In the early 1970s, all across the Americas and Western Europe, armed groups emerged out of the social movements of the late 1960s. Their goal was to advance the struggle for a socialist society. In Germany, the Red Army Faction received most attention, but a less well-known, anti-authoritarian and social-revolutionary counterpart operated in its shadows: the 2nd of June Movement, named after the date when, in 1967, the unarmed student Benno Ohnesorg was shot and killed by a Berlin cop during a demonstration. The 2nd of June Movement was comprised of working-class youth who got politicized in Berlin’s underground culture. They first emerged as a political collective under the name “Hash Rebels,” before they formed the 2nd of June Movement as a revolutionary organization. The 2nd of June Movement received most attention for the 1975 kidnapping of conservative politician Peter Lorenz. Lorenz was exchanged for six comrades in prison, one of the biggest successes of any urban guerrilla group in Europe. Dissolved in 1980, the principles of the 2nd of June Movement lived on in the militant network of the Revolutionary Cells and the German autonomist movement. From Hash Rebels to Urban Guerrillas is the first book presenting the 2nd of June Movement in English. It documents the group’s history and politics based on translations of original documents and reflections by former members. The editors provide an introduction, extensive notes, a timeline, and an overview of key protagonists. This is mandatory reading for anyone interested in the politics of the era and the ongoing quest to challenge the rule of the state and capital.

This book is not a nostalgic tribute to militants of a distant past, but a source of inspiration for revolutionary politics in a time that needs them as much as ever.

In the early 1970s, across the Americas and Western Europe, armed groups emerged out of the social movements of the late 1960s. In Germany, the Red Army Faction received most attention, but a less well-known, antiauthoritarian counterpart operated in its shadows: the 2nd of June Movement, named after the date when, in 1967, a Berlin cop killed the unarmed student Benno Ohnesorg during a demonstration. The group was composed of working-class youth who got politicized in Berlin’s underground culture. They first emerged as a political collective under the name “Hash Rebels” before forming the 2nd of June Movement as a revolutionary organization. After the group’s dissolution in 1980, its principles lived on in the militant network of the Revolutionary Cells and the German autonomist movement.
From Hash Rebels to Urban Guerrillas, the first book to present the 2nd of June Movement in English, documents the group’s history and politics through translations of original documents and reflections by former members. This is mandatory reading for anyone interested in the politics of the era and the ongoing quest to challenge the rule of the state and capital.