Josef Erwin Bachmann (1945 - February 24, 1970) was a German unskilled worker. He became widely known in Germany for his assassination attempt on the leader of the German student movement, Rudi Dutschke, firing three bullets at him, on April 11, 1968. He was convicted to seven years of prison and committed suicide while in prison in 1970.

Bachmann approached Dutschke, whom he had never met, in the street, having found out his address from the Einwohnermeldeamt, the registration office. Asking him if he was really Rudi Dutschke, he took out a gun and shot him in the head. Later on he told the judge that he had done it out of hate, calling him a dirty Communist pig. After the shooting, Bachmann fled to a cellar where he took an overdose of sleeping tablets but still continued firing his gun at police officers trying to approach him. He was taken to a hospital to deal with the effects of his overdose.

During the court trial it became evident that Josef Bachmann was influenced by the massive propaganda campaign of the mass media owned by Axel Springer, especially the Bild-Zeitung newspaper. For many people he became a symbol for the right-wing propaganda power of the Bild-Zeitung. As Dutschke's brother Helmut put it, "Springer - die Bild-Zeitung - hat den ersten Schuss mit abgegeben" - Springer and the Bild-Zeitung fired the first shot together with Bachmann.

As for Rudi Dutschke, he survived the assassination attempt but had severe brain damage and was forced to learn to speak again. He had health problems and in 1979 he succumbed to complications in Aarhus, Denmark, twelve years later.

After Bachmann's conviction, he and Dutschke corresponded by letter; however it is controversial how much the letters interested Bachmann and whether the contact influenced him when he committed suicide on the night between February 23 and February 24, 1970.