Petra Schelm

Petra Schelm (died 1971) was a German founding member of the Red Army Faction (RAF). She trained as an urban guerilla in Jordan and was killed in a shootout with the police in Hamburg in July 1971.

Petra Schelm
Born	(1950-08-16)16 August 1950 Hamburg, West Germany
Died	15 July 1971(1971-07-15) (aged 20) Hamburg, West Germany
Cause of death	Gunshot wounds
Organization	Red Army Faction

Early life and RAF

Petra Schelm grew up in West Berlin and worked as a hairdresser.^[1] She started a relationship with Manfred Grashof and the two lived together on Bleibtreustrasse in Charlottenburg. The apartment was used as a distribution hub for the anarchist newspaper Agit 883.^[1]

In 1970, Schelm was a founding member of the Red Army Faction (RAF), a far-left militant group.^[2]: 360 In June 1970, she travelled on false identification to Beirut with Brigitte Asdonk, Hans-Jurgen Backer, Monika Berberich, Grashof and Horst Mahler. From there, the group went to Jordan to attend urban guerilla training at a Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PLFP) facility. They were joined by Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin and Ulrike Meinhof.^[3]: 179

Roadblock and death

House in Reineckestraße in Hamburg where the fatal shooting occurred

On 15 July 1971, Schelm was driving through Hamburg with Werner Hoppe in a stolen BMW when she avoided a police roadblock.^[4]: 194 The police gave chase and stopped the BMW. Hoppe stepped out of the car and shot at police officers, before escaping; Schelm fired at police and was shot dead.^[A] A police helicopter chased Hoppe and he was arrested.^{[4]: 194 [6][7][8]}

Schelm was buried at Spandau cemetery in West Berlin. At her funeral, fifty supporters laid a red flag on her grave, which was removed by the police.^[3]: 231

Legacy

Grave of Petra Schelm

The Petra Schelm Commando of the RAF bombed the Frankfurt headquarters of the United States V Corps on 11 May 1972, in support of North Vietnam. A lieutenant colonel died and 13 other soldiers were injured. The cost of repairs to the building was calculated to be DM 1,000,000 (or $310,000 at the time).^{[2]: 368 [3]: 244}

Notes

1. Jillian Becker states that Schelm was killed by a burst of gunfire from a submachine gun; Stefan Aust states that it was a single bullet wound to the head that killed Schelm.^{[5][3]: 231}