Georges Kopp
Encyclopedia
Georges Kopp, was an engineer who had lived in Belgium for about 25 years and volunteered to fight for the Republicans
in the Spanish Civil War
, rising to become commander of the 3rd Regiment, Lenin Division, a militia unit belonging to the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (POUM
) which saw active service on the Aragon front, later incorporated into the regular army as the "29th Division" of the Republican government's Popular Army. Kopp rose to become captain of the general staff of the International Brigades
.
He is mentioned in George Orwell
's autobiographical account of the Civil War, Homage to Catalonia
(1938), and towards the end of the book, when Orwell describes the Barcelona May Days
. In his account, Orwell testifies to Kopp's personal bravery in the Barcelona episode in single-handedly preventing further bloodshed. The subsequent outlawing of the POUM (16 June 1937) resulted in its members being arrested and thrown into jail, and Orwell refers to his last-minute, and ineffectual, attempt to get Kopp released from prison. Kopp was finally released after 18 months after having been interrogated by NKVD
agents and in 1939 managed to reach England, where he was nursed by Orwell's brother-in-law (Eileen O'Shaughnessy
's brother), and his wife, Gwen.
After his release from prison Kopp stayed for a while in England, but returned to France in September 1939. At the outbreak of the world war he joined the French Foreign Legion
and fought in the Battle of France
in May-June 1940. He was severely wounded and made prisoner, but escaped from a military hospital. Thereafter he joined the Foreign Legion headquarters in Algeria. But because of his frail health, he was allowed to leave the Legion. He set out to work as an engineer in Marseilles, in Vichy-France. He used his work as a cover to work for British Naval Intelligence. When his spy-ring was discovered, he was flown out of France by the British.
MI5 recognized the value of his work and helped him settle in England. His case officer was Anthony Blunt
.
Previously married to Germaine Warnotte, in 1944 he married Gwen O'Shaughnessy's sister, Doreen Hunton, and farmed in Scotland.
Kopp kept corresponding with Orwell for quite a while. He even sent him letters from France during the war. The friendship cooled in the late 1940s. When MI5 asked Orwell what kind of man Kopp was he told them he was an "unpolitical" man. A loyal person, driven by honest anti-Nazi-feelings, but also an adventurer.
After his adventurous military career he became an inventor of a.o. a buggy, a washing machine and a sand sieve machine and his biggest success, the Tinto heater, an oil-heater. His designs were far ahead of his time but he lacked commercial instinct and his financial troubles almost ruined him. He went to France a.o.to take up a consulting job in the petrochemical industry.
Georges Kopp died in 1951 in Pennes-Mirabeaux near Marseille from complications caused by his war wounds.
Orwell's description of Kopp's background has been questioned. According to this source, Kopp had invented most of his own past. For example, he claimed to have been a Belgian and to have served in the Belgian army. Although personal records show that Kopp understood what was at stake in Spain, he privately also admitted simply being on the run from a broken marriage. He had an ex-wife Germaine Warnotte and five young children when he went to Spain.
One of Orwell's biographers, Jeffrey Meyers, suggested in his Orwell. Wintry Conscience of a Generation (2000), that Georges Kopp was Orwell's main inspiration when he created the character of O'Brien in 1984.
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....
in the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, rising to become commander of the 3rd Regiment, Lenin Division, a militia unit belonging to the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (POUM
Poum
Poum is a commune in the North Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The town of Poum is located in the far northwest, located on the southern part of Banare Bay, with Mouac Island just offshore....
) which saw active service on the Aragon front, later incorporated into the regular army as the "29th Division" of the Republican government's Popular Army. Kopp rose to become captain of the general staff of the International Brigades
International Brigades
The International Brigades were military units made up of volunteers from different countries, who traveled to Spain to defend the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939....
.
He is mentioned in George Orwell
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
's autobiographical account of the Civil War, Homage to Catalonia
Homage to Catalonia
Homage to Catalonia is political journalist and novelist George Orwell's personal account of his experiences and observations in the Spanish Civil War. The first edition was published in 1938. The book was not published in the United States until February 1952. The American edition had a preface...
(1938), and towards the end of the book, when Orwell describes the Barcelona May Days
Barcelona May Days
Barcelona May Days were a period of civil violence in Catalonia, between May 3 and May 8, 1937, when factions on the Republican side of the Spanish Civil War engaged each other in street battles in the city of Barcelona.Clashes began when units of the Assault Guard – under the...
. In his account, Orwell testifies to Kopp's personal bravery in the Barcelona episode in single-handedly preventing further bloodshed. The subsequent outlawing of the POUM (16 June 1937) resulted in its members being arrested and thrown into jail, and Orwell refers to his last-minute, and ineffectual, attempt to get Kopp released from prison. Kopp was finally released after 18 months after having been interrogated by NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
agents and in 1939 managed to reach England, where he was nursed by Orwell's brother-in-law (Eileen O'Shaughnessy
Eileen O'Shaughnessy
Eileen Maud O'Shaughnessy was the first wife of British writer George Orwell.O'Shaughnessy was born in South Shields, County Durham, in the north-east of England, the only daughter of Marie O'Shaughnessy and Lawrence O'Shaughnessy, who was a customs collector...
's brother), and his wife, Gwen.
After his release from prison Kopp stayed for a while in England, but returned to France in September 1939. At the outbreak of the world war he joined the French Foreign Legion
French Foreign Legion
The French Foreign Legion is a unique military service wing of the French Army established in 1831. The foreign legion was exclusively created for foreign nationals willing to serve in the French Armed Forces...
and fought in the Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
in May-June 1940. He was severely wounded and made prisoner, but escaped from a military hospital. Thereafter he joined the Foreign Legion headquarters in Algeria. But because of his frail health, he was allowed to leave the Legion. He set out to work as an engineer in Marseilles, in Vichy-France. He used his work as a cover to work for British Naval Intelligence. When his spy-ring was discovered, he was flown out of France by the British.
MI5 recognized the value of his work and helped him settle in England. His case officer was Anthony Blunt
Anthony Blunt
Anthony Frederick Blunt , was a British art historian who was exposed as a Soviet spy late in his life.Blunt was Professor of the History of Art at the University of London, director of the Courtauld Institute of Art, Surveyor of the King's Pictures and London...
.
Previously married to Germaine Warnotte, in 1944 he married Gwen O'Shaughnessy's sister, Doreen Hunton, and farmed in Scotland.
Kopp kept corresponding with Orwell for quite a while. He even sent him letters from France during the war. The friendship cooled in the late 1940s. When MI5 asked Orwell what kind of man Kopp was he told them he was an "unpolitical" man. A loyal person, driven by honest anti-Nazi-feelings, but also an adventurer.
After his adventurous military career he became an inventor of a.o. a buggy, a washing machine and a sand sieve machine and his biggest success, the Tinto heater, an oil-heater. His designs were far ahead of his time but he lacked commercial instinct and his financial troubles almost ruined him. He went to France a.o.to take up a consulting job in the petrochemical industry.
Georges Kopp died in 1951 in Pennes-Mirabeaux near Marseille from complications caused by his war wounds.
Orwell's description of Kopp's background has been questioned. According to this source, Kopp had invented most of his own past. For example, he claimed to have been a Belgian and to have served in the Belgian army. Although personal records show that Kopp understood what was at stake in Spain, he privately also admitted simply being on the run from a broken marriage. He had an ex-wife Germaine Warnotte and five young children when he went to Spain.
One of Orwell's biographers, Jeffrey Meyers, suggested in his Orwell. Wintry Conscience of a Generation (2000), that Georges Kopp was Orwell's main inspiration when he created the character of O'Brien in 1984.