The bombing of the French consulate in West Berlin was a terrorist bomb attack targeting the Maison de France consulate on the

Kurfürstendamm The Kurfürstendamm (; colloquially , ; ) is one of the most famous avenues in Berlin. The street takes its name from the former (prince-electors) of Brandenburg. The broad, long boulevard can be considered the of Berlin and is lined with s ...

West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

on 25 August 1983. It killed one person and injured 23 others. The

Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) was a militant organization active between 1975 and the 1990s whose stated goal was "to compel the Government of Turkey, Turkish Government to acknowledge publicly its responsibility for ...

(ASALA) claimed responsibility in a telephone call and also took credit for a bomb at a French base in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

the same day, coming a month after the group's Orly Airport attack. The group commented "We will continue our struggle until the liberation of innocent

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

from French jails." However the attack was actually orchestrated by Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, better known as

Carlos the Jackal Ilich Ramírez Sánchez (; born 12 October 1949), also known as Carlos the Jackal () or simply Carlos, is a Venezuelan convict who conducted a series of assassinations and terrorist bombings from 1973 to 1985. A committed Marxist–Leninist, ...

, who had relations with the ASALA's leadership. Carlos claimed responsibility in a letter written to the German Embassy in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

. The bomb, containing 20 to 30 kg of explosives, was planted in a storage room on the building's fourth floor by Ahmed Mustafa El-Sibai, a Lebanese man and associate of Carlos. The blast tore the building's roof, destroyed the fourth floor and caused part of it to collapse, causing a total of 2.5 million

marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks A collective trademark, collective trade mark, or collective mark is a trademark owned by an organization (such ...

in damage. The explosives were brought into

East Berlin East Berlin (; ) was the partially recognised capital city, capital of East Germany (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. From 1945, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. The American, British, and French se ...

by Johannes Weinrich, another close aide to Carlos. Weinrich had brought the explosives in a year prior, they had been confiscated by the

Stasi The Ministry for State Security (, ; abbreviated MfS), commonly known as the (, an abbreviation of ), was the Intelligence agency, state security service and secret police of East Germany from 1950 to 1990. It was one of the most repressive pol ...

secret police, then returned just prior to the bombing by

East German East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

major (later lieutenant colonel/oberstleutnant) Helmut Voigt who passed the explosives back to Weinrich at the Syrian Embassy, which was Carlos's base in East Germany. Weinrich successfully transported the explosives from East to West Berlin via the

Friedrichstraße Friedrichstraße, or Friedrichstrasse (see ß; ) (lit. ''Frederick Street''), is a major culture and shopping street in central Berlin, forming the core of the Friedrichstadt neighborhood and giving the name to Berlin Friedrichstraße stat ...

before giving them to El-Sibai who planted it. The fatal victim was 26-year-old Michael Haritz, a peace activist who was handing out leaflets at the consulate protesting France's nuclear weapons testing in the South Pacific, and died from

asphyxiation Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects all the tissues and organs, some more rapidly than others. There are ...

. Carlos previously bombed several targets in France, including the

1982 Capitole train bombing The Capitole train bombing was the bombing of a Le Capitole train on the Paris-Toulouse express near Limoges on 28 March 1982. The attack killed five people and injured 28 others. Bombing On March 28, 1982, a high-speed Le Capitole was travelli ...

. He said the attacks in France and West Berlin were in revenge for French air strikes against a

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP; ) is a secular Palestinian Marxist–Leninist organization founded in 1967 by George Habash. It has consistently been the second-largest of the groups forming the Palestine Liberation ...

training camp in Lebanon.

Aftermath and convictions

The Maison de France is a French cultural centre featuring a French book shop, grocery store, cinema and restaurant. It was rebuilt after the attack and opened by

Helmut Kohl Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (; 3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017) was a German politician who served as chancellor of Germany and governed the ''Federal Republic'' from 1982 to 1998. He was leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to ...

and

François Mitterrand François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was a French politician and statesman who served as President of France from 1981 to 1995, the longest holder of that position in the history of France. As a former First ...

in 1985. On 26 March 1991, approximately six months after the two Germanies officially reunified, Voigt fled to Greece. Voigt had heard in news broadcasts of the planned arrests of Stasi employees who had supported terrorist actions in West Germany as part of their East-German Stasi work. Voigt lived in the Greek port city of Volos under a false identity, but was found and arrested in 1991, when his wife visited him, carrying a tracking device that had been planted in her luggage by West German investigators without her knowledge. Voigt was extradited, tried, and found guilty in April 1994 for his role in the bombing, and was sentenced to four years in prison. In 1995, after years of searching, Weinrich was detained in Yemen and flown back to Germany. In 2000, after a four-year trial, Weinrich was found guilty and given a life sentence. Nabil Shritah, the

Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

diplomat who stored the explosives at the embassy, was given a two-year sentence.

References

{{Terrorism in Germany 1983 in international relations 1983 in West Germany 1980s in West Berlin 1983 murders in Germany Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia Attacks on buildings and structures in Berlin Attacks on diplomatic missions of France France–West Germany relations August 1983 in Europe Explosions in Berlin 1983 building bombings Terrorist attacks attributed to Armenian militant groups Terrorist incidents in Berlin Terrorist incidents in Germany in 1983 French consulate in West Berlin 1980s murders in Berlin Attacks on government buildings and structures in Germany de:Maison de France

Aftermath and convictions

See also

References