Wilfried Bonifatius "Boni" Böse (7 February 1949, – 4 July 1976) was a founding member of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

organization Revolutionary Cells that was described in the early 1980s as one of Germany's most dangerous leftist terrorist groups by the West German Interior Ministry. He carried out attacks in Germany and in 1976 was involved in the hijacking of Air France Flight 139, that led to his death in

Entebbe, Uganda Entebbe is a city in Central Uganda. Located on a Lake Victoria peninsula, approximately southwest of the Ugandan capital city, Kampala. Entebbe was once the seat of government for the Protectorate of Uganda prior to independence, in 1962. The c ...

during the Israeli operation to free the hostages.

Attacks in West Germany

Ilan Hartuv, one of the surviving hostages in the hijacking of Air France Flight 139 in 1976, recalled Böse saying to him during the hijacking that "I carried out terrorist acts in West Germany because the ruling establishment took Nazis and reactionaries into its service."

Hijacking of Air France Flight 139

Böse was a leader of the 1976 hijacking of Air France Flight 139 from

Tel Aviv, Israel Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

Paris, France Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

via Athens, Greece. After diverting Air France Flight 139 to

Entebbe Entebbe is a city in Central Uganda. Located on a Lake Victoria peninsula, approximately southwest of the Ugandan capital city, Kampala. Entebbe was once the seat of government for the Protectorate of Uganda prior to independence, in 1962. T ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...

, Böse separated the

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

is from the other passengers; the other passengers were allowed to go home. During the hijacking, Böse is reported to have told a Jewish passenger who had shown Böse his Auschwitz tattoo, "I'm no

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

! ... I am an idealist." Böse was killed during

Operation Entebbe Operation Entebbe, also known as the Entebbe Raid or Operation Thunderbolt, was a counter-terrorist hostage-rescue mission carried out by commandos of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) at Entebbe Airport in Uganda on 4 July 1976. A week ear ...

. According to hostage Ilan Hartuv, Böse was hesitant to shoot the hostages. He ordered them to take shelter when Israel Defense Forces commandos stormed the airport terminal where the hostages were being held. The hijacking of Air France Flight 139 resulted in the deaths of four Israeli hostages.

Popular culture

Böse is played by

Helmut Berger Helmut Berger (; born Helmut Steinberger; 29 May 1944) is an Austrian actor, known for his portrayal of narcissistic and sexually-ambiguous characters. He was one of the stars of the European cinema in the late 1960s and 1970s, and is regarded a ...

in the 1976 film '' Victory at Entebbe'', by Klaus Kinski in '' Operation Thunderbolt'' (1977), by

Horst Buchholz Horst Werner Buchholz (4 December 1933 – 3 March 2003) was a German actor who appeared in more than 60 feature films from 1951 to 2002. During his youth, he was sometimes called "the German James Dean". He is perhaps best known in English- ...

in '' Raid on Entebbe'' (1977), Aljoscha Stadelmann in '' Carlos'' (2010), and by

Daniel Brühl Daniel César Martín Brühl González Domingo (; born 16 June 1978) is a Spanish-German actor and filmmaker. He received his first German Film Award for Best Actor for his roles in '' Das Weisse Rauschen (The White Sound)'' (2001), ''Nichts ...

in ''

'' (2018).

References

1949 births 1976 deaths German Marxists German anti-Zionists Members of the Revolutionary Cells (German group) Deaths by firearm in Uganda Operation Entebbe Hijackers Terrorism {{Germany-crime-bio-stub