Hanns Martin Schleyer

Hanns Martin Schleyer was a German member of the SS, business executive, and employer and industry representative, who served as President of two powerful commercial organizations, the Confederation of German Employers' Associations and the Federation of German Industries. Schleyer's role in those business organisations, his positions in the labour disputes and aggressive appearance on television, his conservative anti-communist views and position as a prominent member of the Christian Democratic Union, and his past as an enthusiastic member of the Nazi student movement and former SS officer made him a target for radical elements of the German student movement in the 1970s.