Alfred Herrhausen facts for kids
Alfred Herrhausen (born 1930, died 1989) was an important German banker. He was the head of Deutsche Bank, a very big bank in Germany. He was born in Essen and sadly died in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe in 1989.
He was also part of important groups like the Bilderberg Group. From 1971, he was on the main board that ran Deutsche Bank. He advised Helmut Kohl, who was the German Chancellor. Herrhausen believed in a united Europe where countries worked together. He also helped shape how Germany dealt with developing countries. He was killed by a bomb. It was likely done by a far-left group called the Red Army Faction from West Germany. The bomb hit his special armoured car.
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How Alfred Herrhausen Died
Alfred Herrhausen was killed by a clever bomb on November 30, 1989. This happened shortly after he left his home in Bad Homburg. He was being driven to work in his armoured Mercedes-Benz car. Other cars with bodyguards were in front and behind him.
The bomb weighed about 7 kilograms (15 pounds). It was hidden in a bag on a bicycle parked near the road. The attackers knew Herrhausen would drive past this spot. The bicycle had been parked there for a long time without a bomb. Because of this, Herrhausen's security team did not notice it.
The bomb exploded when Herrhausen's car broke a beam of infrared light. This light beam was like an invisible tripwire. The bomb was aimed at the most vulnerable part of his car. This was the door where he was sitting. It needed perfect timing to get through the car's special armour.
The bomb used a special design to make a copper plate shoot out very fast. This copper plate was placed between the explosive and the car. The explosion pushed the copper plate towards the car. It moved at almost two kilometers per second (over a mile per second). This powerful copper mass went right through the armoured Mercedes. Herrhausen was badly injured and died.
The Red Army Faction group said they were responsible for his death.
What Happened After
No one has ever been officially charged with Alfred Herrhausen's murder. For a long time, German police listed Andrea Klump and Christoph Seidler from the Red Army Faction as the main suspects.
A key witness named Siegfried Nonne came forward. He later said that his earlier statements were not true. He had claimed to have hidden four terrorists in his home. His half-brother also said that no one else was at the flat at that time. In 1992, German TV showed Nonne explaining how he was pressured to become the main witness.
In the same year, the Alfred Herrhausen Society was started. This group was created to remember Alfred Herrhausen and his ideas. In 2004, the police stopped the charges against the Red Army Faction. However, the investigation into his death continued.
Some people have suggested that Vladimir Putin was involved. At that time, he was a KGB agent in East Germany. These reports claimed he was working with the Red Army Faction members. However, a 2023 investigation by the magazine Der Spiegel looked into these claims. They found that the source of these reports was not reliable. This source was known for making up stories.
In 2008, a journalist named Carolin Emcke wrote a book called Stumme Gewalt (Mute Force). This book was a tribute to Herrhausen, who was her godfather. It encouraged people to talk to each other without violence or revenge. She won an award for her writing.
See Also
- List of unsolved murders
