Schmeling
Perhaps from the "I had no idea he was alive" files: Max Schmeling is dead at 99.
He was famous for his title bouts against Joe Louis. He served as a paratrooper in the German Army in WWII.
Schmeling is an amazing figure. Although Hitler used his boxing for propaganda purposes, Schmeling refused to join the Nazi party, and indeed may have been a hero:
However, history will remember him for what he achieved outside rather than inside the ring. The story of Max Schmeling is the story of a hero, who during the Kristallnacht pogrom of November 1938, saved the lives of two young Jewish brothers named Lewin. A decent man in conflict with the Nazi regime and racial policies of Hitler's Third Reich, and a man who demonstrated extraordinary generosity, righteousness and humanitarianism. Yet Schmeling never once revealed his heroism.
In an article, published in History Today, two professors at the University of Rhode Island, Robert Wiesbord and Norbert Heterich, tell how Schmeling agreed to hide the two teenage sons of a Jewish friend of his, David Lewin, during the awful time of Krystallnacht, November 1938 when Nazi pogroms against the Jews reached new heights.
He kept the Lewin boys, Henry and Werner, in his apartment at the Excelsior Hotel in Berlin, leaving word at the desk that he was ill and no one was to visit him. Later, when the rage of hate died down a little bit, did Schmeling help them flee the country to safety. They escaped and came to the United States where one of them, Henri Lewin, became a prominent hotel owner. This episode remained under shrouds until 1989, when Henry Lewin invited Schmeling to Las Vegas to thank him for saving his life. To this day, Henri Lewin believes that he and his brother owe their lives to Max Schmeling and he is convinced that Schmeling himself could have died for his humanitarian gesture.
Schmeling obviously survived the war, although his boxing career did not. Eventually he became a successful businessman and a philanthropist.
It's hard to imagine a sports figure like Schmeling today.
Posted by Mitch at
February 4, 2005 06:24 AM
| TrackBack
Mitch, don't sell the present athlete short, out of a desire to give the past athlete what they are due. Pat Tillman turned down several million dollars for the lucrative life of an Army Ranger, and gave his life for his country. Heroes still walk among us, even in the realm of the modern day athletic/entertainment industry.
Posted by: Will Allen at February 4, 2005 12:59 PMThere was a very good documentary on PBS' American Experience lately called "The Fight." It had lots of info about Max Schmeling's life and times that I never knew.
Apparently, after the war he became a very well off Coca-Cola dealer in Germany, then became a major philanthropist. This included giving secret monetary gifts to Joe Louis after Louis retired from boxing. And he paid for Joe Louis' funeral.
Posted by: Doug at February 4, 2005 01:41 PMDear Mitch
Of course there are modern sports figures like that, but like Schmeling they probably keep quiet about it, so we never know.
Posted by: Lewis Maskell at February 4, 2005 03:25 PMI just made a small exerpt-post from Schmeling's obit in the Telegraph - which was the first I'd heard of it - yesterday (actually, this morning). I'll link to your post in an update.
The Fight is a great documentary.
Posted by: Old Whig at February 5, 2005 11:16 PMHey, I agree with you that Max Schmeling did a very good deed in saving those young Jewish boys, but you cannot forget that he willingly allowed himself to be exploited by Nazi propaganda, and ultimately became a symbol of Aryan supremacy. I do not think he deserves this much praise.
Posted by: Sammy T at March 10, 2005 08:45 PMHey, I agree with you that Max Schmeling did a very good deed in saving those young Jewish boys, but you cannot forget that he willingly allowed himself to be exploited by Nazi propaganda, and ultimately became a symbol of Aryan supremacy. I do not think he deserves this much praise.
Posted by: Sammy T at March 10, 2005 08:45 PMHey, I agree with you that Max Schmeling did a very good deed in saving those young Jewish boys, but you cannot forget that he willingly allowed himself to be exploited by Nazi propaganda, and ultimately became a symbol of Aryan supremacy. I do not think he deserves this much praise.
Posted by: Sammy T at March 10, 2005 08:45 PMvacuo robots spat stickiest statement.resoluteness raincoats:...
Posted by: at June 27, 2006 12:24 AM