Brigitte Kuhlmann

Brigitte Kuhlmann (19 January 1947 – 4 July 1976) was a German terrorist who was a founding member of the West German left-wing terrorist group Revolutionäre Zellen (RZ, or Revolutionary Cells in English). and studied pedagogy in Hannover. She wrote poetry and cared for handicapped patients. She had relationships with Wilfried Böse and later . She was described by acquaintances as "a feminist who enjoyed life but had a strong sense of social and pedagogical responsibility", "women’s lib, anti-authoritarian, resolute and honest", a "friendly, caring person with social commitment", "very kind, very caring … normally a soft person, but at the same time … very disciplined".

Frankfurt underground Kuhlmann and Böse eventually disappeared into the Frankfurt underground, socialising in left-wing circles where they were recruited into the Red Army Faction On 27 June 1976, using an Ecuadorian passport Kuhlmann originally boarded a flight in Bahrain along with Abdul-Rahim Jaber, and Jayel Naji al-Arjam en route to Athens, Greece to connect with an Air France flight. Baggage handlers at the airport in Bahrain ensured their firearms and grenades were smuggled onto the aircraft undetected in their carry-on luggage.

In Athens they transferred to the Air France aircraft, an Airbus A300 which took off for Paris as Flight 139 shortly after midday. Within minutes Kuhlmann and her accomplices hijacked the aircraft. During the week-long standoff Kuhlmann and her associates made demands of Israel, including the release of Palestinian political prisoners, as well as a ransom from France. Israelis were separated from non-Israelis and the threat of execution was made if the demands were not met. The non-Israeli passengers were, as a rule, set free, and that included many Jews, with the hijackers explicitly having told the hostages that they were "not against the Jews, only against Israel". However, six Jewish passengers (two Brazilians, two Belgians and two Americans) had been included in the Israeli group, presumably because they had been seen wearing Jewish prayer shawls and reciting morning prayers When the hostages asked for the six to be moved back to the non-Israeli group, the two Brazilians were indeed transferred, but Kuhlmann refused to allow the other four to be set free.

Operation Entebbe Kuhlmann, along with her fellow terrorist Wilfried Böse and the other hijackers, were killed in Operation Entebbe, the successful Israeli commando raid to free the remaining hostages. The two Germans died without firing a shot according to some sources. According to another reconstruction, Böse threw a grenade at the soldiers, engaged in a shootout with the first commando and was killed in it, while the two killed by the second commando were Brigitte Kuhlmann and Faiz Jaber.

Legacy In the year after Kuhlmann's death, Lufthansa Flight 181 was hijacked by four militants of the PFLP, who called themselves "Commando Martyr Halima" in her honour. The demands were again to free far-left German prisoners as well as Palestinian ones. That operation also failed and was terminated by a West German commando raid.

In popular culture Kuhlmann is portrayed by Austrian-born American actress Bibi Besch in the made-for-TV film Victory at Entebbe (1976). In the film, her character is credited as German Woman. Kuhlmann is played by Austrian actress Sybil Danning in the film Mivtsa Yonatan (1977; literally Operation Jonathan, called Operation Thunderbolt in English-speaking markets). In the film, her name is Halima. Kuhlmann is played by American actress Mariclare Costello in the made-for-TV film Raid on Entebbe (1977). Her character is named Gabrielle Krieger in the film. Kuhlmann is portrayed by Katharina Schüttler in Carlos (2010). Kuhlmann is portrayed by Rosamund Pike in Entebbe (2018, called 7 Days in Entebbe in Canada and the US).