Gudrun Ensslin (German: [ˈɡuːdʁuːn ˈɛnsliːn]; 15 August 1940 – 18 October 1977) was a founder of the German urban guerilla group Red Army Faction (Rote Armee Fraktion, or RAF, also known as the Baader-Meinhof Gang). After becoming involved with co-founder Andreas Baader, Ensslin was influential in the politicization of Baader's anarchistic beliefs. Ensslin was perhaps the intellectual head of the RAF. She was involved in five bomb attacks, with four deaths, was arrested in 1972 and died on 18 October 1977 in what has been called Stammheim Prison's Death Night.
Ensslin, the fourth of seven children, was born in the village of Bartholomä in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Her father, Helmut, was a pastor of the Evangelical Church in Württemberg. Ensslin was a well-behaved child who did well at school and enjoyed working with the Protestant Girl Scouts, and doing parish work such as organizing Bible studies. In her family, the social injustices of the world were often discussed, and Gudrun is said to have been sensitized to social problems in West Germany and the world as a whole.
Gudrun is a major figure in early Germanic literature that is centred on the hero Sigurd, son of Sigmund. She appears as Kriemhild in the Nibelungenlied and as Gutrune in Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen.
In Norse mythology, Gudrun (Guðrún Gjúkadóttir) is the sister of king Gunnar. She falls in love with Sigurd, who does not care for her, as he is in love with the valkyrie Brynhild, to whom he once gave the ring of Andvaranaut. Gudrun's brother Gunnar also wished to marry Brynhild, but this was impossible as the latter had sworn to marry only the man who could defeat her in a fair fight, whom she knew to be Sigurd.
In another version of the myth, Brynhild is imprisoned inside a ring of fire as punishment by Odin. Sigurd fights his way through the fire and promises to marry Brynhild, but is then bewitched by the ring of Andvarinaut. Sigurd then switches bodies with Gunnar and, in this guise, gallops through the fire and wins Brynhild again, who is deceived by this ruse into marrying the real Gunnar. Gunnar had agreed to Sigurd's marrying Gudrun under the condition that Sigurd would win Brynhild for him first. When he was disguised as Gunnar, Sigurd also took the ring of Andvaranaut from Brynhild and gave it to Gudrun as his morning gift. Both queens, Gudrun and Brynhild, were married on the same day.
Gudrun is a 1992 German drama film directed by Hans W. Geißendörfer. It was entered into the 42nd Berlin International Film Festival where it won an Honourable Mention.
Suddenly, a Woman! (Danish: Gudrun) is a 1963 Danish drama film directed by Anker Sørensen and starring Laila Andersson.
In this drama, a young woman is pretty enough to draw lovers to her like flies to honey. Among her suitors are her wealthy business-magnate employer and her lesbian landlady. Unfortunately for all of them, the young woman only has eyes for her childhood sweetheart. The would-be lovers prove themselves to be poor sports and mayhem ensues.