Bringing the War Home: The Weather Underground, the Red Army Faction, and Revolutionary Violence in the Sixties and Seventies

424 Pages·2004·2.27 MB·English

by  Jeremy Varon

Bringing the War Home
The publisher gratefully acknowledges the generous
contribution to this book provided by the General
Endowment Fund of the University of California Press
Associates.
Bringing the War Home
The Weather Underground,
the Red Army Faction,
and Revolutionary Violence
in the Sixties and Seventies
Jeremy Varon
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS
Berkeley · Los Angeles · London
Lyrics to Bob Dylan songs: “Ballad of a Thin Man”; copyright © 1965 by
Warner Bros. Inc.; copyright renewed © 1993 by Special Rider Music. “The
Lonesome Death of Hattie Caroll”; copyright © 1964, 1966 by Warner Bros.
Inc.; copyright renewed © 1992 by Special Rider Music. “My Back Pages”;
copyright © 1964 by Warner Bros. Inc.; copyright renewed © 1992 by Special
Rider Music. “No Time to Think”; copyright © 1978 by Special Rider Music.
“Paths of Victory”; copyright © 1964 by Warner Bros. Inc.; copyright re-
newed © 1992 by Special Rider Music. “This Wheel’s on Fire”; copyright
© 1967, 1970 by Dwarf Music. “The Times They Are A-Changin’”; copyright
© 1963, 1964 by Warner Bros. Inc.; copyright renewed © 1991 by Special
Rider Music. “When the Ship Comes In”; copyright © 1963, 1964 by Warner
Bros. Inc.; copyright renewed © 1991 by Special Rider Music. “Where Are
You Tonight? (Journey Through the Dark Heat)”; copyright © 1978 by
Special Rider Music. All rights reserved. International copyright secured.
Reprinted by permission.
Lyrics to John Fogerty songs copyright Jondra Music. Used by permission.
Lyrics to Grateful Dead songs copyright Ice Nine Publishing Company.
Used by permission.
Lyrics to Phil Ochs songs used by permission of Meegan Lee Ochs.
University of California Press
Berkeley and Los Angeles, California
University of California Press, Ltd.
London, England
© 2004 by
The Regents of the University of California
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Varon, Jeremy, 1969–.
Bringing the war home : the Weather Underground, the Red Army
Faction, and the revolutionary violence of the sixties and seventies / Jeremy
Varon.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn0–520–23032–9 (cloth : alk. paper).—isbn0–520–24119–3
(pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Weather Underground Organization. 2. Weatherman (Organiza-
tion). 3. Baader-Meinhof gang. 4. Radicalism—United States—
History—20th century. 5. Radicalism—Germany (West)—History—
20th century. 6. New Left—United States—History—20th century.
7. New Left—Germany (West)—History—20th century. 8. Political
violence—United States—History—20th century. 9. Political violence—
Germany (West)—History—20th century. I. Title.
hn90.r3 v37 2004
322.4'2'0943—dc22 2003019002
Manufactured in the United States of America
13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04
11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements
of ansi/nisoz39.48–1992 (r1997) (Permanence of Paper).8
To the loving memory of my mother,
Barbara Frass Varon

In Hell they say Heaven is a great lie.
Daniel Berrigan

Contents
Acknowledgments xi
List of Key Acronyms xiii
Introduction 1
1. “Agents of Necessity”: Weatherman, the Red Army Faction,
and the Turn to Violence 20
2. The Importance of Being Militant: The Days of Rage
and Their Critics 74
3. “Hearts and Minds”: The Antiwar Movement, Violence,
and the Critical Mass 113
4. The Excesses and Limits of Revolutionary Violence 151
5. Deadly Abstraction: The Red Army Faction and the Politics
of Murder 196
6. “Democratic Intolerance”: The Red Army Faction and
the West German State 254
Conclusion 290
Notes 313
Select Bibliography 361
Index 375
Plates follow p.195