West German student movement

West German student movement
Part of the Protests of 1968
Protest march in 1968 West Germany
Date	1968
Location	West Germany
Caused by	New political alliances in West Germany Various leftist political movements
Resulted in	Quelling of protests

The West German student movement (German: Westdeutsche Studentenbewegung), sometimes called the 1968 movement in West Germany (German: 1968 Bewegung in Westdeutschland), was a left-wing social movement that consisted of mass student protests in West Germany in 1968. Participants in the movement later came to be known as 68ers. The movement was characterized by the protesting students' rejection of traditionalism and of German political authority which included many former Nazi officials. Student unrest had started in 1967 when student Benno Ohnesorg was shot by a policeman during a protest against the visit of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran. The movement is considered to have formally started after the attempted assassination of student activist leader Rudi Dutschke, which sparked various protests across West Germany and gave rise to public opposition. The movement created lasting changes in German culture.^[1]