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independent article says started in 1977, not 1974 and ref for 1974 is not easy to check at all
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|logo = Logo Rote Zora.png
|logo = Logo Rote Zora.png
|caption = Logo of the Rote Zora.
|caption = Logo of the Rote Zora.
|dates = 1974 - 1995
|dates = 1977 - 1995
|leader =
|leader =
|motives = [[Armed resistance]] and [[proletarian revolution]]
|motives = [[Armed resistance]] and [[proletarian revolution]]
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|financing=
|financing=
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'''Rote Zora''' ({{lang-en|Red Zora}}, from the book ''Die Rote Zora und ihre Bande'' by [[Kurt Held]]) was a militant [[feminist]] group active in [[West Germany]] from 1974-95, known for a series of bombings. The gang bombed sex shops and firms it thought exploited women in the [[1970s|Seventies]] and [[1980s|Eighties]]. No one was harmed in the 45 attacks the organisation carried out between 1977 and 1995.<ref> The Independent, 17 April 2007, p.21 ''Germanys Red Zora' terrorist spared jail''. </ref> The movement took its name from a book of 1941 which tells the story of a red-haired Croatian girl called ''Red Zora'' who leads a gang of orphans committed to righting injustice.
'''Rote Zora''' ({{lang-en|Red Zora}}, from the book ''Die Rote Zora und ihre Bande'' by [[Kurt Held]]) was a militant [[feminist]] group active in [[West Germany]] from 1977-95, known for a series of bombings. The gang bombed sex shops and firms it thought exploited women in the [[1970s|Seventies]] and [[1980s|Eighties]]. No one was harmed in the 45 attacks the organisation carried out between 1977 and 1995.<ref> The Independent, 17 April 2007, p.21 ''Germanys 'Red Zora' terrorist spared jail''. </ref> The movement took its name from a book of 1941 which tells the story of a red-haired Croatian girl called ''Red Zora'' who leads a gang of orphans committed to righting injustice.


==History==
==History==
Red Zora began in 1977 as the feminist arm of the [[Revolutionary Cells (RZ)|Revolutionary Cells]] left-wing terrorist organisation which saw itself as a rival to the [[Red Army Faction]]. It began its attacks with a bomb planted outside the offices of the German Doctors Association to protest against the abortion laws. <ref> The Independent, 17 April 2007 </ref> They bombed the [[Federal Constitutional Court of Germany]] in [[Karlsruhe]].<ref name=autogenerated1>Dark Star Collective, p.101</ref> Red Zora split from the Revolutionary Cells in 1986 having become disillusioned with the violent methods of other left-wing groups. It launched a campaign that was designed not to harm. Its last attack was on a [[Bremen]] shipyard in 1995.
Rote Zora started in 1974, when they bombed the [[Federal Constitutional Court of Germany]] in [[Karlsruhe]] to protest against the abortion law.<ref name=autogenerated1>Dark Star Collective, p.101</ref>


In addition they bombed the Federal Doctor's Guild (in 1977),<ref name=autogenerated1 /> numerous sex shops, the cars of landlords, the Siemens company, and the company [[Nixdorf Computer AG]]<ref>[http://www.freilassung.de/otherl/arm/rzora84.htm Arm the Spirit<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>.
They bombed numerous sex shops, the cars of landlords, the Siemens company, [[Bayer]], and the company [[Nixdorf Computer AG]]<ref>[http://www.freilassung.de/otherl/arm/rzora84.htm Arm the Spirit<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>. Its activists were part-time [[guerillas]], and were known as "after-work terrorists" because most had middle class jobs and carried out their attacks in their free time.


Rote Zora was a split from the organization [[Revolutionary Cells (RZ)|Revolutionary Cells]],<ref>Heitmeyer, p.371</ref> though some members continued to associate with both<ref>http://www.spunk.org/texts/groups/anm/sp000268.txt</ref>. The group's last action was in 1995. In 2000, a documentary about the group (titled ''Die Rote Zora'') was made by [[Oliver Tolmein]].
Though Rote Zora was a split from the organization Revolutionary Cells,<ref>Heitmeyer, p.371</ref> some members continued to associate with both<ref>http://www.spunk.org/texts/groups/anm/sp000268.txt</ref>. In 2000, a documentary about the group (titled ''Die Rote Zora'') was made by [[Oliver Tolmein]].


In April 2007, former Rote Zora member Adrienne Gerhäuser stood trial for the attempted bombings of the Berlin Genetic Technical Institute in 1986, and a clothing factory in Bavaria in 1987,<ref>[http://www.infoshop.org/inews/article.php?story=20070413210520387 Infoshop News - Former Left-Wing Extremist Tried For Failed Attacks in 1980s<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> receiving a suspended two-year sentence, the maximum she was eligible for.<ref>[http://www.dw-world.de/popups/popup_printcontent/0,,2444055,00.html Radical Left-Wing Feminist Given Suspended Jail Term | Germany | Deutsche Welle | 16.04.2007<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
In April 2007, former Rote Zora member Adrienne Gerhäuser stood trial for the attempted bombings of the Berlin Genetic Technical Institute in 1986, and a clothing factory in Bavaria in 1987,<ref>[http://www.infoshop.org/inews/article.php?story=20070413210520387 Infoshop News - Former Left-Wing Extremist Tried For Failed Attacks in 1980s<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> receiving a suspended two-year sentence, the maximum she was eligible for.<ref>[http://www.dw-world.de/popups/popup_printcontent/0,,2444055,00.html Radical Left-Wing Feminist Given Suspended Jail Term | Germany | Deutsche Welle | 16.04.2007<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 20:31, 9 June 2012

Rote Zora
Dates of operation1977 - 1995
MotivesArmed resistance and proletarian revolution
Active regionsWest Germany
IdeologyFeminism, New left
Major actionsBombings
StatusFinal action in 1995.

Rote Zora (English: Red Zora, from the book Die Rote Zora und ihre Bande by Kurt Held) was a militant feminist group active in West Germany from 1977-95, known for a series of bombings. The gang bombed sex shops and firms it thought exploited women in the Seventies and Eighties. No one was harmed in the 45 attacks the organisation carried out between 1977 and 1995.[1] The movement took its name from a book of 1941 which tells the story of a red-haired Croatian girl called Red Zora who leads a gang of orphans committed to righting injustice.

History

Red Zora began in 1977 as the feminist arm of the Revolutionary Cells left-wing terrorist organisation which saw itself as a rival to the Red Army Faction. It began its attacks with a bomb planted outside the offices of the German Doctors Association to protest against the abortion laws. [2] They bombed the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany in Karlsruhe.[3] Red Zora split from the Revolutionary Cells in 1986 having become disillusioned with the violent methods of other left-wing groups. It launched a campaign that was designed not to harm. Its last attack was on a Bremen shipyard in 1995.

They bombed numerous sex shops, the cars of landlords, the Siemens company, Bayer, and the company Nixdorf Computer AG[4]. Its activists were part-time guerillas, and were known as "after-work terrorists" because most had middle class jobs and carried out their attacks in their free time.

Though Rote Zora was a split from the organization Revolutionary Cells,[5] some members continued to associate with both[6]. In 2000, a documentary about the group (titled Die Rote Zora) was made by Oliver Tolmein.

In April 2007, former Rote Zora member Adrienne Gerhäuser stood trial for the attempted bombings of the Berlin Genetic Technical Institute in 1986, and a clothing factory in Bavaria in 1987,[7] receiving a suspended two-year sentence, the maximum she was eligible for.[8]

References

  1. ^ The Independent, 17 April 2007, p.21 Germanys 'Red Zora' terrorist spared jail.
  2. ^ The Independent, 17 April 2007
  3. ^ Dark Star Collective, p.101
  4. ^ Arm the Spirit
  5. ^ Heitmeyer, p.371
  6. ^ http://www.spunk.org/texts/groups/anm/sp000268.txt
  7. ^ Infoshop News - Former Left-Wing Extremist Tried For Failed Attacks in 1980s
  8. ^ Radical Left-Wing Feminist Given Suspended Jail Term | Germany | Deutsche Welle | 16.04.2007

Sources

  • Dark Star Collective, Quiet Rumours: An Anarcha-Feminist Reader, Oakland: AK Press, 2002, ISBN 1-902593-40-5.
  • Heitmeyer, Wilhelm; Hagan, John. International Handbook of Violence Research, Springer, 2003, ISBN 1-4020-1466-X.