Wolfgang Grams
Wolfgang Grams (March 6, 1953 in Wiesbaden, Germany - June 27, 1993 in Bad Kleinen, Germany) was a member of the terrorist group Red Army Faction. His death was surrounded by mysterious circumstances, and is his claim to fame, and was considered a scandal by many.
His Life
His parents, Werner and Ruth Grams, were refugees from the east. Werner volunteered for service in the [[Waffen-SS]. Wolfgang also had a brother, Rainer.
In his younger years, Wolfgang Grams studied violin, and people attest that he had perfect pitch. He played guitar and was a walking gentleman at the Wiesbadener Theater. He aspired to be either a pastor or forester. His family lived near the Wiesbaden/Erbenheim airport, and he demonstrtated against the Vietnam War. Because of that, he was labeled as a draft dodger.
In his commune he received the nickname Gaks. After the arrest of Andreas Baader and Gudrun Ensslin, he started to visit political prioners who were in custody. He found the conditions of solitary confinement inhumane. His then girlfriend was Roswitha Beith.
He got to know Birgit Hogefeld, and she became his girlfriend, and they got a place together.
February 15, 1987 on the Tagesschau on ARD, there was a bulletin for Grams and Hogefeld. He was described as 180 cm tall and with blue green eyes and a striking dark skin discoloration on his face. From then on, he lived underground. Only in the Autumn of 1990 did he come home to meet with his parents in Taunus.
His death in Bad Kleinen
On June 27, 1993, members of the GSG 9 were to arrest Grams and Grams und Hogefeld at the train station in Bad Kleinen. During the process of the arrest, he managed to pull a gun and shoot two officers, killing one, Michael Newrzella. Wolfgang Grams' death was ruled as a suicide, although it is alleged by many that he was killed.
A sales clerk at a station food stand was quoted as saying "Two policemen walked up to Grams, who was lying motionless. One bent over and shot him several times from close up. Then the second officer shot at Grams, but more at his stomach and legs. He shot several times." The autopsy supported this statement in that the gunshot wound to his head was fired at point blank range.
Officers were quoted as saying the saw Grams "suddenly fall backward" off of the station platform onto the track. As Grams lay dying on the ties, medics attempted to save him, but he died from a headwound.
Interior Minister Rudolph Seiters took responsibility and resigned in July of the year, as well as Chief Federal Prosecuter, Alexander Von Stahl. Helmut Kohl visited the unite praising the dead officer and spoke harshly of "attempts to make a martyr of his murderer."
Films
Grams was portrayed in the documentary "Black Box BRD."