The O Henry Moment
Manolo says, one of the Manolo’s internet friends has alerted the Manolo to the following story.
Germany’s militant Red Army Faction considered kidnapping fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld in the 1970s, said a former member of the radical left-wing group that shook the West German establishment.
The comments from Peter-Juergen Boock, who has served 17 years in jail for his role in the RAF, are the latest in a string of revelations which have caused a storm in Germany.
Some of his comments have sparked calls for a re-examination of the 1977 murder of a federal prosecutor.
Boock told Der Spiegel magazine the RAF had a list of possible targets for ransom in the late 1970s when it was trying to raise funds to help the group’s leaders escape from jail.
Lagerfeld was from a rich family and was already a big name in the fashion world, so seemed an ideal candidate.
“We considered kidnapping the owner of the lingerie maker Palmers factory and also Karl Lagerfeld,” Boock told Der Spiegel in an interview. “There were a row of people whom we collected material about and they were all wealthy.”
The Manolo’s immediate thought? The Ransom of the Red Chief.
April 23rd, 2007 at 1:11 pm
Wow…
That’s weird.
April 23rd, 2007 at 1:59 pm
BWAHAHA! Have not thought about Red Chief in a long time. :)
April 23rd, 2007 at 3:29 pm
Saw this story and immediately thought of the Manolo. Unfortunately, I live on the west coast and was too late.
April 23rd, 2007 at 3:36 pm
HA!
No wonder they DIDN’T kidnap him.
I haven’t thought about “Red Chief” in a long time, either, but that was a great story.
April 23rd, 2007 at 5:46 pm
By happy coincidence, I am about halfway through the collected short stories of O. Henry. If the readers of the Manolo enjoyed ‘Red Chief’, I can assure them that they will be delighted if the explore further. BTW, he started writing while doing time in prison for bank fraud.
April 25th, 2007 at 5:06 am
The truth it is stranger than the fiction, no?