Marita Lorenz facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Marita Lorenz
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| Born | 18 August 1939 |
| Died | 31 August 2019 (aged 80) Oberhausen, Germany
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Ilona Marita Lorenz (born August 18, 1939 – died August 31, 2019) was a German woman known for her connection to Fidel Castro. She met Castro in 1959. Later, in January 1960, she was involved in a plan by the CIA to try and assassinate Castro.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Marita Lorenz also spoke about the John F. Kennedy assassination. She claimed she was part of a group of people who were against Cuba. This group included Frank Sturgis and E. Howard Hunt from the CIA. She said this happened shortly before President Kennedy was assassinated.
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Early Life
Marita Lorenz was born in Bremen, Germany. Her parents were Alice June and Heinrich Lorenz. She had a sister named Valerie and two brothers, Joachim and Manfred. Her father was a wealthy German navy captain. He became a commander of U-boats. He was later captured and held as a prisoner of war in England.
Her mother, Alice, was an actress and dancer. During World War II, she helped rescue a French soldier and a British pilot. She was also accused of helping forced laborers escape. Because of this, Marita and her mother were held in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1944.
After the war, the Lorenz family moved to Bremerhaven. Alice began working for U.S. Army intelligence. She also worked for the OSS, which was an early U.S. intelligence agency. It came before the CIA.
In 1950, the Lorenz family moved to the United States. Her father became a captain of luxury ocean liners. Her mother's work in intelligence continued. Marita's sister Valerie said their mother worked in intelligence with high security clearance.
Connections to Leaders
In February 1959, Marita Lorenz arrived in Havana, Cuba. She was with her father on a ship called the MS Berlin. This was just weeks after the Cuban Revolution ended. Fidel Castro and his men visited the ship. Castro was interested in the 19-year-old Marita.
A few days later, Castro called Marita. He sent a plane to fly her back to Cuba. She lived with Castro for several months. She then left the island and joined people in Florida who were against Castro.
Marita later said that Francisco Fiorini recruited her to assassinate Castro. She claimed this was an alias for Frank Sturgis. She was given poison pills to put in Castro's food. When she went back to Cuba in 1960, she did not give him the pills. She told Castro about the plan. She said she still loved him. She visited Castro one last time in 1981.
According to Marita Lorenz, she met Marcos Pérez Jiménez in March 1961. He was a former leader of Venezuela. She met him in Miami Beach, Florida. She was working as a courier for a group called the International Anti-Communist Brigade. She said she was supposed to collect money from Pérez Jiménez for her group.
JFK Conspiracy Claims
In 1977, Marita Lorenz told a reporter that she met Lee Harvey Oswald. This was in the fall of 1963 in Miami. She said she met him again before the Kennedy assassination. This meeting was at a house with Orlando Bosch, Frank Sturgis, and others. She said the men looked at maps of Dallas. She thought they were planning to get weapons.
Lorenz stated that she traveled to Dallas with the men in two cars. They carried "rifles and scopes." But she flew back to Miami the day after they arrived. Frank Sturgis said he did not remember meeting Oswald. He denied being involved in a plot to kill Kennedy. He thought communist agents had pressured Lorenz to make these claims.
Marita Lorenz testified about this Kennedy assassination plot. She spoke before the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA). This committee investigated her testimony. They said her story was not reliable.
In February 1985, Marita Lorenz gave a sworn statement for a court case. She repeated similar claims. She said she met Oswald in Miami in the early 1960s. She also claimed that in November 1963, Sturgis asked her to go to Dallas with him and Oswald. She said she, Oswald, and seven Cubans transported weapons to Dallas. This was shortly before November 22, 1963. Lorenz claimed that E. Howard Hunt came to their motel room in Dallas. She said he gave Sturgis an envelope full of cash.
In 1993, a writer for Vanity Fair interviewed Lorenz. The writer called her "a patron saint of conspiracy buffs." The writer noted that some of her story could be proven. But other parts of her story could not be confirmed. Some parts even went against other evidence.
Work for the FBI
In 1970, Marita Lorenz married the manager of an apartment building in New York. They both worked for the FBI. They spied on UN diplomats from Eastern European countries who lived in the building.
Books and Films
Marita Lorenz wrote her first autobiography with Ted Schwarz. It was called Marita: One Woman's Extraordinary Tale of Love and Espionage from Castro to Kennedy. It was published in 1993. One review called it "the wild—if nearly incredible—adventures of a new Jane Bond." Another review said the story pushed the limits of what was believable. But its outrageousness also gave it importance. Her second autobiography was published in 2001.
Marita Lorenz's story inspired a 1999 TV film called My Little Assassin. Gabrielle Anwar played Marita Lorenz in the film. Her mother, Alice, was played by Jill Clayburgh. Marita Lorenz was also the subject of a 2000 German documentary film. It was called Lieber Fidel – Maritas Geschichte ("Dear Fidel – Marita's Story").
In 2016, it was reported that Jennifer Lawrence would play Marita Lorenz. This would be in an upcoming biographical film called Marita. The film is based on Lorenz's memoir. As of 2022, the film is still being developed.
Personal Life
Marita Lorenz lived in Baltimore, Maryland.
See also
In Spanish: Marita Lorenz para niños
