In the first seconds of a fight, he was somewhat cautious, wanting to see how his opponent boxed. There was no sense in charging ahead; after all, "Teddy" had previously competed in the bantamweight category, while his first opponent in Auschwitz outweighed him by 30 kg. This opponent was Walter Dunning, a pre-war German middleweight champion, and in the camp, a sadistic kapo.
Tadeusz Pietrzykowski Defeated a 30 kg Heavier Kapo. "There Are Moments When the Impossible Becomes Reality"
The fight began. Before it started, my boxing career flashed through my mind like lightning: the figure of coach Stamm, my first and last fight. I knew one thing: I had to win. He was a good-class professional boxer. I don't know who was better between us. But I know one thing: there are moments when the impossible becomes reality
- reads Pietrzykowski's account, stored in the Archives of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum and quoted by Polish Radio.
Then Tadeusz Pietrzykowski achieved the impossible. Strong and accurate blows surprised the German, who soon surrendered. "Teddy" earned a portion of bread and a piece of margarine for this, and he was able to take on lighter work in the concentration camp. The victory also had another aspect - it opened up the possibility of improving not only his life but also the lives of other prisoners.
When he was already a champion, he could make demands. For one of his victories, he asked for five cauldrons of soup from the SS kitchen. Real soup, not the watery gruel that prisoners usually received. And he got them. Thanks to this, he possibly saved the lives of several or even a dozen comrades. That was the most important thing. Winning not for the satisfaction itself but to help others
- says Andrzej Fedorowicz, author of the book "Gladiators of Death Camps quoted by histmag.org.
Boxing in Nazi Camps: The Fight for the Lives of Those Doomed to Die from the Start
It's hard to say today why the Germans organized boxing matches in death camps. What did they look like? Where did they get the fighters? According to some theories, boxing was a form of entertainment for the SS. The importance of this sport was also realized by the prisoners of the Monowitz camp, commanded by Heinrich Schwarz.
For special occasions, a circus tent was set up. For exceptional fights, where the most famous gladiators, sometimes brought from other camps, faced each other, German generals from Berlin would come. During breaks, camp orchestras played, and prisoner-artists performed. Today it sounds absurd and almost unreal, but that was the world of the camps
said Andrzej Fedorowicz.
Where were the fights held? - Anywhere possible. In the barrack, on the roll-call square, between barracks, in the kitchen, the bathhouse - explained Fedorowicz. For the SS men, boxing was also an opportunity, a source of extra income. The Germans bet on the outcomes of fights, and when they won, they enriched themselves. They quickly started recruiting new fighters. Some could hardly be called boxers, as they were not masters of the discipline. However, when someone who knew how to box appeared, they ended up in the ring.
- Among Poles, the most famous pre-war boxer was Antoni Czortek, a member of the national team, an Olympian from Berlin, who arrived in Auschwitz in August 1943 - Fedorowicz emphasized. Among the famous boxers fighting in Auschwitz were the Frenchman Victor Young Perez (flyweight world champion in 1931), the Roma Johann Rukeli Trollmann (German light-heavyweight champion in 1933), and Leen Sanders (seven-time middleweight champion of the Netherlands).
Tadeusz Pietrzykowski Fought up to 60 Fights in Nazi Camps. He Lost Only Once
And Tadeusz "Teddy" Pietrzykowski. Interestingly, "Teddy" became a boxing champion somewhat by chance. Before the war, Pietrzykowski won the Polish vice-championship and the Warsaw championship in the bantamweight category. In the army, he achieved the rank of cadet officer. In the first days after the outbreak of the war, he was involved in fighting. In November 1939, he became a soldier of the underground Union of Armed Struggle. In the spring of 1940, he planned a trip to France but was stopped at the Hungarian-Yugoslav border and then imprisoned. In June, he was transported with the first transport to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
It was kapo Dunning who spotted "Teddy" himself. He proposed a fight, not knowing that he was creating a "fighting machine." "The memory of number 77, who once boxed Germans as he pleased, taking revenge in the ring for what others received in the field" - wrote Tadeusz Borowski about him, quoted by muzeum1939.pl. In 1943, Pietrzykowski was transferred to the Neuengamme camp. He spent two years there before being rescued by British forces. It is estimated that Pietrzykowski fought 40-60 fights in the camps and suffered only one defeat - to the aforementioned Leen Sanders.
Anyone who volunteered fought. The fights took place between prisoners or between a prisoner and a kapo, the overseer of the work crew. The stakes were usually extra or larger portions of food. Boxing provided prisoners with better work and facilitated survival. Some continued it after the war.
The "Jewish Beast" Started in Auschwitz. In the USA, He Fought Rocky Marciano
An example is Hercka (Harry) Haft, a Jewish boy from Bełchatów. He first stepped into the ring in Jaworzno, a subcamp of Auschwitz. He fought every Sunday - for the amusement of the Germans. In the camp, he received the nickname "Jewish Beast". He was reluctant to talk about his experiences in the camp, especially to his family, considering himself too soft. After the war, he went to the United States, where he started a professional career. It culminated in a fight with the legendary Rocky Marciano (who won all 49 of his fights, 43 by knockout). Haft lost, was knocked out in the third round, and gave up boxing. He got married and had three children. Unfortunately, his wartime memories returned, resulting in outbursts of aggression.
Another example is Jerzy Junosza-Kowalewski, a boy similar to Pietrzykowski. - As with Teddy, survival instinct and an extraordinary will to fight were at play, which was not typical for a 'boy from a good home' who had never encountered such brutality before - said Fedorowicz. Kowalewski ended up in the camp in 1942 after spending a year in Pawiak. He was arrested for underground activities and served in the Polish Underground. Numbered "31119" he went to work daily at the construction of the IG Farben chemical complex in Monowice, later transferred to Gross-Rosen. Junosza-Kowalewski knew Tadeusz Pietrzykowski. They met in Warsaw when they were teenagers and had a show fight.
Boxers from Death Camps. Life After the War
The brutal experiences in the camps often left a mark on their psyche. After his career, Haft ran a store in Brooklyn. He would occasionally have fits of rage.
I knew my father was capable of great violence. The hardest part of our conversations? When he admitted to killing an elderly couple. That was the most shocking to me. At an event celebrating his induction into the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, a journalist asked if he regretted anything. My father raised his large hands and said, 'I regret the lives these hands took
- said Haft's son, Allan Scott, in an interview with Wirtualna Polska. Hercka Haft died in 2007.
"Teddy" didn't give up boxing after the war, at least not immediately. He joined General Stanisław Maczek's 1st Armored Division and promoted sports. He returned to Poland in 1946. According to histmag.pl, he won the Polish championship at that time but couldn't find his place in boxing. Nonetheless, he became a sports coach, instructor, and physical education teacher. He died in 1991.
Jerzy Junosza-Kowalewski moved to Argentina after the war. He met his wife there and taught skiing and tennis professionally. He died in 2013.
Antoni Czortek won the Polish lightweight championship in 1949. The Polish Olympic Committee reports that Czortek fought a total of 328 fights (269-43-16). He later became a coach for Radomiak, the Aviation Sports Club Czarni Radom, and Bron Radom.
Edward Rinke boxed for Zryw Bydgoszcz for several years after the war. From 1949, he trained young people, becoming a second- and then first-class coach. He died in 2004.
