"German Autumn" ("Deutscher Herbst"): RAF terrorists kidnap the president of the employers’ association, Hanns Martin Schleyer; his driver and three of his companions are murdered during the abduction. The kidnappers demand the release of all of their comrades from the Stammheim Prison in Stuttgart.more
12 September
1977
After the SED Politburo reduces coffee imports because of the price rise on the global market in summer and restricts coffee consumption in canteens and restaurants, the Ministry for Security warns internally of a storm of protest from the population.more
The USA and the Soviet Union agree to extend the SALT I treaty (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks Agreement).more
30 September
1977
The GDR National Defence Council has been given a secret review, carried out by the SED Central Committee, of the effectiveness of border security measures.
It contains the information that SM-70 mines have been installed along the border fence to West Germany for 271 km, and Type 66 landmine barriers, which have an effectiveness of only 20 percent, for a further 271 km. According to the report, the automatic firing device SM-70 has proven to be the "most effective barrier element" and is therefore to be used more and more comprehensively until it becomes "the main element of the border security systems" by 1981.less