82 Years Later After Louis Vs Schmeling II: It Still Hurts That Joe Louis Was Screwed By His Own Country & History Shows Max Schmeling Was Not a Nazi!
[AdSense-A]
By Jim “Giacomo” Gatto
“And Schmeling is down!!” The words of the great boxing announcer Clem McCarthy emitted from the giant Philcos and RCAs filling the living rooms, barber shops, and all the gatherings across our nation. The giant radios, centerpieces in the American living room; where families huddled around to listen to Amos ‘n’ Andy, The Jack Benny Program, and The Lone Ranger. Tonight, it was “War Of The Worlds” of a different kind. June 22, 1938. Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY. This is where things would be settled. Good Vs Evil, Man Vs Superman….Max Schmeling, Hitler’s Aryan specimen of the Nazi Master Race Vs The Brown Bomber, the free world’s best “man”.
The Nazi Juggernaut had been ravaging its way through Germany, taking “no” prisoners, and poised to launch its wrath on Europe. America on high alert. It would be three and a half years before US forces would officially check in. But, for now, the ring sitting in the Yankee infield was our battlefield. America must slay the dragon. For the USA. For the free world. A symbolic victory whose impact on the morale of the resistance would be immeasurable. The warriors were chosen by higher powers. Both reluctant representatives. Joe Louis and Max Schmeling weren’t planning on such a narrative. They were just trying to do what they do—pugilism. Both enjoying the spoils of exceptional careers—their own, personal small wars. Now tasked with carrying mantles. Both mantles whose weight would rival that of what Atlas carried on his shoulders. The world was waiting, hoping.
One hundred twenty-four seconds. And…we have a winner! Not in Germany…There was a kidney punch? One worthy of disqualification? Germany crying foul! German radio broadcast cut short. Technical difficulties all around. Once it was clear that Schmeling would be “down” German the state-run radio pulled the plug. While the rest of the world heard “Schmeling is down! The count is five, five, six, seven, eight! The men are in the ring! The fight is over—on a technical knockout! Max Schmeling is beaten in one round!”…; in Germany, there was silence.
The propaganda fix was coming. Josef Goebbels, Nazi Minister Of Propaganda, had a plan. German Ambassador to the US Hans Heinrich Dieckhoff met with Schmeling immediately after the fight: “Max, what happened? He hit you with an illegal kidney punch, right? They cheated, yes?” “No, Herr Dieckhoff, I was fairly whipped”. Risking life and limb, a defiant Schmeling immediately distanced himself from the Nazi propaganda machine’s version of the story. Balls to the wall! Realizing he would not cooperate, he was abandoned. Their German Uberman would be cast into the abyss.
Two years earlier, Schmeling had knocked out Joe Louis in round twelve of their first meeting. He had been the darling of the Nazi Party. Hitler’s man. He was to receive the Sturmabteilung’s Dagger Of Honor. The highest honor given by the SA, and highly coveted if you were a Nazi. Max wanted no part of it, and no part of their party. As a result of his celebrity, Schmeling had a direct line to Hitler. He was able to convince the Fuhrer that accepting this award, while highly honored for even being considered for it, would not be prudent given his relationships in the US. It just wouldn’t be received well by the Americans. Hitler had no choice but to keep his golden boy happy. That would all change after the second fight. Hero to zero.
He would end up in the Luftwaffe. Jump school at thirty-five years old—well past the ‘age out’ threshold. Special treatment for Max. No good deed goes unpunished. After his first jump he was out of commission. Thought to have been killed in The Battle of Crete and an injured leg. They weren’t happy. The story was already written. The German news announced the tragic end of the waylaid warrior. Not to be. Laid up, in traction, and finally used for his star power to recruit new troops. Honorably discharged and decorated for bravery, Max was released into obscurity. The Nazis were finally rid of him but he was not to be controlled. Not now, not ever. The Phoenix…
Joe Jacobs, a Jew, was Schmeling’s manager. Despite tremendous pressure by Goebbels to fire him, Max never abandoned his friend. He continued to socialize with his Jewish friends, in public, posing for photographs. Defiant! German Sculptor Franz Toric, a close friend of Schmeling’s, whose work was not well-received by the Nazi Party, had a problem. His wife was Jewish and in danger of being deported. Max went to see Goebbels. Problem solved. He had that kind of cache at the time. An audience with the Nazi elite. Not so after the “embarrassment”. He wished he could do more. And he did. With nothing to gain and so much to lose, on November 9, 1938—“Kristallnacht”—Max risked his life to save a Jewish family, with two little boys, taking them in his car during the violent attacks on “The Night of the Broken Glass” and driving through the lawless streets of Berlin, to the safety of his home. Refugees, they later escaped to the US. Another kind of hero…
Eventually, Max would return to the US. He was asked to referee a fight in 1950. Upon his arrival, he immediately looked up his old rival Joe Louis. Louis was on the golf course when Max came calling. Joe dropped everything and raced home to meet him. It was a reunion that both men would remember fondly . They remained good friends until Joe’s passing on April 12, 1981. In the following years he would come to Joe’s rescue on more than one occasion. Heroes…
In 1953, a friend from his boxing days offered Max an opportunity for a Coca-Cola franchise in his native Germany. He became a wealthy man, running his business well into his nineties. With his newly found wealth, he continued his philanthropy. Contributing to many charities, he quietly followed his big heart. When asked by a reporter how he wanted to be remembered, he replied “I would not like to be remembered as someone who amounted to so much as an athlete but who was good for nothing as a person. I couldn’t stand that”. No worries, Max. A Mensch. Super…
Joe Louis had fallen on hard times. He donated two entire fight purses to the US Navy and US Army. He simply signed over the checks. To show its appreciation, the IRS presented him with a tax bill. Louis didn’t understand, It was for charity, right? A donation. “Well, yes…but it was income, Joe”. The “Brown Bomber” was now back to being “Dark Destroyer”, the “Sepia Slugger”. Those were the nicknames before he became Captain America. You’re no longer useful to us. Sorry, big guy. America turned its back on the hero who slayed the dragon. Max Schmeling to the rescue–there to help out when the nation he defended left him flat. Max had done for Joe what his own country wouldn’t. Super Mensch…
Joe Louis passed on April 12, 1981. He asked that little boy he saved back in 1938 for a favor. “Take this envelope and give it to Joe’s wife. Tell her it’s from Max”. That little boy was Henri Lewin. Henri had done well for himself. He was living in Las Vegas and in the casino business. Joe Louis had been working in Vegas a “greeter”. A meager existence for the former Captain America. Beaten down by the American Dream, Joe could take no more.
Max Schmeling was there for the funeral. Of course, he was. But the envelope containing the funeral payment was delivered quietly by Henri Lewin. Class! In his final act of kindness to his fallen brother, Max a pallbearer saw to it that his brother arrived home safely.
Uberman….
[si-contact-form form=’2′]