The Causes:
-Evolved out of the student protest movement in the 1960s
-The youth did not like the fact that former Nazis help positions in government
-The youth had radically different views on things (such as women's rights) then their parents and older generations did
-A German student was shot after a peaceful protest was turned violent by officers
The Three Generations of Activists:
-The first generation was the Baader-Meinhof group
-Then it was German Autumn
-Then it was people who did attacks "in the name of" the RAF
The End of the RAF:
The fall of Soviet Russia ended up slowing the momentum of many left-wing extremist groups. This essentially led to the RAF ending, although some attacks were still claimed to be for the RAF.
Comparing/Contrasting with Modern Terrorists:
Similarities...
Both are highly idealistic, and want many extreme changes in the world.
Both have a high group mentality, and stick mainly with people of either the same nationality or religion.
Both freely use violence to try and get governments to give in to their demands.
Both will attack their own country.
Both did not care about the loss of civilian life.
Differences...
The RAF never ran their country, wheras people like Osama Bin-Laden and Taliban ran Afganistan as a sort of government.
The RAF was focused on attacking and threatning one country, wheras the modern terrorists attack seemingly anywhere and everywhere.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Army_Faction
Good job, Andrew.
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