Memories of Mogadishu as a lesson
Created: 07/05/2022 11:31 am
Stormed the hijacked plane in Mogadishu at the age of 21: Aribert Martin, member of the special unit GSG 9. He described the experiences at the Max-Born-Gymnasium.
© HK
He was there live when the Landshut plane in Mogadishu, which had been hijacked by Palestinian terrorists, was liberated: Aribert Martin, a member of GSG 9. Now he told 47 students at the Max-Born-Gymnasium (MBG) exactly what happened on October 18, 1977 played.
Germering – Aribert Martin remembers a little boy particularly well.
The child was a passenger on the Lufthansa plane Landshut, which was actually only supposed to fly back to Frankfurt from Palma de Mallorca in October 1977.
At that time, the boy saw at close range how the flight captain Jürgen Schumann was shot.
"Fallen over," the little one later described the scene.
living history
45 years later, Martin is still deeply moved by the dramatic events of that time.
"What must this little guy have been through?" says the former GSG 9 member.
And also the others who were in Landshut.
The passengers were drawn into a bloody hijacking.
The terrorists wanted to force the release of their like-minded Baader-Meinhof group from prison.
As a contemporary witness, Martin reported to the Germeringer high school students about the terrible events in southern Somalia.
"It's a lively kind of history lesson that is memorable," emphasizes teacher Nicola Preuss, who offers the contemporary witness talks in history lessons.
The Max-Born-Akademie, a project to support particularly gifted students, has joined.
As their representative and member of the school management, Sabine Schinzel emphasizes: “Contemporary witnesses are an important addition to the lessons.
Your experiences and adventures are important.”
Especially when they get under your skin.
"50 degrees and you have to sit in a plane for three days," says Martin from the perspective of the passengers.
Going to the toilet was a lottery game, then circulatory problems, the passengers doused with alcohol.
They were scared to death.
This is what happened to the GSG 9
Something that the special unit GSG 9 had to hide.
"We always flew after Landshut," explains Martin.
The route was: Rome, Larnaka, Dubai, Aden and Mogadishu.
There, the emergency services had placed themselves two kilometers away from Landshut.
The special unit used the negotiations that were being conducted with the terrorists for preparation and assignment of tasks.
"I was supposed to get on the plane via the wings," the now 66-year-old eyewitness remembers the liberation action.
People are out on all fours.
"The whole thing only took seven minutes."
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There was no post-processing in the form of psychological support at the time.
Instead, a commander Ulrich Klaus Wegener, whom Martin describes as tough and, above all, decisive.
That helped pull off the mission.
And: “Practice, practice, practice.” Something that Martin gives the students to take with them.
"If you want to achieve something, it's not enough just to have talent."
And what follows is a serious nod to the understanding of democracy.
"I risked my life for the freedom of people when I was 21 years old." He says that without complaining. It was a matter of course for him.
But it also takes courage to have a different opinion and thus live democracy.
"It's a shame that too much is moving in the mainstream today, only adapting," he answers a corresponding question from the group of students.
The background
Rosaviola Frohneberg, consultant at the Bavarian State Center for Political Education, outlined that the events in Mogadishu are part of a historical development.
She cited the economic miracle of the 1950s, the non-questioning of the Third Reich, student protests and radicalization as key points.
"You have to do it in fast motion, otherwise it will be too long." Nevertheless, the background helps with the classification.
Frohneberg finds it gratifying that the students come to such lectures with good prior knowledge.
"I experience that again and again," says the speaker, who has formed a team with Martin for many presentations.
And so there is ultimately a connection to the year 1977, when the then federal government around Chancellor Helmut Schmidt did not give the terrorists what they asked for.
“One must not give in to extremists or violence either,” says teacher Preuss.
When asked about Ukraine at this point, she just nods.
It went on like this
Aribert Martin joined the GSG 9 in 1975. After five years he turned his back on the special unit.
"I was far too curious, I wanted to experience something else," he explained to the students.
Martin switched to the financial sector.
Co-pilot Jürgen Vietor, who steered the Landshut after Schumann's murder, continued.
The Landshut was in the service of Lufthansa until 1985.
Then she came to Brazil and Indonesia, where she was used as a cargo plane.
In the meantime, the machine has been partially restored to its 1977 condition.
Several other aircraft also got this name.
In the aftermath of the events, security at airports, which had been rather lax until then, was tightened.
(Hans Kurzl)
You can find more current news from the district of Fürstenfeldbruck at Merkur.de/Fürstenfeldbruck.
