AN AUGURY OF REVOLUTION: THE IRANIAN STUDENT ...

the police used four water cannons to force demonstrators away from the opera house. 326
Dr.
Ruprecht Rauch, West German Chief of Protocol, was responsible for arranging the program in
Berlin, and he noted that the visit went “very, very badly,” and that the shah had “firmly
conveyed his annoyance.” 327
The Berlin demonstrations, in which 3,000 students participated in, were “unprecedented
in any foreign country” and resulted in the death of Benno Ohnesorg. 328 Ohnesborg was an
apolitical student at Free University of Berlin who was just beginning to become involved with
New Left politics. There has been no evidence provided that he did anything to provoke the
police. 329 One historian noted that by this time, “student organizations which had been growing
in strength and militancy were now turning into movements that would have to confront state
repression,” and that “the killing of Benno Ohnesorg during demonstrations against the Shah of
Iran’s official visit to West Berlin marked the transformation.” 330 While the demonstrations
were organized by the CISNU, SDS members participated, along with members from Kommune
I and other unaffiliated students. Formerly apolitical students were also involved in the
demonstrations. For instance, Ohnesorg was just beginning to take an interest in the politics of
student protest, and was not affiliated with any groups. 331
The killing of Ohnesorg resulted not only in the intensification of the student movement
in West Germany, but also in more vocal opposition to the shah. Iranian students remained
extremely active in West Germany throughout the late 1960s, and American diplomats kept a
close eye on the developments of the student movement in Europe. Dr. Bahman Nirumand, an
326 AE Tehran to DOS, “Bi-Weekly Political Report, Iran, 5/28/67 – 6-10/67,” 10 June 1967, RG 59, NA.
327 AE Berlin to DOS, “Senat Protocol Chief’s Comments on Visit of the Shah,” 13 June 1967, RG 59, NA.
328 AE Tehran to DOS, “Bi-Weekly Political Report, Iran, 5/28/67 – 6-10/67,” 10 June 1967, RG 59, NA.
329 Suri, Power and Protest, 178.
330 Fraser, 1968: A Student Generation in Revolt, 143.
331 Fraser, 1968: A Student Generation in Revolt, 144.
79