Advertisement

Monika Ertl

Advertisement

Monika Ertl Famous memorial

Birth
Munich, Stadtkreis München, Bavaria, Germany
Death
12 May 1973 (aged 35)
Provincia Murillo, La Paz, Bolivia
Burial
Burial Details Unknown. Specifically: Her body was never delivered to his family. Add to Map
Memorial ID
View Source
Political Activist. Monika Ertl, the daughter of the cameraman Hans Ertl, was a member of the armed political underground movement in Bolivia. Ertl was born in Munich. After World War II her father immigrated to Bolivia, where he continued to film for some time and became a farmer. Monika Ertl came to Bolivia in 1952 when her father brought the family over from Germany. Her father established a new life in the farm "La Dolorida" where he was breeding livestock. In Bolivia, she accompanied her father on several filming expeditions and learnt to use both a film camera and firearms. Later, she entered a marriage briefly, but felt unhappy playing the "trophy wife" of a Bolivian-German mining engineer. After her divorce in 1969, she became involved with the survivors of Che Guevara's routed guerrilla movement, the National Liberation Army of Bolivia (ELN). After helping out in minor occasions she finally joined the political underground. She began a relationship with the ELN leader Inti Peredo, the successor of Che Guevara. Peredo was killed by the secret service of Bolivia on 9 September 1969. In Germany, she became known as "Che Guevara's avenger" because of her involvement in the 1971 murder of Colonel Roberto Quintanilla Pereira in Hamburg, Germany: although this has never been completely proven it can safely be assumed that she did shoot Quintanilla who, at the time, was serving in Hamburg as the Bolivian consul. A message found at the murder scene had written the words Victory or Death a slogan by the ELN. After being under covert observation in Bolivia for several days she and another guerrilla were eventually ambushed and killed by Bolivian security forces on 12 May 1973 in El Alto (in La Paz), where she was reorganizing the ELN. According to Régis Debray she was also preparing the abduction of the former Gestapo Chief of Lyon Klaus Barbie to bring him to Chile and consequently to justice in France where he was wanted as a Nazi war criminal. At the time Barbie was known to be an adviser of the secret police in Bolivia. Her body was not turned over to her family to be buried and she rests in an unknown grave.
Political Activist. Monika Ertl, the daughter of the cameraman Hans Ertl, was a member of the armed political underground movement in Bolivia. Ertl was born in Munich. After World War II her father immigrated to Bolivia, where he continued to film for some time and became a farmer. Monika Ertl came to Bolivia in 1952 when her father brought the family over from Germany. Her father established a new life in the farm "La Dolorida" where he was breeding livestock. In Bolivia, she accompanied her father on several filming expeditions and learnt to use both a film camera and firearms. Later, she entered a marriage briefly, but felt unhappy playing the "trophy wife" of a Bolivian-German mining engineer. After her divorce in 1969, she became involved with the survivors of Che Guevara's routed guerrilla movement, the National Liberation Army of Bolivia (ELN). After helping out in minor occasions she finally joined the political underground. She began a relationship with the ELN leader Inti Peredo, the successor of Che Guevara. Peredo was killed by the secret service of Bolivia on 9 September 1969. In Germany, she became known as "Che Guevara's avenger" because of her involvement in the 1971 murder of Colonel Roberto Quintanilla Pereira in Hamburg, Germany: although this has never been completely proven it can safely be assumed that she did shoot Quintanilla who, at the time, was serving in Hamburg as the Bolivian consul. A message found at the murder scene had written the words Victory or Death a slogan by the ELN. After being under covert observation in Bolivia for several days she and another guerrilla were eventually ambushed and killed by Bolivian security forces on 12 May 1973 in El Alto (in La Paz), where she was reorganizing the ELN. According to Régis Debray she was also preparing the abduction of the former Gestapo Chief of Lyon Klaus Barbie to bring him to Chile and consequently to justice in France where he was wanted as a Nazi war criminal. At the time Barbie was known to be an adviser of the secret police in Bolivia. Her body was not turned over to her family to be buried and she rests in an unknown grave.

Bio by: Ola K Ase


Family Members


Advertisement

Advertisement

How famous was Monika Ertl ?

Current rating: out of 5 stars

Not enough votes to rank yet. (5 of 10)

Sign-in to cast your vote.

  • Maintained by: Find a Grave
  • Originally Created by: Rolo
  • Added: Sep 2, 2008
  • Find a Grave Memorial ID:
  • Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/29498523/monika-ertl: accessed ), memorial page for Monika Ertl (7 Aug 1937–12 May 1973), Find a Grave Memorial ID 29498523; Burial Details Unknown; Maintained by Find a Grave.