NEWS CENTER – On this day in 1971, right-wing Bolivian Colonel Roberto Quintanilla Pereira, the man who ordered Che Guevara’s execution and allegedly cut off his hands, was killed by German socialist and guerrilla Monika Ertl, dubbed “the avenger of Che Guevara .”
An article from the monthly magazine “Revista Lêgerîn” written by Tirej Swiss:
Monika Ertl
An internationalist revolutionary
“And if one day I must fall, then I have fallen for a great cause.” – With roots in Germany, she grew wings in Bolivia
Family situation and early marriage
Monika’s mother’s name was Aurelia. As is so often the case with women in history, there is no accessible knowledge about her. Her father’s name was Hans. At the age of 31, he was drafted as a war correspondent for Nazi Germany. Later he was the personal cameraman of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. Because of the general situation for him after the defeat of German fascism, he, like many other Nazis, wanted to take the opportunity and go to South America. The Ertl family, Hans, Aurelia, Monika and their two sisters finally emigrated in 1952. They settled on a small farm in Bolivia called “La Dolorida.” Monika was 16 years old at the time. While Bolivian culture was new to her, there was also a large community of wealthy Germans around her, including her father’s friend and war criminal Klaus Barbie. She was her father’s favourite daughter and accompanied him on various filming expeditions. There she learned to move in more rural areas and also to handle firearms. Monika married a Bolivian-German mining engineer. This resulted in a daily routine of taking care of the household, drinking tea, playing golf, organizing charity events, and so on. Ordered around by her sexist and racist husband, who “(…) couldn’t stop comparing her to his mother,” she was naturally not at all satisfied with this kind of lifestyle. In 1969, after 11 years of marriage, she finally made the big, radical turn in her life. She divorced her husband, cut all her ties with the upper class, and joined the Bolivian National Liberation Army (ELN), now calling herself “Imilla.”
Revolutionary Turning
So what kind of character does it take to make such a radical decision? What kind of experience and situation do you have to be in to make a 180-degree turn in your life? When you realize the dimensions of how profoundly society needs to be revolutionized, and therefore how profoundly you need to change yourself, you need to be able to commit yourself fully to this cause. You don’t make a revolution half-heartedly. We can learn a lot from Monika’s radicalism in decisions and actions. In addition to Imilla/Monika’s strong character, there were several factors that led her to this decision. Let’s look at it:
The perspective as a woman.
Monika actually reached the position to which society had raised and pushed her. She was young, observant, well educated, and “looked beautiful.” She married into a wealthy family. Her husband owned a copper mine and had some influence and economic power. It fell to her to support him in all aspects of daily life and to manage the household as best she could. An example of the strongly patriarchal environment in which she found herself is the story about the childless couple. Her husband was infertile for biological reasons. When people began to question the couple, all the blame for the lack of children was falsely placed on Monika. In this society, where a woman’s worth is strongly measured by the number of children, especially boys, she gives birth to and raises, this is not an easy burden for her to bear.
Her marriage was by no means on equal terms. So even though she arrived at that point and fulfilled that role model by doing everything that was expected of her, she obviously could not become happy. That was certainly a trigger for her to start questioning society and class so much. She realized that this simply could not be the life of freedom she dreamed of.
Class perspective and historical background
A big influence on her awareness of class struggle was certainly the fact that she lived with her husband very close to the copper mine he owned. She saw directly the great difference between the ordinary workers, the conditions under which they lived and, on the other hand, how she herself lived as a European lady in a well-protected, rich house. It was certainly not easy to have to realize how wrong this colonial reality was and to learn about one’s own racist thoughts and behaviors. The need to deal with politics, with the affairs of ordinary people, to understand what concerns they have, is also related to her father’s story. Monika felt guilty because of her German origin. Especially because her father actively participated in and worked for the fascist regime. She felt responsible for giving back to the world something beautiful, something revolutionary.
The world on the move
Not only Imilla/Monika changed and developed during this time, but also the movements towards democratic socialism all over the world gained strength and hope. Scattered across the continents, there were more and more anti-imperialist efforts and successes in Africa, South America and Asia. Popular resistance in Vietnam was at its height, so was the revolution in the Republic of Congo, the civil rights movement in the United States was finding new strength, huge demonstrations of students and workers were springing up in the center of Europe, and even greater uprisings in the Eastern countries. It seemed as if the anti-systemic movements of the capitalist periphery and those of the metropolises united, creating a unique situation in history. Capitalist rule began to falter and hit its foundations. We can see Monika as an example of the spirit of her time.
Monika Ertl’s Revenge
In October 1967, Che Guevara was ambushed and killed. His hands were cut off on the orders of Roberto Quintanilla Pereira and his body was secretly buried. Along with him, many of Şehîd’s comrades fell. As in other South American countries, Bolivia’s counterinsurgency program, modeled on the SS organization in Nazi Germany, was built largely on the experience of former SS members in exile, including Klaus Barbie, who also served in the CIA on the side. Pereira was the most important counterguerrilla officer. He was known as a “guerrilla hunter” and was responsible for the torture and killing of many comrades. In 1969, our internationalist friend joined the National Liberation Army of Bolivia. The guerrillas were still in a critical phase, but despite their small numbers, severe repression and lack of support in society, they continued to build. Monika began a relationship with Inti Peredo the leader of the guerrilla and successor to Guevara, who later that year also fell into the hands of Roberto Quintanilla Pereira by the secret service of the state. After the death of her lover, she wrote a poem. We can only imagine how much she learned to hate this man who killed many friends and relatives of hers. “Quintanilla, Quintanilla…., You will find no more peace in your nights… You robbed Inti of life And you meant all the people.” Pereira took the job as Bolivian consul in Germany to avoid the danger of revenge acts against him. However, this could not protect him. Monika Imilla traveled back to her homeland with a clear mission. In 1971 she went straight to him and shot him three bullets in the chest. This action is something special in history. What kind of relationship must one have for such a direct act of revenge? How strong in character as well as ideologically must one be? She managed to escape from the scene and travel to Cuba, where she met with the French philosopher and journalist Régis Debray. Together “(…) they thought about different possible actions, how to win international solidarity. And then we had the idea to kidnap the former Gestapo chief Klaus Barbie”. They wanted to show that it was the same man who brutally suppressed the democratic resistance in the French city of Lyon during the Nazi occupation, and who was now trying to crush the Bolivian revolution in its roots by extraditing him to France. Monika returned to Bolivia where the ELN worked to get the Kadros out of the country, having planted seeds in society for their eventual return. In a small house in LaPaz, Monika worked printing and distributing leaflets. She insisted on staying there and continuing her work. On May 12, In the streets of LaPaz, Bolivia, Monika “Imilla” Ertl was ambushed by the Bolivian government, captured, tortured and later killed. With her was Ukaski, a young Argentine internationalist who shared the same fate. She was spied on by Klaus Barbie himself, who was able to recognize her in public spaces.
What can we learn? What is this story about? What can we learn from Monika?
One thing, as already written, is her radicalism in decisions. Her ability to put analysis and conclusions into practice with unwavering commitment is truly inspiring to us. She was able to break through her class socialization and sacrifice everything she could. We can ask ourselves: what is our class background and how do we need to change to make similar steps? How can we overcome the socialization imposed on us? From her we can also learn not to give up in the face of severe repression or even defeat. Monika really understood how to live and die for the revolution itself.
Our friend is an example of internationalism.
Of course, she was fighting for a broader freedom, for global liberation from capitalism, but the place and culture in which she was active was not her own. What possibilities can be drawn from understanding different cultures at the same time? How does this influence our actions? Monika used her origins to seek revenge in Germany in a way that a Bolivian could not have done so easily. Her plan, along with Régis Debray, to bring Klaus Barbie to justice also required connections and knowledge of the conditions in France and Germany. But of course internationalism is much more than carrying out actions around the globe. It is about recognizing the revolutionary struggle around the world as our own. It is about recognizing our commonality in oppression and unity in our collective strength and common struggle.
