Rote Hilfe e.V.

Rote Hilfe e.V. ("Red Aid," abbreviated RH)^[1] is a German far-left prisoner support group. RH was founded in 1975, although localized groups calling themselves "Rote Hilfe" had begun to appear at the end of the 1960s.^[2][3] The group views itself as a successor to the Weimar-era Rote Hilfe. In the 1970s, it worked on behalf of Red Army Faction prisoners, and a few RH members went on to join the RAF or similar groups (e.g., Angelika Speitel and Hans-Joachim Klein).^[4][5] Today half of Rote Hilfe's budget is spent paying the legal fees, fines, and expenses of left-wing prisoners.^[3] It also publishes a quarterly journal, Die Rote Hilfe ("Red Aid"), and other publications, organizes events, etc.^[3] The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution considers it a "left-wing extremist" organization.^[3] RH is headquartered in Göttingen and, as of 2008, had about 5,000 members.^[6]