BOPA
BOPA was created in June 1942 by Borge Houmann and Thorkild Holst. These
two men were leaders of the Communist part until Nazi occupation drove
them underground. Having a mutual dislike for the Germans, the communist
underground formed this sabotage group in order to resist German
advancement. The group was taken over by more Bourgeois Partisans calling
it BOPA. The group still sided closely with communist ideals. The
BOPA was the first real and most active saboteur group. Based mainly in
Copenhagen, BOPA members chose primarily industrial targets along with
railways. BOPA performed 80-90% of industrial sabotage in Copenhagen and
most of Denmark (Thomas 165). BOPA consisted of young workers that
had the task of liquidating the Germans manufacturing and supplies. They
were on their own without any Allied help for most of the resistance due
to their communist ties (Werstein 57). A favorite
trademark of the BOPA was the sten-type gun made from old guns and factory
parts. BOPA forces destroyed the warehouse where the infamous V2 rocket
was being created on June 6, 1944, as well as over 1000 other acts of
sabotage (Werstein 61).
Back to Groups/Effects/Leaders page.