Historian Revisits 1970 Arson Attack on Munich Jewish Retirement Home

Historian Wolfgang Kraushaar revisited a decades-old crime at a public event in Hanover on Thursday. He presented findings from his 2005 book, The Bomb in the Jewish Community Center, which examines the 1970 arson attack on a Jewish retirement home in Munich. The discussion also explored the boundaries between criticism of Israel and antisemitism.

The event, organised by Against Forgetting—For Democracy, focused on left-wing antisemitism in 1970s Germany. Kraushaar named Dieter Kunzelmann and Peter Urbach as key suspects in the Munich arson attack on Reichenbachstraße. He also highlighted Henryk M. Broder's role in exposing antisemitic tendencies within left-wing groups at the time.

Kraushaar suggested that psychological motives, such as a rejection of the previous generation's Nazi crimes, may have fuelled left-wing antisemitism. He referenced a dispute between Red Army Faction (RAF) members Gudrun Ensslin and Irmgard Möller, hinting at Möller's possible involvement in the attack. Additionally, he claimed Ulrich Enzensberger used a Volkswagen Beetle and a similar gasoline canister in a separate arson attack on a Munich judge.

The German Federal Prosecutor's Office reopened the investigation in 2013 after a witness linked the attack to a broader anti-Jewish motive. However, Kraushaar did not address a recent Der Spiegel report tying the crime to a local neo-Nazi. Instead, he defended his book's claims, praising the initial police work but criticising their failure to arrest the main suspect.

The neues deutschland newspaper previously accused Kraushaar of fabricating quotes and defaming Enzensberger. Despite this, he stood by his research during the discussion.

Kraushaar's presentation linked historical events to ongoing debates about antisemitism and political extremism. The 1970 arson case remains unresolved, though new witness statements have prompted further investigation. His arguments continue to spark controversy, particularly regarding the role of left-wing activists in antisemitic violence.