Alex mate, I forgot your childhood in W Germany. That was indeed a hot time. I was in Frankfurt in 82 and got dragged along to the weekly demo at the airport.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Im...tbahn_West.jpg
Was quite a wake up to get blasted by police water canon and baton-charged! Looking back, I was just a naive middle class English kid who didn't know his arse from his elbow - and far too scared to get involved.
I read Baader Meinhof Komplex in German, but I think there is an English translation. If you're interested in that period, there's really no more comprehensive history. The jailed RAF members hated Aust for it. He's got a German Wiki mention:
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stefan_Aust
The US will not stay out of international affairs as there's too much money being made. And why would you want the Germans to pay back all the Marshall Plan money ffs? They've all turned out to be good consumers.
You have to understand why the kids of 60's West Germany became radical. The US was using Germany as a stop-over refuelling depot for the B52's that were anihalating the Vietcong. This was genocide being repeated just 20 years after the holocaust of WW2. The post war generation in Germany was horrified at what its parents had done - and here it was happening again. NIE WIEDER was the cry and they fucking meant it. Check out Aust's book for a less glamorous and better informed summary than mine.
Finally. I wish I had some pictures mate. We're talking 27 years ago here. I spent 6 months in Bourges in France learning the language, washing plates and eating good food for the first time in my life. I have got a couple of pics of those days, but none with pretty girls. I'll try and scan them for ya!
