Gottfried Erik Fuchs (also Godfrey Fuchs; (3 May 1889 – 25 February 1972) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Olympic footballer. He scored a then-world record 10 goals for the

Germany national football team The Germany national football team (german: link=no, Deutsche Fußballnationalmannschaft) represents Germany in men's international football and played its first match in 1908. The team is governed by the German Football Association (''Deutsch ...

in a 16–0 win against

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

at the 1912 Olympics. He left Germany to escape

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

, as he was Jewish, and ultimately emigrated to Canada.

Biography

German Jew The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (''circa'' 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish ...

, he was exiled and fled

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

in 1937 because of

and emigrated first to England and then in 1940 to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. His older brother was composer and architect

Richard Fuchs Richard Fuchs (; 26 April 1887 – 22 September 1947) was a German composer and architect, the older brother of German national team Olympic football player Gottfried Fuchs. Life Fuchs was in the German Army (German Empire), German Army, and wa ...

. Fuchs debuted for the

German national football team The Germany national football team (german: link=no, Deutsche Fußballnationalmannschaft) represents Germany in men's international Association football, football and played its first match in 1908. The team is governed by the German Football ...

at the age of 18. He played for (1904–06, 1914–20), and

Karlsruher FV Karlsruher FV is a German association football club that plays in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg. Established on 17 November 1891, KFV was a founding member of the German Football Association (Deutscher Fussball-Bund) in 1900 and is the oldest ...

(1906–14)—winning the German national title in 1910, beating

Holstein Kiel Kieler Sportvereinigung Holstein von 1900 e.V., simply as KSV Holstein or Kieler SV Holstein, commonly known as Holstein Kiel (), is a German association football and sports club based in the city of Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein. From the 1900s thro ...

1–0. In 1912, they lost the final against Holstein Kiel, 1–0. Between 1911 and 1913 he was considered the best centre in the world. During this time period he earned six caps, and scored 14 goals. Fuchs was part of the legendary attacking trio of

with

Fritz Förderer Friedrich "Fritz" Förderer (5 January 1888 – 20 December 1952) was a German amateur footballer who played as a defender and competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics. He was born in Karlsruhe and died in Weimar. He was a member of the German Oly ...

and

Julius Hirsch Julius Hirsch (7 April 1892 – declared dead 8 May 1945) was a Jewish German Olympian international footballer who was murdered by the Nazis in Auschwitz concentration camp during the Holocaust. He helped Karlsruher FV win the 1910 German foot ...

(who was killed in

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

). He was the first German player to score four goals in a single match. He is remembered for scoring a world record 10 goals for

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in a 16–0 win against

at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm on 1 July, becoming the top scorer of the tournament; his international record was not surpassed until 2001 when

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Archie Thompson Archie Gerald Thompson (born 23 October 1978) is an Australian former professional association football, footballer. He also is serving as a club ambassador for Melbourne Victory FC. Born in New Zealand, Thompson played youth football at the N ...

scored 13 goals in a 31–0 defeat of

American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the International ...

. This performance of 10 goals in one international match tied a record set by

Sophus Nielsen Sophus Erhard "Krølben" Nielsen (15 March 1888 – 6 August 1963) was a Danish amateur football player and manager, and the first player in history to score ten goals in a full national team match. Nielsen scored a total 16 goals in 20 games for ...

at the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were ori ...

, which remained on the books until

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

. The

German Football Association The German Football Association (german: Deutscher Fußball-Bund ; DFB ) is the governing body of football in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB has jurisdiction for the German football league system and is in charge of t ...

erased all references to him from their records between 1933 and 1945. He had the record of being the top German scorer in one match. He served in the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

in World War I as an artillery officer, and was awarded the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...

. In 1928, he and his family moved to Berlin. He was a member of the local tennis club

Nikolassee Nikolassee () is a locality (''Ortsteil'') of Berlin in the borough (''Bezirk'') of Steglitz-Zehlendorf, named after the small Nikolassee lake. Located in the affluent Southwest of the city, the area comprises parts of the Schlachtensee neighbou ...

e. V., but it barred him from membership in 1935. When, years after the Holocaust in 1972, German former player and national team coach

Sepp Herberger Josef "Sepp" Herberger (28 March 1897 – 28 April 1977) was a German football player and manager. He is most famous for being the manager of the West German national team that won the 1954 FIFA World Cup final, a match later dubbed '' The Mir ...

asked the German Football Association vice president

Hermann Neuberger Hermann Neuberger (12 December 1919 – 27 September 1992) was the seventh president of the German Football Association (''Deutscher Fußball-Bund'', DFB) from 1975 until his death in office in 1992. Career Neuberger, son of two teachers, gre ...

to invite Fuchs as a guest or a guest of honour to an international against Russia on the 60th anniversary of Fuchs' performance for the German team, the DFB Executive Committee declined to do so, writing that it was not willing to invite Fuchs because it would have created an unfortunate precedent (as was pointed out, given that Fuchs was the last remaining former Jewish German international, the DFB's concern about creating a precedent was a difficult one to understand).

References

External links

Pictures at Karlsruher-fv1891.de
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fuchs, Gottfried 1889 births 1972 deaths Jewish Canadian sportspeople Jewish German sportspeople Jewish footballers German footballers Germany international footballers Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Canada Olympic footballers of Germany Footballers at the 1912 Summer Olympics Karlsruher FV players Footballers from Karlsruhe Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914) Association football forwards

Biography

See also

References

External links