Magdalena Kopp
Encyclopedia
Cecilina Magdalena Kopp was born in Neu-Ulm
, Bavaria
in 1948. She was a photographer and member of the Frankfurt Revolutionary Cells (RZ). She is known for being the wife and accomplice of political militant Ilich Ramírez Sánchez also known as "Carlos the Jackal".
were Hans-Joachim Klein
, Wilfried Böse
and Brigitte Kuhlmann
. They were involved in the attack on the OPEC conference in 1975 and in the kidnapping of an Air France plane to Entebbe in Tel Aviv 1976.
With Weinrich she met with the internationally wanted political militant/terrorist Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, known as Carlos who was his friend. Later she moved to France
and joined the command "Boudia" led by Carlos, who also became her lover. Soon she worked as a part of his inner circle.
by French police, along with the Swiss political militant Bruno Breguet
when he shot a policeman who asked for the papers of their Peugeot car which was parked improperly. Breguet attempted to shoot the police officer, but he had not removed the safety catch on the gun. Magdalena Kopp was captured a block away from the scene, while running away. In their vehicle, two full bottles containing five kilos of Penthrit (pentaerythritol tetranitrate) and detailed drawings of various locations were also seized. Finally, it was also determined that they were planning to carry out an attack against the office of Al Watan Al Arabi. The police seized false passports and other incriminating documents from the car.
where she was detained and questioned again, this time by German police. Subsequently she was set free and in less than a month she moved to Damascus, Syria where she met and reunited with Ilyich Ramirez (Carlos). In 1985 they were married.
as an ally of United States
in the Gulf War, asked them to leave the country. They went to Libya
, but it rejected their residency visa and had to return to Syria
, where they remained a short time. Kopp and Carlos then decided to separate and she went to Venezuela
with his mother while Carlos traveled to Sudan
with a diplomatic passport. She lived in Valencia (Venezuela) for a few months until the Venezuelan press found out about her and then made ample references to her past due to her association with Carlos. Kopp then took steps to return to Germany
and on finding that the government had no charges against her, returned home where she lives with her daughter and has stayed out of politics since then.
In 2007, she published her memoirs entitled "The years of terror, my life with Carlos." She currently lives with her daughter in her hometown of Neu-Ulm
, Germany
.
.
[Interview with Magdalena Kopp http://www.noticias24.com/actualidad/noticia/8547/habla-la-ex-esposa-de-carlos-el-chacal/ 2007]
Neu-Ulm
Neu-Ulm is a town in Bavaria, capital of the Neu-Ulm district. Neighbouring towns include Ulm, Senden, Pfaffenhofen an der Roth, Holzheim, Nersingen and Elchingen. The population is 51,110 .-History:...
, Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
in 1948. She was a photographer and member of the Frankfurt Revolutionary Cells (RZ). She is known for being the wife and accomplice of political militant Ilich Ramírez Sánchez also known as "Carlos the Jackal".
Early life
Magdalena Kopp grew up in Neu-Ulm and after leaving school trained as a photographer. In 1967 she went to Frankfurt, where she frequented in the early 1970s in the leftist student circles and lived with friends in a shared flat. She worked for the publication Red Star and was one of the founders of the Frankfurt Revolutionary Cells (RZ). Members of this group, in addition to her new friend Johannes WeinrichJohannes Weinrich
Johannes Weinrich is a German left-wing political militant. Weinrich was a founder of the Revolutionary Cells and later became a close aide to Carlos the Jackal...
were Hans-Joachim Klein
Hans-Joachim Klein
Hans-Joachim Klein is a former member of the German left-wing militant group Revolutionary Cells . In 1975 Klein participated in an attack on OPEC headquarters in Vienna organized by Carlos the Jackal, in which he was seriously injured. He publicly renounced political violence two years later...
, Wilfried Böse
Wilfried Böse
Wilfried Böse was a founding member of the left-wing German militant group Revolutionary Cells. He led the 1976 hijacking of Air France Flight 139 to Entebbe, Uganda, where he famously told a Jewish passenger who showed him his Auschwitz tattoo "I'm no Nazi! .....
and Brigitte Kuhlmann
Brigitte Kuhlmann
Brigitte Kuhlmann was a founding member of the West German left-wing militant group Revolutionäre Zellen . She was killed by the Israel Defense Force in Entebbe, Uganda, during Operation Entebbe....
. They were involved in the attack on the OPEC conference in 1975 and in the kidnapping of an Air France plane to Entebbe in Tel Aviv 1976.
With Weinrich she met with the internationally wanted political militant/terrorist Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, known as Carlos who was his friend. Later she moved to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and joined the command "Boudia" led by Carlos, who also became her lover. Soon she worked as a part of his inner circle.
Arrest
On 16 February 1982, she was arrested in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
by French police, along with the Swiss political militant Bruno Breguet
Bruno Breguet
Bruno Breguet was a Swiss associate of Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, better known as "Carlos the Jackal". He disappeared in 1995.-Israel:In 1970 Breguet, then 19 years old, traveled to Lebanon to join the PFLP. A few weeks later he was arrested in Israel carrying two kilograms of explosives...
when he shot a policeman who asked for the papers of their Peugeot car which was parked improperly. Breguet attempted to shoot the police officer, but he had not removed the safety catch on the gun. Magdalena Kopp was captured a block away from the scene, while running away. In their vehicle, two full bottles containing five kilos of Penthrit (pentaerythritol tetranitrate) and detailed drawings of various locations were also seized. Finally, it was also determined that they were planning to carry out an attack against the office of Al Watan Al Arabi. The police seized false passports and other incriminating documents from the car.
Time in prison
On May 24, 1982, Kopp was sentenced to four years' imprisonment. Boudia Command carried out several terrorist attacks to pressure the government for the release of Kopp and Breguet. Magdalena was released on May 4, 1985 with a reduction of seven months of her sentence for good behavior but was deported to GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
where she was detained and questioned again, this time by German police. Subsequently she was set free and in less than a month she moved to Damascus, Syria where she met and reunited with Ilyich Ramirez (Carlos). In 1985 they were married.
Later life
On August 17, 1986 she gave birth to her first daughter Elba Rosa Ramirez Kopp. She and Carlos lived quietly until 1990 when, SyriaSyria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
as an ally of United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the Gulf War, asked them to leave the country. They went to Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
, but it rejected their residency visa and had to return to Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, where they remained a short time. Kopp and Carlos then decided to separate and she went to Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
with his mother while Carlos traveled to Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
with a diplomatic passport. She lived in Valencia (Venezuela) for a few months until the Venezuelan press found out about her and then made ample references to her past due to her association with Carlos. Kopp then took steps to return to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and on finding that the government had no charges against her, returned home where she lives with her daughter and has stayed out of politics since then.
In 2007, she published her memoirs entitled "The years of terror, my life with Carlos." She currently lives with her daughter in her hometown of Neu-Ulm
Neu-Ulm
Neu-Ulm is a town in Bavaria, capital of the Neu-Ulm district. Neighbouring towns include Ulm, Senden, Pfaffenhofen an der Roth, Holzheim, Nersingen and Elchingen. The population is 51,110 .-History:...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Popular culture
Kopp is portrayed by Nora von Waldstätten in the 2010 French-German television mini-series CarlosCarlos (TV miniseries)
Carlos is a 3-part French television drama mini-series, first broadcast on Canal+ in 2010. Produced by Film En Stock's Daniel Leconte in coproduction with Jens Meuer in association with Canal +, Studio Canal, ARTE, the Sundance Channel, it was created by Daniel Leconte and written by Dan Franck and...
.
External links
[1994 http://www.elmundo.es/papel/hemeroteca/1994/08/16/mundo/728475.html article Magdalena Kopp][Interview with Magdalena Kopp http://www.noticias24.com/actualidad/noticia/8547/habla-la-ex-esposa-de-carlos-el-chacal/ 2007]