Dr. Frank's What's-it

60s radical terrorist update

This happened during the Christmas lull, so I missed it till now.

Revolutionary Cells member, Baader-Meinhof associate, and convicted terrorist/murderer Hans-Joachim Klein, whose controversial 2001 trial served as the framing device for Paul Berman's brilliant essay "The Passion of Joschka Fischer" (unfortunately not viewable without a TNR subscription), has been pardoned and released after serving two years of his nine-year sentence. The decision was prompted by "requests" from "several" unidentified citizens. There must be more to the story, but that's all I can find right now.

Incidentally, while poking around for more detail, I came across this bio, which seems to suggest that Berman's Fischer essay will be published (expanded?) in book form sometime next year. Great news if so: it is one of the most perceptive and powerful pieces ever written on the generation of '68, and among the finest examples of cultural-political criticism you're likely to see on any subject.

UPDATE: In the comments, Dave points out that the Berman essay can be read here. I recommend it to anyone who is even remotely interested in the topic.