000, it is also the most populous city in the Regierungsbezirk Detmold...

 before moving to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

 to study politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...

 and sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...

. At that time she was associated with communes
Commune (intentional community)
A commune is an intentional community of people living together, sharing common interests, property, possessions, resources, and, in some communes, work and income. In addition to the communal economy, consensus decision-making, non-hierarchical structures and ecological living have become...

 in Berlin and was opposed to Americans
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 occupying Germany after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

Political militancy

It is not clear at what point Kröcher-Tiedemann went underground
Underground resistance
Underground resistance may refer to*Underground Resistance , a musical collective from Detroit, Michigan*Underground resistance during World War II, the inhabitants of various locales resisting the rule of the Nazis, the Empire of Japan, and Mussolini...

, but in 1973 she shot a policeman in a Buchen
Buchen
Buchen is a town in Germany Neckar-Odenwald district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the Odenwald low mountain range, 23 km northeast of Mosbach.-Geography:...

 carpark after he tried to arrest her for stealing number plate
Number plate
A number plate may be:* a vehicle registration plate* a plate attached to a locomotive indicating their number, particularly in the UK and Australia, which are often collected as memorabilia....

s. She was subsequently arrested and was sentenced to eight years in prison.

However as a result of the Peter Lorenz
Peter Lorenz
Peter Lorenz was a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union .In 1975 Lorenz was a candidate for mayor of West Berlin. He was kidnapped by the militant Movement 2 June group three days before the elections on 27 February...

 kidnapping, she was freed two years later in 1975 and flown to Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....

.

OPEC siege

On 20 December 1975 she accompanied Carlos the Jackal
Carlos the Jackal
Ilich Ramírez Sánchez , better known as Carlos the Jackal, is a Venezuelan pro-Palestinian currently serving a life sentence in France for shooting to death two French secret agents and a Lebanese informer in 1975....

 on a raid of the OPEC
OPEC
OPEC is an intergovernmental organization of twelve developing countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. OPEC has maintained its headquarters in Vienna since 1965, and hosts regular meetings...

 headquarters in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

. There she murdered two people: One was a policeman named Anton Tichler and the other was a plainclothes Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

i security guard
Security guard
A security guard is a person who is paid to protect property, assets, or people. Security guards are usually privately and formally employed personnel...

 who had managed to grab hold of Kröcher-Tiedemann. While he was attempting to control her, Kröcher-Tiedemann produced a second gun and shot the man through the head.

The raid was successful and on December 22, 42 hostages as well as the hostage takers where flown to Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...

, then Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...

 and then Algiers again. All the hostages were freed and the terrorists were all given asylum.

Walter Palmer

In November 1977, Kröcher-Tiedemann working again with Movement 2 June
Movement 2 June
Movement 2 June was a West German terrorist organization that was based out of West Berlin. Active only from 1971–1980, the anarchist group was one of the few violent groups at the time in West Germany. Although Movement 2 June did not share the same ideology as the Red Army Faction , these...

, kidnapped an Austrian
Austrians
Austrians are a nation and ethnic group, consisting of the population of the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent....

 millionaire
Millionaire
A millionaire is an individual whose net worth or wealth is equal to or exceeds one million units of currency. It can also be a person who owns one million units of currency in a bank account or savings account...

 named Walter Palmers, and successfully managed to obtain a $2 million ransom
Ransom
Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or it can refer to the sum of money involved.In an early German law, a similar concept was called bad influence...

 in exchange for his freedom.

Capture

Kröcher-Tiedemann showed up again in December 1977 when she shot two Swiss customs men after they attempted to arrest her at Porrentruy
Porrentruy
Porrentruy is a Swiss municipality and seat of the district of the same name located in the canton of Jura.-Geography:The municipality lies on both sides of the Allaine River, in Ajoie at the foot of the Jura Mountains on the north...

, near the Swiss border. Both survived, however one would remain paralysed for the rest of his life. She was subsequently arrested and when her baggage was searched, weapons, forged
Forgery
Forgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents with the intent to deceive. Copies, studio replicas, and reproductions are not considered forgeries, though they may later become forgeries through knowing and willful misrepresentations. Forging money or...

 I.D. papers, blueprints of the Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

i embassy in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

 and $20,000 (of Palmer's ransom money) were found.

Imprisonment and death

Kröcher-Tiedemann spent the next 10 years in a Swiss prison, and in 1987 she was extradited back to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, where she was charged with her part in the OPEC raid. However, due to lack of evidence she was acquitted in May 1990.

Kröcher-Tiedemann was released from prison in 1991, and suffered from ill health. She was operated on 5 times in 1992. On the 7 October 1995 Kröcher-Tiedemann finally succumbed to cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

and died at the age of 44.
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