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1 Assassination  





2 References  





3 External links  














Alfred Herrhausen: Difference between revisions






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{{refimprove|date=January 2016}}

{{refimprove|date=January 2016}}

'''Alfred Herrhausen''' (30 January 1930, [[Essen]] – 30 November 1989) was a [[Germany|German]] [[banker]] and Chairman of [[Deutsche Bank]]. From 1971 onwards he was a member of the bank's Management Board. He was a member of the Steering Committee of the [[Bilderberg Group]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bilderbergmeetings.org/former-steering-committee-members.html |title=Former Steering Committee Members |work=bilderbergmeetings.org |publisher=[[Bilderberg Group]] |accessdate=2014-02-08 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202095633/http://www.bilderbergmeetings.org/former-steering-committee-members.html |archivedate=February 2, 2014 }}</ref> He was an advisor to [[Helmut Kohl]] and a proponent of a unified European economy, as well as being an influential figure in shaping the policies towards developing nations.<ref name=nytimes>Protzman, Ferdinand. [https://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/01/world/head-of-top-west-german-bank-is-killed-in-bombing-by-terrorists.html?pagewanted=all "Head of Top West German Bank Is Killed in Bombing by Terrorists"], ''The New York Times'', 1 December 1989. Accessed 5 January 2016.</ref><ref>Dittmer, Diana. [http://www.n-tv.de/wirtschaft/25-Jahre-Mord-an-Alfred-Herrhausen-Warum-ausgerechnet-er-article14043251.html "Mord an Herrhausen bleibt ein Rätsel"], ''N-TV'', 28 November 2014. Accessed 13 January 2016.</ref>

'''Alfred Herrhausen''' (30 January 1930, [[Essen]] – 30 November 1989) was a [[Germany|German]] [[banker]] and the Chairman of [[Deutsche Bank]], who was assassinated by terrorists in 1989.<ref name=nytimes/> He was a member of the Steering Committee of the [[Bilderberg Group]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bilderbergmeetings.org/former-steering-committee-members.html |title=Former Steering Committee Members |work=bilderbergmeetings.org |publisher=[[Bilderberg Group]] |accessdate=2014-02-08 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202095633/http://www.bilderbergmeetings.org/former-steering-committee-members.html |archivedate=February 2, 2014 }}</ref> and from 1971 onwards a member of Deutsche Bank's Management Board. An advisor to [[Helmut Kohl]] and a proponent of a unified European economy, he was also an influential figure in shaping the policies towards developing nations.<ref name=nytimes>Protzman, Ferdinand. [https://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/01/world/head-of-top-west-german-bank-is-killed-in-bombing-by-terrorists.html?pagewanted=all "Head of Top West German Bank Is Killed in Bombing by Terrorists"], ''The New York Times'', 1 December 1989. Accessed 5 January 2016.</ref><ref>Dittmer, Diana. [http://www.n-tv.de/wirtschaft/25-Jahre-Mord-an-Alfred-Herrhausen-Warum-ausgerechnet-er-article14043251.html "Mord an Herrhausen bleibt ein Rätsel"], ''N-TV'', 28 November 2014. Accessed 13 January 2016.</ref> He was assassinated, probably by the communist terrorist group [[Red Army Faction]], when an explosively formed projectile penetrated his armored convoy.



==Assassination==

==Assassination==

Herrhausen fell victim to a sophisticated roadside [[Improvised explosive device|bomb]] shortly after leaving his home in [[Bad Homburg]] on 30 November 1989. He was being chauffeured to work in his armoured [[Mercedes-Benz]], with [[bodyguards]] in both a lead vehicle and another following behind.<ref name=nytimes /> The 7&nbsp;kg bomb was hidden in a bag on a bicycle parked next to the road that the assassins knew Herrhausen would be traveling in his three-car convoy. The bomb was detonated when Herrhausen's car interrupted a beam of infrared light as it passed the bicycle. The bomb targeted the most vulnerable area of Herrhausen's car – the door where he was sitting – and required split-second timing to overcome the car's special [[armour plating]]. The bomb utilized a [[Misznay–Schardin effect|Misznay–Schardin]] mechanism. A copper plate, placed between the explosive and the target, was deformed and projected by the force of the explosion. It is unlikely that this [[improvised explosive device]] had the precise engineering required to form the liner into a more effective slug or "carrot" shape (as in a [[shaped charge]] or an [[explosively formed penetrator]] (EFP)){{Citation needed|date=February 2007}}. The detonation resulted in a mass of copper being projected toward the car at a speed of nearly two kilometers per second, effectively penetrating the armoured Mercedes. Herrhausen's legs were severed and he bled to death.

Herrhausen was killed by a sophisticated roadside [[Improvised explosive device|bomb]] shortly after leaving his home in [[Bad Homburg]] on 30 November 1989. He was being chauffeured to work in his armoured [[Mercedes-Benz]], with [[bodyguards]] in both a lead vehicle and another following behind.<ref name=nytimes /> The 7&nbsp;kg bomb was hidden in a bag on a bicycle parked next to the road that the assassins knew Herrhausen would be traveling in his three-car convoy. The bomb was detonated when Herrhausen's car interrupted a beam of infrared light as it passed the bicycle. The bomb targeted the most vulnerable area of Herrhausen's car – the door where he was sitting – and required split-second timing to overcome the car's special [[armour plating]]. The bomb utilized a [[Misznay–Schardin effect|Misznay–Schardin]] mechanism. A copper plate, placed between the explosive and the target, was deformed and projected by the force of the explosion. It is unlikely that this [[improvised explosive device]] had the precise engineering required to form the liner into a more effective slug or "carrot" shape (as in a [[shaped charge]] or an [[explosively formed penetrator]] (EFP)){{Citation needed|date=February 2007}}. The detonation resulted in a mass of copper being projected toward the car at a speed of nearly two kilometers per second, effectively penetrating the armoured Mercedes. Herrhausen's legs were severed and he bled to death.



No one has ever been charged with the murder. For a long time{{when|date=January 2016}}, the German federal prosecutor's office listed [[Andrea Klump]] and [[Christoph Seidler]] of the [[Red Army Faction]] as the only suspects. The [[Federal Criminal Police Office (Germany)]] presented a chief witness, Siegfried Nonne, who later retracted his statements in which he claimed to have sheltered four terrorists in his home. His half-brother Hugo Föller furthermore declared that no other persons had been at the flat at the time. On 1 July 1992 German television broadcast Nonne's explanations of how he was coached and threatened by the [[Verfassungsschutz]], the German internal intelligence agency, to become the main witness. In 2004 the federal prosecutor dropped the charges against the Red Army Faction; the investigation was to continue without naming a suspect. Certain German and US media connected the assassination of Alfred Herrhausen to the Staatssicherheitsdienst ([[Stasi]]) of the [[GDR]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB118981435771628219|title=The Murder of a CEO|first=David|last=Crawford|date=|publisher=|accessdate=5 November 2016}}</ref>

No one has ever been charged with the murder. For a long time{{when|date=January 2016}}, the German federal prosecutor's office listed [[Andrea Klump]] and [[Christoph Seidler]] of the [[Red Army Faction]] as the only suspects. The [[Federal Criminal Police Office (Germany)]] presented a chief witness, Siegfried Nonne, who later retracted his statements in which he claimed to have sheltered four terrorists in his home. His half-brother Hugo Föller furthermore declared that no other persons had been at the flat at the time. On 1 July 1992 German television broadcast Nonne's explanations of how he was coached and threatened by the [[Verfassungsschutz]], the German internal intelligence agency, to become the main witness. In 2004 the federal prosecutor dropped the charges against the Red Army Faction; the investigation was to continue without naming a suspect. Certain German and US media connected the assassination of Alfred Herrhausen to the Staatssicherheitsdienst ([[Stasi]]) of the [[GDR]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB118981435771628219|title=The Murder of a CEO|first=David|last=Crawford|date=|publisher=|accessdate=5 November 2016}}</ref>


The search of the motive for his killing strikes attention to Herrhausen's having strongly suggested to write off all debts owed by developing countries, a proposal he brought before the World Bank in 1987 as well as to a Bilderberg Meeting in 1988. His suggestions however were met with strong opposition, especially from U.S. bankers who were prepared to battle him on his proposal, and who also objected to internal reforms of the Deutsche Bank which he intended to implement for Germany.{{Citation needed|date=November 2016}}


From then on concern for his safety made him wear a bullet-proof vest, and his Mercedes car was armor-plated and accompanied by two cars staffed with security guards. When the bomb went off and struck his side of the door, none of his security guards stepped out to see to his safety and aid. He died bleeding to death from having the main artery on one of his legs severed.{{Citation needed|date=November 2016}}


Some authors{{who|date=January 2016}} speculate that in view of the complex nature surrounding the preparations for his murder the U.S. American Secret Service of the CIA may have been involved.<ref>[https://waechterdesnordens.wordpress.com/2015/12/23/warum-musste-alfred-herrhausen-sterben/] speaks about motives for his killing and a possible CIA involvement.</ref>


All of Herrhausen’s proposals for structural changes to the Deutsche Bank as well as the idea of debt relief to third-world countries were abandoned by his successor Hilmar Kopper and belittled as “not-to-be-taken-serious” expressions of Herrhausen’s ideas.{{Citation needed|date=November 2016}}



The 2001 German documentary film ''[[Black Box BRD]]'' retells the lives and deaths of Alfred Herrhausen and [[Wolfgang Grams]], a Marxist terrorist who was a major suspect in the attack on Herrhausen.<ref name="DF-2002-12-23">Thomas Moser: ''[http://www.dradio.de/dlf/sendungen/politischeliteratur/131670/ Andreas Veiel: Black Box BRD. Alfred Herrhausen, die Deutsche Bank, die RAF und Wolfgang Grams.]'' Deutschlandfunk, 23 December 2002</ref>

The 2001 German documentary film ''[[Black Box BRD]]'' retells the lives and deaths of Alfred Herrhausen and [[Wolfgang Grams]], a Marxist terrorist who was a major suspect in the attack on Herrhausen.<ref name="DF-2002-12-23">Thomas Moser: ''[http://www.dradio.de/dlf/sendungen/politischeliteratur/131670/ Andreas Veiel: Black Box BRD. Alfred Herrhausen, die Deutsche Bank, die RAF und Wolfgang Grams.]'' Deutschlandfunk, 23 December 2002</ref>


Revision as of 18:33, 25 February 2017

Alfred Herrhausen (30 January 1930, Essen – 30 November 1989) was a German banker and the Chairman of Deutsche Bank, who was assassinated by terrorists in 1989.[1] He was a member of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group[2] and from 1971 onwards a member of Deutsche Bank's Management Board. An advisor to Helmut Kohl and a proponent of a unified European economy, he was also an influential figure in shaping the policies towards developing nations.[1][3] He was assassinated, probably by the communist terrorist group Red Army Faction, when an explosively formed projectile penetrated his armored convoy.

Assassination

Herrhausen was killed by a sophisticated roadside bomb shortly after leaving his home in Bad Homburg on 30 November 1989. He was being chauffeured to work in his armoured Mercedes-Benz, with bodyguards in both a lead vehicle and another following behind.[1] The 7 kg bomb was hidden in a bag on a bicycle parked next to the road that the assassins knew Herrhausen would be traveling in his three-car convoy. The bomb was detonated when Herrhausen's car interrupted a beam of infrared light as it passed the bicycle. The bomb targeted the most vulnerable area of Herrhausen's car – the door where he was sitting – and required split-second timing to overcome the car's special armour plating. The bomb utilized a Misznay–Schardin mechanism. A copper plate, placed between the explosive and the target, was deformed and projected by the force of the explosion. It is unlikely that this improvised explosive device had the precise engineering required to form the liner into a more effective slug or "carrot" shape (as in a shaped charge or an explosively formed penetrator (EFP))[citation needed]. The detonation resulted in a mass of copper being projected toward the car at a speed of nearly two kilometers per second, effectively penetrating the armoured Mercedes. Herrhausen's legs were severed and he bled to death.

No one has ever been charged with the murder. For a long time[when?], the German federal prosecutor's office listed Andrea Klump and Christoph Seidler of the Red Army Faction as the only suspects. The Federal Criminal Police Office (Germany) presented a chief witness, Siegfried Nonne, who later retracted his statements in which he claimed to have sheltered four terrorists in his home. His half-brother Hugo Föller furthermore declared that no other persons had been at the flat at the time. On 1 July 1992 German television broadcast Nonne's explanations of how he was coached and threatened by the Verfassungsschutz, the German internal intelligence agency, to become the main witness. In 2004 the federal prosecutor dropped the charges against the Red Army Faction; the investigation was to continue without naming a suspect. Certain German and US media connected the assassination of Alfred Herrhausen to the Staatssicherheitsdienst (Stasi) of the GDR.[4]

The 2001 German documentary film Black Box BRD retells the lives and deaths of Alfred Herrhausen and Wolfgang Grams, a Marxist terrorist who was a major suspect in the attack on Herrhausen.[5]

In 2008, journalist Carolin Emcke published Stumme Gewalt (Mute Force), a memorial to Herrhausen, her godfather, encouraging dialogues between groups in societies, dialogues without violence, revenge and disrespect.[6] She received the Theodor Wolff Prize for the text.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c Protzman, Ferdinand. "Head of Top West German Bank Is Killed in Bombing by Terrorists", The New York Times, 1 December 1989. Accessed 5 January 2016.
  • ^ "Former Steering Committee Members". bilderbergmeetings.org. Bilderberg Group. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved 2014-02-08. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  • ^ Dittmer, Diana. "Mord an Herrhausen bleibt ein Rätsel", N-TV, 28 November 2014. Accessed 13 January 2016.
  • ^ Crawford, David. "The Murder of a CEO". Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  • ^ Thomas Moser: Andreas Veiel: Black Box BRD. Alfred Herrhausen, die Deutsche Bank, die RAF und Wolfgang Grams. Deutschlandfunk, 23 December 2002
  • ^ "Interview: "Ich möchte, dass die Täter sprechen."" (in German). Die Zeit. 14 May 2008. Retrieved 6 July 2010. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |trans_title= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  • ^ "Theodor-Wolff-Preis 2008, prämiierter Text, Bewertung der Jury und Vita" (in German). Archived from the original on 19 September 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |trans_title= (help)
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