What do you think?
Rate this book
How It All Began: The Personal Account of a West German Urban Guerrilla
How It All Began is the personal testimony of Michael "Bommi" Baumann, a man who, in the late 1960s and early ’70s, was a member of the June 2nd Movement, one of the most spectacular urban guerrilla organizations in West Berlin.
Of this book, Baumann said: "Others should understand why people take the road of armed struggle, how they come to it, how the seeds are planted, and what the emotions behind it are, what kind of considerations and psychic preconditions are needed to overcome the fear involved."
But Baumann, ultimately, had to make a choice. He renounced violence when he left the June 2nd Movement in 1972.
Security police seized the original German edition, Wie Alles Anfing, when it appeared in 1975. The resulting trial and publicity raised an international outcry and the book ended up being republished in German and translated into six languages.
In an age when public protests—against corporate greed, against free trade agreements, and for social justice—are becoming more frequent and more violent, How It All Began provides a fascinating glimpse into the thinking behind urban struggle, and the consequences of action.
As Baumann himself said, "Violence is a perfectly adequate means, I never had any hangups about it."
The first English version of How It All Began was published by Arsenal in 1977 and updated in 1981. Long out of print, it has been re-issued, making it available to readers once again.
Bommi Baumann was a leading member of the June 2nd Movement, one of the most active urban guerrilla groups in West Berlin. From a low-income, unstable family background, Baumann left the movement and the urban guerrilla struggle in 1972 and went underground to write this book. He was arrested in London in 1981 and there has been no word from him since.
Of this book, Baumann said: "Others should understand why people take the road of armed struggle, how they come to it, how the seeds are planted, and what the emotions behind it are, what kind of considerations and psychic preconditions are needed to overcome the fear involved."
But Baumann, ultimately, had to make a choice. He renounced violence when he left the June 2nd Movement in 1972.
Security police seized the original German edition, Wie Alles Anfing, when it appeared in 1975. The resulting trial and publicity raised an international outcry and the book ended up being republished in German and translated into six languages.
In an age when public protests—against corporate greed, against free trade agreements, and for social justice—are becoming more frequent and more violent, How It All Began provides a fascinating glimpse into the thinking behind urban struggle, and the consequences of action.
As Baumann himself said, "Violence is a perfectly adequate means, I never had any hangups about it."
The first English version of How It All Began was published by Arsenal in 1977 and updated in 1981. Long out of print, it has been re-issued, making it available to readers once again.
Bommi Baumann was a leading member of the June 2nd Movement, one of the most active urban guerrilla groups in West Berlin. From a low-income, unstable family background, Baumann left the movement and the urban guerrilla struggle in 1972 and went underground to write this book. He was arrested in London in 1981 and there has been no word from him since.
131 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1975
2 people are currently reading
274 people want to read
About the author
Michael "Bommi" Baumann
4 books9 followersEastern German born West-Berlin anarchist and terrorist. Baumann was one of the co-founders of the Movement 2 June.
Baumann was born in East-Berlin and learned a trade in concrete construction. In the 60s he came in contact with the radical left West-Berlin student scene of which he became a central figure.
With his friend Georg von Rauch, Baumann joined the "around-rambling hashish rebels" In 1971 his friend Georg von Rauch was shot by the police. In the same year a bomb Baumann build, killed boat-maker Erwin Beelitz at the British yacht club in Berlin-Gatow.
In 1972 he fled out of Germany and stayed in the countries India, Syria, Afghanistan & Iran.
In 1981 he was arrested in London and was sentenced for 5 years in prison.
Baumann was born in East-Berlin and learned a trade in concrete construction. In the 60s he came in contact with the radical left West-Berlin student scene of which he became a central figure.
With his friend Georg von Rauch, Baumann joined the "around-rambling hashish rebels" In 1971 his friend Georg von Rauch was shot by the police. In the same year a bomb Baumann build, killed boat-maker Erwin Beelitz at the British yacht club in Berlin-Gatow.
In 1972 he fled out of Germany and stayed in the countries India, Syria, Afghanistan & Iran.
In 1981 he was arrested in London and was sentenced for 5 years in prison.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
February 26, 2021
The most interesting criticisms Baumann offers on the anti-capitalist armed struggle in West Germany of the 1960s-70s are: 1. Guerrilla organizations are better off operating "part-time" while living regular lives in the community, rather than going fully underground, like the Red Army Faction and the June 2nd Movement; life underground isolated them from their supporters. 2. Underground logistics caused the guerrillas to view anyone not in the group as "objects" either helping or hindering their cover, rather than as political interlocutors, occluding discussion with people in the broader Left. 3. Distance from the community led guerrillas to view media reportage as the goal of actions, rather than developing actions in dialogue with community movements. 4. These problems led to tactics that became increasingly abstract -- bank robberies; reprisals; actions on behalf of other groups in trade for material support -- greatly diminishing the public support they had started with. In terms of writing style, Baumann is circular and cryptic, and the edition does not include substantial footnotes, so the reader is often left to guess who the people he names were and what the organizations stood for. Whether to avoid incriminating himself, or just as a matter of style, many important events are described vaguely, given little background, or left out entirely, making the narrative choppy. He's at his best when discussing group dynamics and praxis.
March 15, 2009
Wow... at last, the book this subject always needed...
If you read books on the urban guerilla movements and or terrorism, you get used to a lot of exteriority. Everything is looked out from outside. Motives are analyzed second hand, events are mummified in timelines, speculation runs rampant as everything seems to move behind signs, hiding behind a layer of mystery and a lack of verifiable facts, lending itself to seeing what one wants to see, a dream screen for would be social theorists and political axe-grinders looking to project pet theories and implicate villians. This makes sense, after all, the terrorist act is symbolic and the terrorist structure is always occulted. The sacrifice the terrorist makes moving into the symbolic is to lose his or her voice. To no longer be heard in polite company, as a thinking feeling person, forever.
Enter Michael 'Bommi' Baumann... with a straightforward style and a candor ringing clear as a bell, Baumann tells the story of his journey from working class kid from Berlin to one of the leading lights of the German urban guerilla movement of the 70's and most importantly beyond.
Baumann writes like you and he are sitting comfortably on the edges of a genial party, there is plenty of beer and he's got all night to answer the question "how did you become a terrorist?" His self-knowledge and perceptions are hard-won and we are fortunate to be able to share in the science he drops so casually and so clearly. Baumann elaborates and thinks out loud about the emotions and situations that pulled him into first the counterculture and then the resistance in Germany in the 60's. Not the ideology, not the abstract, but the loves, the desires, the friendships and personal impulses that drew him into history. Not on a train of indoctrination vis a vis al queda, but as an experiment in living a life outside the machine that wanted him as a slave for life.
Buamann short circuits all of the idiotic and dumbed down ways about thinking about armed resistance to the capitalist machine. His revelations have a lot to do with parsing out the actions from the intentions and self-analyzing all the ways to deal with, and put into action, those intentions. In this book, he is one person talking to another person, not a movement, not a ideology, not a symbol, and it is this very personal thing that powers that be would like to see go away. The idiotic, dumbed down and reactionary approach to resistance is one they would like to see perpetuated, and it is in this context that Baumann's thoughts becomes crucial. It is also why the German state went after this book with such a vengeance.
But back to the all important beyond, it is significant that Baumann, as he put it, threw away the gun, it is equally significant that he doesnt renounce or condemn his actions as a terrorist but saw them as a necessary step in a path of self-actualization but most of all it is significant that he moved beyond that phase and started to think about the next phase, Love.
So for everyone who knows there is something wrong and that there must be another way, Baumann's book should be required reading, not because his path should be your path but because the things he brought back from his journey might help clear the mist from your road.
If you read books on the urban guerilla movements and or terrorism, you get used to a lot of exteriority. Everything is looked out from outside. Motives are analyzed second hand, events are mummified in timelines, speculation runs rampant as everything seems to move behind signs, hiding behind a layer of mystery and a lack of verifiable facts, lending itself to seeing what one wants to see, a dream screen for would be social theorists and political axe-grinders looking to project pet theories and implicate villians. This makes sense, after all, the terrorist act is symbolic and the terrorist structure is always occulted. The sacrifice the terrorist makes moving into the symbolic is to lose his or her voice. To no longer be heard in polite company, as a thinking feeling person, forever.
Enter Michael 'Bommi' Baumann... with a straightforward style and a candor ringing clear as a bell, Baumann tells the story of his journey from working class kid from Berlin to one of the leading lights of the German urban guerilla movement of the 70's and most importantly beyond.
Baumann writes like you and he are sitting comfortably on the edges of a genial party, there is plenty of beer and he's got all night to answer the question "how did you become a terrorist?" His self-knowledge and perceptions are hard-won and we are fortunate to be able to share in the science he drops so casually and so clearly. Baumann elaborates and thinks out loud about the emotions and situations that pulled him into first the counterculture and then the resistance in Germany in the 60's. Not the ideology, not the abstract, but the loves, the desires, the friendships and personal impulses that drew him into history. Not on a train of indoctrination vis a vis al queda, but as an experiment in living a life outside the machine that wanted him as a slave for life.
Buamann short circuits all of the idiotic and dumbed down ways about thinking about armed resistance to the capitalist machine. His revelations have a lot to do with parsing out the actions from the intentions and self-analyzing all the ways to deal with, and put into action, those intentions. In this book, he is one person talking to another person, not a movement, not a ideology, not a symbol, and it is this very personal thing that powers that be would like to see go away. The idiotic, dumbed down and reactionary approach to resistance is one they would like to see perpetuated, and it is in this context that Baumann's thoughts becomes crucial. It is also why the German state went after this book with such a vengeance.
But back to the all important beyond, it is significant that Baumann, as he put it, threw away the gun, it is equally significant that he doesnt renounce or condemn his actions as a terrorist but saw them as a necessary step in a path of self-actualization but most of all it is significant that he moved beyond that phase and started to think about the next phase, Love.
So for everyone who knows there is something wrong and that there must be another way, Baumann's book should be required reading, not because his path should be your path but because the things he brought back from his journey might help clear the mist from your road.
May 23, 2008
While this book represented Baumann’s turn away from the guerilla (the last chapter is entitled "Terror or Love"), it remains an important document from the period, a glimpse into what it was like to be a working class rebel in the freak counter-culture of the sixties, and how one section of the armed resistance in West Germany emerged from this scene.
First published in 1975, the book was immediately banned in Germany - nevertheless, at the time some comrades considered Baumann a traitor, and this book a counter-insurgency work. In retrospect, this seems incorrect, for while the author was clearly moving away from a certain kind of revolutionary politics, he remains honest and sympathetic as he tells the story of his life and struggle against the state.
First published in 1975, the book was immediately banned in Germany - nevertheless, at the time some comrades considered Baumann a traitor, and this book a counter-insurgency work. In retrospect, this seems incorrect, for while the author was clearly moving away from a certain kind of revolutionary politics, he remains honest and sympathetic as he tells the story of his life and struggle against the state.
October 4, 2017
I have an ongoing interest in the armed struggle in West Germany of the 1960/70/80s, and sometimes compare it to the scene in the United States.
One of the areas which I find myself least understanding is the role of East Germany.
Baumann was a leader of the June 2 Movement, named after the day in 1967 that Benno Ohnesorg was killed by a policeman during a demonstration against the Shah of Iran. It much later was revealed that the policeman who killed Ohnesorg was an "informal collaborator" of the East German secret police known as "Stasi," and that he was a member of the East German Communist Party.
It was also revealed after the fall of East Germany, that Bommi Baumann provided a 125 page report to the Stasi about 94 people within the armed struggle movement. This report was written 2 years before this book, yet not mentioned.
It has also been difficult for me to understand relationships between East Germany and members of Red Army Fraction (RAF) in West Germany.
Baumann's reporting to Stasi undermines his credibility as a narrator.
Nevertheless, this is an interesting book. Baumann considers himself an anarchist and periodically mentions some influences including Black Panthers, Mao and Bakunin as well as Lotta Continua in Italy. Often his "political actions" seem naive and childish, yet he is clear at how German modern society (and I would add US society) is so morally bankrupt and damaging to our very humanity.
One of the areas which I find myself least understanding is the role of East Germany.
Baumann was a leader of the June 2 Movement, named after the day in 1967 that Benno Ohnesorg was killed by a policeman during a demonstration against the Shah of Iran. It much later was revealed that the policeman who killed Ohnesorg was an "informal collaborator" of the East German secret police known as "Stasi," and that he was a member of the East German Communist Party.
It was also revealed after the fall of East Germany, that Bommi Baumann provided a 125 page report to the Stasi about 94 people within the armed struggle movement. This report was written 2 years before this book, yet not mentioned.
It has also been difficult for me to understand relationships between East Germany and members of Red Army Fraction (RAF) in West Germany.
Baumann's reporting to Stasi undermines his credibility as a narrator.
Nevertheless, this is an interesting book. Baumann considers himself an anarchist and periodically mentions some influences including Black Panthers, Mao and Bakunin as well as Lotta Continua in Italy. Often his "political actions" seem naive and childish, yet he is clear at how German modern society (and I would add US society) is so morally bankrupt and damaging to our very humanity.
October 14, 2024
Surprisingly cogent considering Baumann's background, and even written in an interesting style. Of course the most interesting part of the book is as a document of the 'vibe' at the time. The actual facts are presented so matter-of-factly with the assumption that the reader knows everything he is speaking about (bombing, protests, etc.) that if you are trying to follow the actual tale you will definitely need outside sources (even though they've attempted to give some context through addition of some footnotes).
I guess what I found interesting was the representation of the left being almost entirely concerned about class and economic issues. A common argument being that the modern left is purely an identity-politics based platform, which though that is a stronger component than in the past, even in the 70s you can read Baumann speaking about being outsiders and discriminated by hair-length choices, etc.
Interestingly came away with a neutral opinion of Baumann, neither a victim nor a hero, just a man making decisions and retrospectively realizing some were correct and some were wrong. Do the ends justify the means, are the changes desired ever going to be achieved going down this path? Questions clearly left unanswered.
I guess what I found interesting was the representation of the left being almost entirely concerned about class and economic issues. A common argument being that the modern left is purely an identity-politics based platform, which though that is a stronger component than in the past, even in the 70s you can read Baumann speaking about being outsiders and discriminated by hair-length choices, etc.
Interestingly came away with a neutral opinion of Baumann, neither a victim nor a hero, just a man making decisions and retrospectively realizing some were correct and some were wrong. Do the ends justify the means, are the changes desired ever going to be achieved going down this path? Questions clearly left unanswered.
October 27, 2016
I found this in a pile of old text books, and it piqued my curiosity. However, after trudging through 25 pages with gritted teeth, I tossed it aside with a mixture of relief & barely repressed hilarity. How could anyone have ever classified this incoherent, pretentious mess as dangerous? It's so ridiculous in its over-the-top political/social psychobabble that it actually gives a bad name to all the other ridiculous, over-the-top political/social psychobabble in existence! They should have never banned this book -- they should have forced everyone to read it...out loud. The howls of laughter mixed with pain would have destroyed the morale of any wannabe-urban terrorists.
March 12, 2024
"As the opposition, you become just like the apparatus itself."
Fascinating memoire of a young Berlin man who drifted into anarchism and terrorism, but not a very good translation from the original German.
Baumann describes the formation and failure of various groups of violent anarchists with whom he was associated - the excitement but loneliness of life as a saboteur, and the challenge of remaining true to his original motivations when that saboteur's life started turning him into the empty man he was trying to escape from.
Fascinating memoire of a young Berlin man who drifted into anarchism and terrorism, but not a very good translation from the original German.
Baumann describes the formation and failure of various groups of violent anarchists with whom he was associated - the excitement but loneliness of life as a saboteur, and the challenge of remaining true to his original motivations when that saboteur's life started turning him into the empty man he was trying to escape from.
May 30, 2019
Historically this is quite interesting, but this guy is just an asshole.
April 24, 2025
fühle mich iwi so intellektuell und cool das gelesen zu haben gerade
September 5, 2025
Bommi Baumanns zelig-gleiche Geschichte aus dem linksradikalen Westberliner Untergrund der End60er, die selbstredend für mehrere Jahre in der BRD verboten war.
Umherschweifende Haschrebellen, Kommune 1, Ohnesorg, das besetzte Bethanien, Dutschke, Bewegung 2. Juni und mit einem Auge dann eben auch noch die RAF. Anfangs etwas irritierend in seinem gesprochenen Wort - Duktus, der sich nicht immer flüssig liest, aber mit der Zeit wie eine bewusste anti-intellektuelle Entscheidung erscheint, liegt Baumann doch besonders viel daran, seine Working Class Roots und die Verbindung mit dem Proletariat immer wieder hervorzuheben und sich damit auch von den "Studenten"der 68er und später auch des RAF-Zirkels abzugrenzen (nur Dutschke kommt aus dieser Perspektive dennoch gut weg).
Ein interessanter Einblick in die Idee der linken Revolte, die beinah versöhnlich endet, weil Baumann zum Schluss die Gewalt als Irrweg erkennt (nicht aber die Idee der linken Revolution an sich). Manches ist aus heutiger Sicht schwer nachzuvollziehen, weil auch etwas sprunghaft geschrieben. Mag sein, dass in den 70ern hier die Linien noch offensichtlich waren, jetzt versteht man nicht immer, wer nun welcher Fraktion angehörte. Vor allem als 'Pamphlet von unten' lesenswert, das den Verdruss mit der BRD und die daraus entstehenden revolutionären Ideen beschreibt, ohne in Geschwurbel abzudriften.
Umherschweifende Haschrebellen, Kommune 1, Ohnesorg, das besetzte Bethanien, Dutschke, Bewegung 2. Juni und mit einem Auge dann eben auch noch die RAF. Anfangs etwas irritierend in seinem gesprochenen Wort - Duktus, der sich nicht immer flüssig liest, aber mit der Zeit wie eine bewusste anti-intellektuelle Entscheidung erscheint, liegt Baumann doch besonders viel daran, seine Working Class Roots und die Verbindung mit dem Proletariat immer wieder hervorzuheben und sich damit auch von den "Studenten"der 68er und später auch des RAF-Zirkels abzugrenzen (nur Dutschke kommt aus dieser Perspektive dennoch gut weg).
Ein interessanter Einblick in die Idee der linken Revolte, die beinah versöhnlich endet, weil Baumann zum Schluss die Gewalt als Irrweg erkennt (nicht aber die Idee der linken Revolution an sich). Manches ist aus heutiger Sicht schwer nachzuvollziehen, weil auch etwas sprunghaft geschrieben. Mag sein, dass in den 70ern hier die Linien noch offensichtlich waren, jetzt versteht man nicht immer, wer nun welcher Fraktion angehörte. Vor allem als 'Pamphlet von unten' lesenswert, das den Verdruss mit der BRD und die daraus entstehenden revolutionären Ideen beschreibt, ohne in Geschwurbel abzudriften.
November 19, 2013
I am not very impressed and am rather shocked at the childish antics that he and others got up to, and classed himself as a serious revolutionary. There doesn't appear to be any ideology involved, just immaturity and idiocy and it just appeared to be a druggy group slashing tyres out of boredom and delinquency. In fact, If I had penned this I would be embarrassed, and it only serves to make other more ideological revolutionaries looked as moronic as he. But this would make sense when contemplating the below, and bare in mind that this book was released in 1975:
"In 1981, Baumann was arrested in London and sentenced to a five-year imprisonment for bank robbery and bombing. While in prison, he wrote another autobiographical book, which appeared after he was released [Reviewer: this appears to be 'Hi Ho. Wer nicht weggeht, kommt nicht wieder' ("Hi Ho. If you don't go away, you can't come back") released in 1987]. When documents of the former East Germany were made accessible by the Gauck Authority after the German reunification, it became known that in 1973 [Reviewer: Two years before the publication of this book under review, and whilst he was involved in the underground], Baumann had written a 125-page report to the East German State Security Service (Stasi) about 94 people within the armed struggle movement, including information on assaults, attacks, weapons, and sexual preferences. Beyond that, 165 pages of interrogation records exist on Baumann. During a period of six weeks, Baumann shared his insider knowledge in 114 hours of interrogation."
The above source is from Wolfgang Kraushaar: "Unsere unterwanderten Jahre," Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 7 April 1998, page 45. Further information can be found on Baumann's Wikipedia page.
In conclusion, I find it pretty uneventful when considering this was written by a so called revolutionary, but also rather lame in his antics also. I think it served the purpose of making the serious movement look moronic and far from ideological.
"In 1981, Baumann was arrested in London and sentenced to a five-year imprisonment for bank robbery and bombing. While in prison, he wrote another autobiographical book, which appeared after he was released [Reviewer: this appears to be 'Hi Ho. Wer nicht weggeht, kommt nicht wieder' ("Hi Ho. If you don't go away, you can't come back") released in 1987]. When documents of the former East Germany were made accessible by the Gauck Authority after the German reunification, it became known that in 1973 [Reviewer: Two years before the publication of this book under review, and whilst he was involved in the underground], Baumann had written a 125-page report to the East German State Security Service (Stasi) about 94 people within the armed struggle movement, including information on assaults, attacks, weapons, and sexual preferences. Beyond that, 165 pages of interrogation records exist on Baumann. During a period of six weeks, Baumann shared his insider knowledge in 114 hours of interrogation."
The above source is from Wolfgang Kraushaar: "Unsere unterwanderten Jahre," Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 7 April 1998, page 45. Further information can be found on Baumann's Wikipedia page.
In conclusion, I find it pretty uneventful when considering this was written by a so called revolutionary, but also rather lame in his antics also. I think it served the purpose of making the serious movement look moronic and far from ideological.
September 20, 2025
Nachdem ich Der Baader-Meinhof-Komplex von Stefan Aust gelesen hatte, war Wie alles anfing von Michael „Bommi“ Baumann für mich wie ein Gegenstück. Aust schildert die Ereignisse rund um die RAF kühl, detailreich und aus der Distanz. Man sieht Strukturen, Daten, Abläufe wie ein großes Puzzle, das man von außen betrachtet.
Baumann dagegen schreibt von innen heraus. Er erzählt, wie er als Berliner Arbeiterjunge in die Gegenkultur hineingeriet, wie Freundschaften, Sehnsüchte und spontane Entscheidungen ihn Schritt für Schritt in die militante Szene führten. Dabei wirkt er nicht wie ein Chronist, sondern eher wie jemand, der dir bei einem Bier erklärt, warum er damals so gehandelt hat.
Der Unterschied ist groß. Während Austs Werk eher die historische Landkarte zeichnet, gibt Baumann den Blick ins Innere frei: die Gefühle, die Zweifel, aber auch die Faszination jener Zeit. Und spannend ist vordergründig, dass er nicht im Vergangenen steckenbleibt. Er reflektiert auch darüber, wie es war, die Waffe aus der Hand zu legen und einen anderen Weg einzuschlagen.
Allerdings ist seine Schreibweise anstrengend. Er benutzt den Straßenjargon der damaligen Zeit mit entsprechender Rechtschreibung und Grammatik. Das Thema ist interessant, aber man muss sich auf den Stil einlassen und sich den Zugang zum Text erarbeiten.
Für mich ergänzen sich beide Bücher perfekt: Aust liefert die äußere Perspektive, Baumann die innere. Zusammen ergibt sich ein klareres Bild davon, wie die 68er-Bewegung und die Stadtguerilla in Deutschland funktionieren konnten und warum so viele Menschen damals zwischen Rebellion und Radikalisierung hin- und hergerissen waren.
Baumann dagegen schreibt von innen heraus. Er erzählt, wie er als Berliner Arbeiterjunge in die Gegenkultur hineingeriet, wie Freundschaften, Sehnsüchte und spontane Entscheidungen ihn Schritt für Schritt in die militante Szene führten. Dabei wirkt er nicht wie ein Chronist, sondern eher wie jemand, der dir bei einem Bier erklärt, warum er damals so gehandelt hat.
Der Unterschied ist groß. Während Austs Werk eher die historische Landkarte zeichnet, gibt Baumann den Blick ins Innere frei: die Gefühle, die Zweifel, aber auch die Faszination jener Zeit. Und spannend ist vordergründig, dass er nicht im Vergangenen steckenbleibt. Er reflektiert auch darüber, wie es war, die Waffe aus der Hand zu legen und einen anderen Weg einzuschlagen.
Allerdings ist seine Schreibweise anstrengend. Er benutzt den Straßenjargon der damaligen Zeit mit entsprechender Rechtschreibung und Grammatik. Das Thema ist interessant, aber man muss sich auf den Stil einlassen und sich den Zugang zum Text erarbeiten.
Für mich ergänzen sich beide Bücher perfekt: Aust liefert die äußere Perspektive, Baumann die innere. Zusammen ergibt sich ein klareres Bild davon, wie die 68er-Bewegung und die Stadtguerilla in Deutschland funktionieren konnten und warum so viele Menschen damals zwischen Rebellion und Radikalisierung hin- und hergerissen waren.
January 9, 2015
I liked it and thought it was really interesting. It's a really short and easy read as well, written in the way as if he's talking to you. It's also not very well written in anyway, he's not a great writer or intellectual. But that doesn't matter, because the personal account of the stuff he was involved is fascinating and honest. There are few excuses, but it's also rather self-reflective and critical of the move towards armed struggle. I don't think there are many books like this.
I didn't know shit about the 2nd June Movement and not so much about the German movement at that time in general. The stories about Kommune 1, using counter-culture to politicize people, and about the Hash Rebels that were the primary dealers of heroin for some time, but were politicizing the druggies/scene while doing so, backed up by the theory that participating in revolutionary struggle is the best way to get off it. And before they went illegal, they were a bunch of longhaired hippies in colourful jean clothes with peace-signs and all, and they went out at night to bomb stuff. It's funny how hippie ended up meaning something completely different for us.
I didn't know shit about the 2nd June Movement and not so much about the German movement at that time in general. The stories about Kommune 1, using counter-culture to politicize people, and about the Hash Rebels that were the primary dealers of heroin for some time, but were politicizing the druggies/scene while doing so, backed up by the theory that participating in revolutionary struggle is the best way to get off it. And before they went illegal, they were a bunch of longhaired hippies in colourful jean clothes with peace-signs and all, and they went out at night to bomb stuff. It's funny how hippie ended up meaning something completely different for us.
January 25, 2012
A product of the 60/70s round of revolt this still has a valid and powerful message for today. I remember carving RAF etc graffiti into desks at school in the 80's when everything seemed so black and white and the revolution was just around the corner. Baumann's book helps to a) remind the "revolutionary" what it is they are trying to oppose [a machine mush greater than themselves or little collective and their own "self"], b) shows how easy it is to mimic the worst parts of what you claim to be opposing by being driven primarily by hate. In concluding Bauman says "I don't condemn anything, and I don't judge anything wrong,not the people either [...] I did it, and it's alright. Even the worst experiences were right in their time, because otherwise, it wouldn't have come to this point."
July 29, 2024
[Ger]
Der Stil ist der von Bommi, alt und voller Slang. Man gewöhnt sich daran, jedoch enthält dieses Buch viele Informationen die einen zu eine größeren Thema bringen können. Wie der linke Terror (RAF) in den letzte Jahren (viele Jahre). Das ist ein Sachbuch in Slang, nicht für jeden etwas. Heutzutage auch ein wenig schwer zu bekommen. Jedenfalls muss man eventuell andere Bücher von Bommi lesen, damit man sich auf das hier einlassen kann. Interesse muss dabei sein, das hilft auch frühzeitig diesen zu erkennen und zu verhindern. Strukturen werden klar.
Der Stil ist der von Bommi, alt und voller Slang. Man gewöhnt sich daran, jedoch enthält dieses Buch viele Informationen die einen zu eine größeren Thema bringen können. Wie der linke Terror (RAF) in den letzte Jahren (viele Jahre). Das ist ein Sachbuch in Slang, nicht für jeden etwas. Heutzutage auch ein wenig schwer zu bekommen. Jedenfalls muss man eventuell andere Bücher von Bommi lesen, damit man sich auf das hier einlassen kann. Interesse muss dabei sein, das hilft auch frühzeitig diesen zu erkennen und zu verhindern. Strukturen werden klar.
April 28, 2009
Interesting how Baumann had left the East, then took radical anti-establishment action. While I don't agree with everything he does (i.e. tends to be slightly contradictory, resents police for "flat out" murdering someone he knew, but then is launching molotovs/supporting terror in the streets), I can honestly say I appreciated this completely new material, little had I previously known about the West German counterculture.
August 11, 2011
A beautiful case study of self-justification. I actually think this book was very useful to the development of my own political thinking, as I read it when I was a teenager. It's evident that Baumann's campaign of terror was fairly brainless, but the rhetoric is compelling. So I learnt to ignore rhetoric and try and focus on the direct consequences of actions. I often think of this book when I hear extremists speaking.
September 24, 2013
If you ever wondered what it's like to be a terrorist, this book lays it out in a clear and matter-of-fact way. Bauman does not try to convince anyone that it is right or correct, nor does he spend any time to condemning the urban guerrillas. He simply explains why he and those he knew acted as they did. If these things interest you, the reading is compelling.
September 26, 2015
I was really prepared to like this guy because I tend to admire anyone who takes action for the cause they believe in; but after the first few pages it comes out that he came over from East Germany in the first place. So he's East German !@#$%^&*()!! No wonder he came-a-cropper and a troublemaker. Not interested.
January 9, 2013
Assigned for Western Civ III class. It was great for generating discussion, but most of my students didn't like it.
July 27, 2016
Geschrieben um die sogenannte Jugend anzusprechen, deshalb ein ganz herabsetzender Ton die es damals gab in die linke szene.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews