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Reinhard Kopps
( 1914 - 2001 )
Biography
Born in Hamburg on 29 September 1914. Joined Nazi party on 1 March 1940 the NSDAP in Hamburg becoming member number 7524143. As Abwehr agent under codename Ben Ali he was sent to Balkans. Kopps was under direct command of the chief of Abwehr in Vienna colonel Rudolf Graf von Marogna-Redwitz.
On 3 March 1944, Kopps was sent from Belgrade to Å ibenik by 2nd Panzer Army to organize reconnaissance-sabotage group - Front reconnaissance unit 214 (Frontaufklaerungstrupp - FAT 214) subordinated to Front reconnaissance Command 201 (Frontaufklaerungskommando - FAK 201) which was under command of Army Group F in Belgrade. While in northern Dalmatia FAT214 was under operational command of 264th Infantry Division. FAT214 become known as Unit Konrad (Einheit Konrad) since Kopps used alias Konrad for his subordinates, several other names were used such as Intelligence group Konrad, Sabotage/reconnaissance group Konrad. It was mixed group of some 40 Reich Germans and Volksdeutsche and 80 Chetniks, Serbian fascists, Cossacks and Italians.
FAT214 carried numerous raids on Partisan held island and Kopps/Konrad personally lead one on 16 July on Pašman island, disguised as Partisans escorting Soviet and British officer. Kopps/Konrad himself posing as British army captain Edward Pine, press attaché with Yugoslav Partisan Supreme Headquarters ordered to take as many photographs of Partisans as possible for British newspapers, in realty those photos would be used for identification purposes by German intelligence. Plan to catch Partisans between German raiding party and Kopps/Konrad disguised group failed and he had to retreat. Once he got back to Biograd Kopps/Konrad developed his photographs taken on Pašman and on 18 July sent another group under command of Demetrović, this time in proper German uniforms, to carry out reprisals against population and discovered Partisan supporters.
After the end of war Kopps took part in organizations of ratlines with Father Krunoslav Draganović, Karlo Petranović and others. In 1948 together with other Nazis and fascists escaped from Europe to Argentina where he settled in San Carlos de Bariloche under name Juan Maler. Here he was found by ABC reporter Sam Donaldson in 1994 but instead Herbert Kappler and Erich Priebke.
Ranks
- Lieutenant
Decorations
Assignments
- Commander of FAT214
Died
On 11 September 2001 in San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina.
Reference
- Zadar i zadarsko podruÄje u NOB i socijalistiÄkoj izgradnji, zbornik 2, page 153, Zadar, 1986
