Max Schmeling is a German heavyweight boxer who triumphantly defeated Joe Louis and lost a rematch to him a few years later. The boxer's fate was everything: crazy glory and the title of a symbol of the nation, successful business, accusations of collaboration with the Nazis, helping Jewish friends during the war.
A true Aryan: an exemplary biography
The full name of the famous boxer is Maximilian Adolf Otto Siegfried Schmeling. He was born in 1905 in one of the small German towns, brought up in the most ordinary family. From an early age, I decided on a vocation - boxing became it. The young man had excellent data: an accurate blow, grip, the ability to quickly mobilize in the ring and take into account the opponent's weaknesses.
As a heavyweight champion, Max quickly gained points. His victory over American Jack Sharkey in 1930 was fateful. The young boxer received the title of Athlete of the Year according to the Ring magazine. Journalists, and after them the public, called Max "Siegfried" and "Black Lancer of the Rhine". The athlete was recognized as a model of a true Aryan, his image was actively used by Nazi propaganda. Schmeling and his wife, Annie, were at the retreats and the highest ranks of the Reich, including the Fuhrer himself.
Particular importance was attached to the victory of 1936. In a duel with the famous Joe Louis, Max won by knockout in the twelfth round. The whole of Germany was watching the live radio broadcast. The Nazis attached particular importance to this victory: the "exemplary Aryan" defeated the American boxing star, and besides, the black one. Against the background of the victorious offensives of Nazi Germany, this was not just a sporting achievement, but a political act.
Breakthrough rematch
In 1938, a new match took place in which Schmeling was knocked out at the very beginning. The result of the duel was again perceived as a political victory, but this time democracy managed to triumph over the fascist regime. Germany took the defeat of the "exemplary Aryan" as the greatest humiliation. His name disappeared from the front pages of newspapers.
Schmeling himself took the result of the match philosophically. During his sports career, he spent 70 fights, won 56 of them, and 40 victories were won by knockout. Later, Max admitted that thanks to the victory of Louis, he did not manage to become a puppet in the hands of the regime and allow him to earn dividends on his behalf. The famous boxer fought his last fight after the end of the war, in 1948.
Life after sports
In 1940, the athlete was drafted into the army, in the demonstration parachute regiment. In 1943 he was seriously wounded, after a long treatment he was discharged. After the end of the war, Max was suspected of having connections with the Nazis, but after lengthy checks, they admitted that the athlete's reputation was clean. His personal life was no less impeccable: Max always loved only his wife, the Czech actress Anni Ondra, giving no chance to his numerous fans.
After leaving the ring, Schmeling was a judge for a while, but then decided to go into business. With the money he earned, he acquired a license from the Coca-Cola Company. The business turned out to be very profitable, after a few years the company entered the top of the most profitable enterprises. In 1991, Schmeling organized a fund to support sports and creative associations. Max also helped his former rival Joe Louis, who was in a difficult position. After the death of the great American athlete, Schmeling took over all the funeral expenses.
Max's merits were not forgotten even after he left the sport. In 1967, the former boxer received a sports Oscar, and in 1971 he was awarded the Grand Cross. Schmeling was awarded the honorary title of "Sportsman Number One in Germany" by the German Union of Sports Journalists. Maximilian lived to be 99 years old and was buried next to his wife's grave.
