United States Holocaust Memorial Museum The Power of Truth: 20 Years
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The Nazi Olympics: Berlin 1936
AUGUST 1936 GERMANY SPORTS BOYCOTT TO BERLIN THE OLYMPICS THE AFTERMATH
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Persecution of Athletes
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The German Boxing Association expelled amateur champion Eric Seelig in April 1933 because he was Jewish. Seelig later resumed his boxing career in the United States. Another Jew, Daniel Prenn, Germany's top-ranked tennis player, was removed from Germany's Davis Cup Team. Gypsies, including the Sinti boxer Johann "Rukelie" Trollmann, were also purged from German sports. In June 1933, Trollman, the German middleweight boxing champion, was banned from boxing for "racial reasons."


—USHMM #14929/Courtesy of Mrs. Eric Seelig

—USHMM #14929/Courtesy of Mrs. Eric Seelig
German-Jewish tennis player Daniel Prenn playing at Wimbledon in 1934 after he emigrated to England.
German-Jewish tennis player Daniel Prenn playing at Wimbledon in 1934 after he emigrated to England. —USHMM #21728/The Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum, London
Gypsy boxer Johann Trollmann (third from right) with his German workers' sports club before he was barred from boxing in June 1933 for “racial reasons”. This photograph was taken in 1929.
Gypsy boxer Johann Trollmann (third from right) with his German workers' sports club before he was barred from boxing in June 1933 for “racial reasons”. This photograph was taken in 1929. —USHMM #21742/Courtesy of Hans Firzlaff

 

The Museum’s exhibitions are supported by the Lester Robbins and Sheila Johnson Robbins Traveling and Special Exhibitions Fund, established in 1990.