Fritz Kötteritzsch

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Fritz Kötteritzsch (* 1935 in Münster ; † September 19, 1964 near Boende ) was a German mercenary . He was one of the first Germans to fall in the Congo during the Simba rebellion . His death received widespread media coverage.

Life

Kötteritzsch trained as a machine fitter , served three years in the armed forces as a paratrooper and achieved the rank of non-commissioned officer . After reading in the newspaper that the Congolese government was looking for mercenaries, he reported to a recruitment office in Brussels .

Kötteritzsch arrived in Kamina at the end of August / beginning of September 1964 . There he was from Siegfried Müller whose command 52 allocated mercenaries from around 50 soldiers. The unit moved 39 men in the plane to Léopoldville , where they took up weapons and equipment, and flew on to the provincial capital Coquilhatville . From there, the unit set out in jeeps to Boende, 600 km away, which was occupied by Simba rebels. The first attack by Command 52 together with 80 government soldiers were repulsed by the insurgents, and Kötteritzsch was killed.

Müller retired to the place Bekili where shortly afterwards the star - reporter Gerd Heidemann arrived and interviewed the mercenaries. He also recorded the statements of a Sister Pia from the Order of the Redeemer about the funeral of Kötteritzsch on tape : “When they brought him yesterday in the tarpaulin, I saw how good our negroes are. No, sister, they said, we make him a box because he's died for us. " Heidemanns recordings used the DDR -Filmemacher Walter Heynowski for his propaganda film command 52 , in on 15 November 1965 Leipzig premiere was. Heynowski and his colleague Gerhard Scheumann won Müller in 1966 for an interview in front of the camera, which they published under the title The Laughing Man . The film caused a scandal in Germany because it was banned like its predecessor, Kommando 52 . In the GDR, on the other hand, 55% of the population saw The Laughing Man when it was first broadcast and repeated on the DFF . The film was also sold in 37 countries. In the film, Müller is specifically asked about the death of Kötteritzsch. Müller describes him as follows: “A shot in the chest, a shot in the heart. [...] He would be gone immediately, there was no doubt about it. "

These and other passages of the interview used the mirror - columnist Otto Koehler in his book Congo Müller or the freedom we defend . Der Spiegel published parts of it at the end of 1966. This also included the questions and answers about Kötteritzsch's death.

literature

  • Christian Bunnenberg: The "Congo miller". A German Mercenary Career (Europa-Übersee, Volume 19). Lit-Verlag, Münster 2006, ISBN 978-3-8258-9900-4 , pp. 48-58 (there consistently written Kötteritsch , without z )
  • Otto Köhler: Kongo-Müller or The Freedom We Defend . Bärmeier & Nikel, Frankfurt / M. 1966
  • Otto Köhler: With pleasure to Vietnam. Interview with the mercenary major Siegfried ("Congo" -) Müller. In: Der Spiegel . No. 53 , 1966, pp. 72 ( Online - Dec. 26, 1966 ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ DEFA: Command 52
  2. ^ Christian Bunnenberg: The "Congo Miller". A German Mercenary Career (Europa-Übersee, Volume 19). Lit-Verlag, Münster 2006, ISBN 978-3-8258-9900-4 , pp. 95-102
  3. ↑ a b Otto Köhler: With pleasure to Vietnam. Interview with the mercenary major Siegfried ("Congo" -) Müller. In: Der Spiegel . No. 53 , 1966, pp. 72 ( Online - Dec. 26, 1966 ). .
personal data
SURNAME Kötteritzsch, Fritz
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kötteritsch, Fritz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German mercenaries in the Congo
DATE OF BIRTH 1935
PLACE OF BIRTH Muenster
DATE OF DEATH September 19, 1964
Place of death Boende