Stefan Aust, born July 1, 1946, in Stade, initially started to study sociology but became an editor for "Konkret" and "St. Pauli-Nachrichten" from 1967 to 1969 and worked for Norddeutscher Rundfunk from 1970 on. From 1972 to 1985, Aust worked for the political TV show "Panorama". From 1988 on, he was the head of "Spiegel TV", the TV branch of the news magazine "Der Spiegel" whose managing director he became in 1995. From 1994 on, Aust was the editor in chief of "Spiegel" and kept this position until he left the magazine in March of 2008 after internal quarrels.

During the 1970s, Aust also became a filmmaker and mainly made documentaries. He participated as author and director in the socio-critical collaborations "Der Kandidat" (1980) and "Krieg und Frieden" (1983). His collaborators also included Volker Schlöndorff and Alexander Kluge. Aust not only used his in-depth knowledge of German terrorism, that also relied on personal experiences, for his non-fiction book "Der Baader Meinhof Komplex" (1985), that has become the seminal work about the topic, but also for his screen play for Reinhard Hauff’s film "Stammheim". The feature film that is completely based on the files of the trial against RAF members won the Golden Bear at the 1986 Berlin international film festival. 

In 2007/2008, Aust also served as an advisor for Bernd Eichinger's star-studded film version of "Baader Meinhof Komplex" ("The Baader Meinhof Complex") that also traces historical facts with utmost care.