Ulrike Meinhof (7 October 1934-9 May 1976) was a leader of the Red Army Faction of West Germany and a former journalist.
Biography[]
Ulrike Meinhof was born on 7 October 1934 in Oldenburg, Germany, and she worked as a journalist for the leftist publication Konkrit. In 1959, she joined the Communist Party of Germany, and she became acquainted with Red Army Faction leaders Andreas Baader and Gudrun Ensslin while covering their arson attack in Frankfurt in protest against the Vietnam War. She went on to join the RAF, which became known as the "Baader-Meinhof Gang" despite Ensslin being the main female co-leader. On 14 June 1972, she was arrested by the government of West Germany, and she hanged herself in prison in 1976.