Editing Death squad (section)

===== East Germany =====
Between the end of World War II and 1989, Germany was divided into the democratic and capitalist [[West Germany|Federal Republic of Germany]] and the Communist [[East Germany|German Democratic Republic]], a one-party state under the [[Socialist Unity Party of Germany|Socialist Unity Party]] and its [[secret police]], the [[Stasi]]. During these years, kangaroo courts and cavalier use of the [[death penalty]] were routinely used against suspected enemies of the State.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}} In order to prevent East German citizens from defecting to the West, orders were issued to border guards to [[Schießbefehl|shoot suspected defectors on sight]]. During the 1980s, the Stasi carried out a mission to hunt down and assassinate West Germans who were suspected of smuggling East Germans.{{citation needed|date=December 2019}}

On the orders of the Party leadership and Stasi chief [[Erich Mielke]], the East German Government financed, armed, and trained, "urban guerrillas," from numerous countries. According to ex-Stasi Colonel Rainer Wiegand, ties to terrorist organizations were overseen by [[Markus Wolf]] and Department Three of the Stasi's foreign intelligence wing.<ref>Koehler (1999), pages 362-363.</ref> Members of the West German ''[[Rote Armee Fraktion]]'',<ref>Koehler (1999), pages 387-401.</ref> the [[Chile]]an ''[[Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front]]'',<ref>Koehler (1999), pages 311-315.</ref> and the [[South Africa under Apartheid|South Africa]]n ''[[Umkhonto we Sizwe]]''<ref>Koehler (1999), pages 316-318.</ref> were brought to East Germany for training in the use of military hardware and, "the leadership role of the Party."<ref>Koehler (1999), page 313.</ref> Similar treatment was meted out to Palestinian terrorists from the ''[[Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine]]'', ''[[Abu Nidal]]'', and ''[[Black September (group)|Black September]]''.<ref>Koehler (1999), pages 359-386.</ref>

Other Stasi agents worked as [[military adviser]]s to African Marxist guerrillas and the governments they later formed. They included the [[Namibia]]n ''[[SWAPO]]'' and the [[Angola]]n ''[[MPLA]]'' during the [[South African Border War]], the ''[[FRELIMO]]'' during the [[Mozambican War of Independence]] and [[Mozambican Civil War|civil war]], and [[Robert Mugabe]]'s ''[[ZANLA]]'' during the [[Rhodesian Bush War]].<ref>Koehler (1999), page 317.</ref>

Colonel Wiegand revealed that Mielke and Wolf provided bodyguards from the Stasi's counter-terrorism division for Senior PLO terrorist [[Carlos the Jackal]]<ref>Koehler (1999), pages 368-371.</ref> and ''Black September'' leader [[Abu Daoud]]<ref>Koehler (1999), pages 363-367.</ref> during their visits to the GDR. Col. Wiegand had been sickened by the 1972 [[Munich massacre]] and was horrified that the GDR would treat the man who ordered it as an honored guest. When he protested, Wiegand was told that Abu Daoud was, "a friend of our country, a high-ranking political functionary," and that there was no proof that he was a terrorist.<ref>Koehler (1999), pages 365-366.</ref>

During the 1980s, Wiegand secretly recruited a Libyan diplomat into spying on his colleagues. Wiegand's informant told him that the [[La Belle bombing]] and other terrorist attacks against western citizens were being planned at the Libyan Embassy in East Berlin. When Wiegand showed him a detailed report, Mielke informed the SED's Politburo, which ordered the Colonel to continue surveillance but not interfere with the plans of the Libyans.<ref>Koehler (1999), pages 325-357.</ref>

Shortly before [[German Reunification]], West Germany's [[Federal Constitutional Court of Germany|Federal Constitutional Court]] indicted former Stasi chief Erich Mielke for collusion with two [[Red Army Faction]] terrorist attacks against U.S. military personnel. The first was the [[car bomb]] attack at [[Ramstein Air Base]] on 31 August 1981. The second was the [[attempted murder]] of [[United States Army]] General [[Frederick Kroesen]] at [[Heidelberg]] on 15 September 1981.<ref>[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-04-28-mn-1594-story.html Ex-E. German Official Charged With Fraud and Embezzlement], ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', 28 April 1991.</ref><ref>[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-03-27-mn-961-story.html "World IN BRIEF : GERMANY : Ex-Security Chief Accused in Attack"], ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', 27 March 1991.</ref> The latter attack, which was carried out by RAF members [[Brigitte Mohnhaupt]] and [[Christian Klar]], involved firing an [[RPG-7]] [[anti-tank rocket]] into the General's armored Mercedes.<ref>[http://www.stripes.com/news/baader-meinhof-gang-attacked-u-s-troops-bases-in-1970s-1980s-1.36617 Stars and Stripes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141221033521/http://www.stripes.com/news/baader-meinhof-gang-attacked-u-s-troops-bases-in-1970s-1980s-1.36617 |date=21 December 2014 }} Published: 5 August 2005</ref><ref>{{Cite book|first=John E.|last=Jessup|title=An encyclopedic dictionary of conflict and conflict resolution, 1945-1996|page=409|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hP7jJAkTd9MC&pg=PA409|format=Google books|access-date=6 December 2010|isbn=978-0-313-28112-9|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=1998}}</ref> Due to reasons of [[senile dementia]], Mielke was never placed on trial for either attack.