Goddaughters. In the Shadow of German Left Wing Terrorism – A Dialogue

Spiegel Bestseller

July 30th, 1977 near Frankfurt: Jürgen Ponto welcomes Susanne Albrecht, the daughter of his old friend Hans-Christian Albrecht, to his house. Her companions Brigitte Mohnhaupt and Christian Klar shoot him dead. At the time, his daughter Corinna is 20, Julia, Susanne’s sister, is 13.

Ponto’s murder severed the bond between the two families. Thirty years later, Julia Albrecht – Jürgen Ponto’s goddaughter – establishes contact with Corinna Ponto – the goddaughter of Hans-Christian Albrecht. Letters are exchanged and an initial meeting takes place. The book focuses on the history of the Red Army Faction and how it was dealt with, it explores the questions of guilt and the motifs behind the crimes, and it looks at the possibilities of reconciliation. The two women compare notes on how they talk to their own children about this part of German history, which is, of course, also part of their families' own pasts.

Goddaughters is the first dialogue between relatives of perpetrators and victims of the Red Army Faction. A poignant story, written from the perspective of two women, about two families that were once closely linked but were then torn apart by this murder. The authors take a fresh look at the history of the Red Army Faction – until now, interpreted primarily by outsiders – at the individual terrorists and at the wounds caused by their crimes.