Georges Kopp (October 10, 1902 – July 15, 1951) was a Belgian educated engineer and inventor of Russian descent, who volunteered in the fight against Nazism and is best known for his friendship with George Orwell, whom he commanded in the Spanish Civil War.
Early life
Georges Kopp was born in St. Petersburg to Russian parents with Ashkenazi Jewish origins. In 1909, the family fled Tzarist Russia and settled close to Brussels in Schaerbeek. The family moved again in 1915 to Lausanne, before returning to Schaerbeek in 1920, where Kopp studied Civil Engineering at the Université libre de Bruxelles.
Career
Engineering
In 1921, Kopp’s father died leaving the family in debt and forcing Kopp to interrupt his studies to earn money, working as an engineer to support his family, initially living with his mother in Schaerbeek.
Kopp worked for a firm of heating manufacturers (Société Chaurobel) from 1923 until 1932. In 1925, he married Germaine Warnotte, the daughter of a prominent socialist and together they raised five children over the next ten years. The onset of the Great Depression resulted in Kopp being laid off from work in 1933. He struggled to make a living as a consultant, running up bills and allegedly having affairs. Germaine, discovering his infidelity, divorced him in 1935. The following year, after an argument with his mother, Kopp left for France to consider his future, overwhelmed with regret and missing his family.
Spanish Civil War
In October 1936, Kopp crossed the border from France into Spain and volunteered as an officer for the Republicans by joining the POUM militia column. He first saw active service on the Aragon front near Zaragoza, followed by Huesca. In December, the POUM militia was absorbed into the Catalan Army and later became the 29th Division. George Orwell crossed in to Spain in the same month, joining the 29th Division with Kopp as his brigade commander. Orwell describes how his "comandante" (Kopp) led them to the front in January 1937 and the various acts of personal bravery that followed over the next 115 days at the front. Orwell and Kopp developed a close working relationship over this period, establishing lasting mutual trust and respect. There were inconsistencies in Kopp's account of his background, which Orwell was, uncharacteristically, not aware of at the time. Thus, his book on the Spanish War, Homage to Catalonia contains false details on Kopp's past as a 'Belgian officer' and weapon-smuggler who had 'given enverything up' to save the Spanish republic.
Kopp and Orwell left the front late in April 1937 for rest and relaxation in Barcelona and became caught up in Barcelona May Days as Government Guards moved against the Anarchists. Kopp risked his life to stop the fighting at the Café Moka, but the ideological war within the republican movement was to end in disaster for Kopp. Orwell had been joined in Barcelona by his wife Eileen, who was working with the ILP Contingent of British volunteers attached to POUM. It is widely believed that Eileen had a relationship with Kopp at this time, as the Orwells had a "somewhat open marriage". Orwell returned to the trenches and was shot through the throat by a sniper's bullet, ending his participation in the war. Kopp was on hand to help his friend but returned to the front to participate in the Battle of Chimillas.
In June, Kopp decided to leave the POUM, securing a testimonial letter describing him as "a person of confidence" by General Pozas, who was commanding the Army in the East. He travelled to Valencia to register his new position as an engineer, having risen to become captain in the general staff of the 45th Mixed Brigade of the Spanish Republican Army. On 16 June, the POUM was declared illegal, resulting in its members, and former members, being arrested and thrown into jail. Purges against the POUM raged through Barcelona in secret to stop the news getting to the front where the POUM was still holding the line. Kopp had been advised to remain in Valencia to allow the dust to settle, which he ignored, possibly because he had "simply not taken it seriously enough". He was arrested as soon as he arrived at his hotel in Barcelona, his papers confiscated, and imprisoned under appalling conditions. Orwell and Eileen visited Kopp in jail, immediately recognising the importance of the letter. Orwell successfully traced the letter to the chief of police and managed to get it transferred to the military authorities, exposing himself to arrest in the process. The last time Orwell saw Kopp in Spain was on 22 June 1937, the day before he and Eileen slipped across the border into France.