Celler Hole

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JVA Celle (watchtower)
The piece of wall with the blown hole

The fire magic campaign of the Lower Saxony constitutional protection agency became known as the Celler Loch . On July 25, 1978, a hole about 40 centimeters in diameter was blown into the outer wall of the Celle prison . Thus, a stop was the liberation of Sigurd Debus pretended that as a suspected terrorist of the Red Army Faction was imprisoned (RAF) in Celle-security prison. Allegedly they wanted to smuggle an informant into the RAF with the help of this covert operation under a “ false flag ” . The public and various law enforcement agencies were deliberately deceived about the actual perpetrators of the attack , it was not until 1986 that the background came to light through research by journalists. A parliamentary committee of inquiry was then set up.

The anti-terrorist unit GSG 9 , the Lower Saxony state government under Ernst Albrecht ( CDU ) and the institution's management are considered involved and informed . The Federal Ministry of the Interior as the superior authority of GSG 9, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution , the federal government and the Lower Saxony state police are said not to have been informed in advance.

preparation and execution

The Office for the Protection of the Constitution prepared a stolen Mercedes SL with ammunition and forged passports, including a passport with a photo of Debus. Forms and official seals came from burglaries at the authorities. The driver of the vehicle was an employee of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. The vehicle was originally seized at a police check in Salzgitter in January 1978, when the driver escaped the check and left the car behind.

The Office for the Protection of the Constitution recruited two criminals - Klaus-Dieter Loudil and Manfred Berger - to carry out the attack. On July 25, 1978, the bomb was detonated and caused only minor property damage. There was no outbreak. Loudil was later presented to the media as a suspect.

Discussion about the work of the private detective Werner Mauss

The evening news broadcast on 9 October 1989 an article by Jochen Graebert on the report of the Committee on Celler hole. Graebert reported that the committee members had disagreed on the assessment of the role of the undercover agents. Regarding the role of Werner Mauss , he said: “There is only agreement that the private detective Mauss was able to determine the concepts and fictitious actions of the V-men himself in an uncontrolled manner.” Heiner Herbst then commented “Otherwise, the committee members agree in the assessment of his work agree to a considerable extent, namely that they have established that this work has sometimes led to serious legal violations and that there is reason to criticize. "Mauss obtained the following reply , which was published in the Tagesschau of November 13, 1989 by Speaker Werner Veigel was read:

“The Tagesschau of October 9, 1989 reported on the termination of the work of the Lower Saxony Committee of Inquiry, which dealt with the bogus bombing of the constitution protection, which has become known under the keyword 'Celler Loch'. In this context it was said: 'There is only agreement that the private detective Mauss was able to determine the concepts and fictitious actions of the informants himself in an uncontrolled manner.' This can give the impression that I was involved in concepts and fictitious actions that are related to the so-called Celler Loch. In reality, I have never had anything to do with these concepts and actions. "

- Counter-statement by Werner Mauss, read out by Werner Veigel in the Tagesschau

Consequences for Debus

The Office for the Protection of the Constitution smuggled breakout tools into Debus 'cell, which were found during the search that followed the attack and were intended to prove Debus' involvement in the crime.

As further “evidence” the so-called “Dellwo paper” was published, which allegedly came from RAF member Karl-Heinz Dellwo (Dellwo denied this), in which it says that “by attacks on the outer area of ​​prisons” a “ Consolidation of incarcerated terrorists into interaction groups "should be achieved.

1979 Debus was transferred to the JVA Hamburg-Fuhlsbüttel . There he took part in a hunger strike by prisoners from the RAF in February 1981 , which led to his death on April 16, 1981 , after applications for relief from prison had been rejected with reference to the bomb attack .

Political Consequences

In 1986 it became known that radical left-wing terrorists were not responsible for the attack, but the protection of the Constitution and the GSG 9 . The people presented as perpetrators by the media were V-men of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. Ulrich Neufert was awarded the “ Guardian Prize of the German Daily Press ” for his article about the affair in the Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung in 1986 .

Before an investigative committee of the Lower Saxony state parliament , the Albrecht government presented the action as at least a respectable success (access to terrorism, outbreak thwarted, weapons found), although these allegations could be refuted.

reception

On January 28, 1989, the documentary film “Das Celler Loch” , which was later awarded the Max Ophüls Prize , by Herbert Linkesch (director) and Rudi Reinbold (producer) was broadcast for the first time.

In July 2015, a cut-out piece of the former wall was placed in the public area in front of the prison entrance as a souvenir. Set in a stainless steel frame, a prepared piece of the concrete wall with the Celler Loch was set up together with a text board directly in front of the prison entrance.

The Schlosstheater Celle brought the topic to the stage in 2019 as a musical under the title "Celler Loch". The text processes the almost 400-page report of the committee of inquiry .

literature

  • Rolf Cranzen: Campaign fire magic. SWR2 Knowledge October 12, 2007, 27 min. Manuscript ( RTF ; 52 kB).
  • Christa Ellersiek, Wolfgang Becker: The Celler Hole. The background of the Feuerzauber campaign. Galgenberg, Hamburg 1987, ISBN 3-925387-30-7 .
  • Butz Peters: Deadly mistake. The history of the RAF. Argon, Berlin 2004, ISBN 978-3-87024-673-0 , p. 659 f., Endnote 375, p. 807 f.
  • Eckart Spoo: The state bomb. How Lower Saxony's Prime Minister Ernst Albrecht fought terrorism. In: Georg M. Hafner, Edmund Jacoby (Hrsg.): The scandals of the republic. Book Guild Gutenberg, Frankfurter am Main, 1989, ISBN 978-3-7632-3641-1 ; New edition: Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag, Reinbek bei Hamburg, 1992, ISBN 978-3-499-19187-9 , pp. 285-293.

Web links

Commons : Celler Loch  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. "Magic Fire" with dark figures . In: The time . No. June 25 , 1987 ( zeit.de [accessed November 12, 2016]).
  2. a b Red ears . In: Der Spiegel . No. 18 , April 28, 1986, pp. 24 f . ( magazin.spiegel.de [PDF; accessed on July 10, 2016]).
  3. a b Tagesschau from October 9, 1989. Tagesschau vor ... (ARD) , October 9, 1989, accessed on October 22, 2016 .
  4. a b Tagesschau from November 13, 1989. Tagesschau vor ... (ARD) , November 13, 1989, accessed on October 22, 2016 .
  5. Rolf Cranzen: Action Fire Ward. SWR2 Knowledge October 12, 2007, 27 min. Manuscript (RTF; 52 kB)
  6. The Celler Hole. In: Filmportal.de .
  7. Gunther Meinrenken: Memories of 1978: "Celler Loch" set up again. In: Cellesche Zeitung . July 24, 2015, accessed September 12, 2019 .
  8. ^ Sophie Mühlmann: The "Celler Hole" as a rhythmic real satire , ndr.de from March 22, 2019