Standing Up to the Gang

The young man entered West Germany's modern four-story embassy in Stockholm one morning last week and politely asked the receptionist where he could obtain a new passport. The male receptionist turned to a telephone--and turned back to find he was facing a gun. Their access secured, five other terrorists, one a woman, entered the building. Armed with submachine guns, they raced to the top floors and barricaded themselves, along with twelve hostages, including Ambassador Dietrich Stoecker, 59, and his military attache, Lieut. Colonel Andreas Baron von Mirbach, 44.

The terrorists quickly identified themselves as supporters of West Germany's infamous Baader-Meinhof gang, a band of leftist extremists who have been held responsible for a succession of violent crimes. Their demands: the immediate release of 26 fellow terrorists currently held in West German jails, including Gang Leaders Ulrike Meinhof, 40, and Andreas Baader, 31, who are scheduled to stand trial May 21 in Stuttgart on charges of murder and grand larceny. The raiders directed that the 26 prisoners be taken to Frankfurt airport, given $20,000 apiece, and flown in a Lufthansa 707 jetliner to an unspecified foreign country. Otherwise, they added, they would shoot one hostage every hour and finally would blow up the embassy with 33 Ibs. of TNT.

As soon as the terrorists had sealed themselves off with their hostages on the top floor, staff members and embassy visitors on the lower floors quickly escaped, some on fire ladders. Using a house phone, the terrorists then ordered Swedish police to leave the lower floors of the building, and threatened to shoot a hostage unless they obeyed. The police stalled, hoping to establish personal contact--and the terrorists shot Lieut. Colonel von Mirbach fatally.

New Policy. In Bonn, West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt immediately summoned a meeting of Cabinet ministers, Bundestag leaders, Minister-Presidents of all the federal states and party chairmen. Bonn, like most Western European governments, has long followed a policy of meeting terrorist demands, most recently in the kidnaping of West Berlin Mayoral Candidate Peter Lorenz two months ago (TIME, March 17). This time, however, government leaders decided unanimously not to budge. The crimes of the Baader-Meinhof gang have shocked and enraged West German sensibilities for three years, and government leaders decided that the nation had had enough. They reasoned that, in contrast to the Lorenz case, the whereabouts of both the terrorists and their hostages in the present incident were known. And they were angered by the news that Mirbach had been shot in Stockholm.

Tense TV. It was evening when Swedish authorities received Bonn's decision and telephoned the news to the gang in the embassy. Disbelieving, the group first tried to call the Bonn government direct, then at 11 p.m. released three women hostages with a message for the Swedish government that ended: "Victory or death!" At 11:45, while Swedes watched the tense proceedings on their TV sets, two giant explosions rocked the embassy. As flames shot through the top-floor windows, five figures quietly climbed out of a window at the side of the building. When Swedish police shouted "Haende hoch!" (Hands up), the five meekly surrendered. In the meantime the hostages scrambled to safety. Later police found the bodies of the sixth gang member (apparently killed by the explosions) and the embassy's economic counselor, whom the terrorists had murdered. Next day the Swedish government returned four of the five captured terrorists to West Germany for justice; the fifth had suffered such severe burns that he could not yet be moved.

A grim and exhausted Chancellor Schmidt appeared Friday morning before the Bundestag. "We didn't make it easy on ourselves yesterday," he admitted, to applause from all sides of the house, "but today I am convinced that we fulfilled our duty correctly." He noted that the Baader-Meinhof gang was believed responsible for the murder of nine people and the wounding of more than 100 others. "To have released these criminals, some of whom are still awaiting trial," he declared, "would have meant an inconceivable shattering for our security and our state."

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