Gerard Wodarz (10 August 1913 – 8 November 1982) was one of the best

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

players of interwar

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. He was a multiple champion of the country (representing

Ruch Wielkie Hajduki Ruch may refer to: Settlements *Ruch, Gironde, a commune in France *Ruch, Oregon, an unincorporated community in Jackson County, Oregon * Ruch-e Olya, a village in Qazvin Province, Iran * Ruch-e Sofla, Qazvin, a village in Qazvin Province, Iran ...

, which in January 1939 became

Ruch Chorzów Ruch Chorzów () is a Polish association football club based in Chorzów, Upper Silesia. It is one of the most successful football teams in Poland: fourteen-time national champions, and three-time winners of the Polish Cup. Currently the team play ...

) and also played 28 games on the

Polish national football team The Poland national football team ( pl, Reprezentacja Polski w piłce nożnej) has represented Poland in men's international tournaments football competitions since their first match in 1921. The team is controlled by the Polish Football Assoc ...

, scoring 9 goals.

Biography

He was born in 1913 in Bismarckhütte (a settlement in

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, locate ...

, which in January 1939 became part of the city of

Chorzów Chorzów ( ; ; german: link=no, Königshütte ; szl, Chorzōw) is a city in the Silesia region of southern Poland, near Katowice. Chorzów is one of the central cities of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union – a metropolis with a population ...

), and died in 1982 in his hometown. Wodarz was a left-wing forward player. His career started in Ruch Wielkie Hajduki, in which he played in the years 1926-1939 and after the war, in 1946-47. Together with

Ernest Wilimowski Ernest Otton Wilimowski (, born Ernst Otto Prandella; 23 June 1916 – 30 August 1997), nicknamed "Ezi", was a footballer who played as a forward. He ranks among the best goalscorers in the history of both the Poland national team and Polish c ...

and

Teodor Peterek Teodor Peterek (nicknames: ''Mietlorz'' and ''Teo''; 7 November 1910, in Świętochłowice – 12 January 1969, in Słupiec), was a Polish soccer player from the interwar period, forward, represented Ruch Chorzów and the Polish national team. ...

, was part of one of the best forward formations in the history of Ruch. In 183 games he scored 51 goals, and for five times was the Champion of Poland (1933–1936 and 1938). On the national team of Poland he took part in 31 games. His debut occurred on 2 October 1932 in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north o ...

, against

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. Wodarz participated in the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-s ...

in Berlin, where he scored 5 goals. Also, he represented Poland during one of the most famous games in Polish soccer history - against

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label= Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, during the 1938 Football World Cup. After the German

Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week af ...

in September 1939, Wodarz signed a

German Nationality List The Deutsche Volksliste (German People's List), a Nazi Party institution, aimed to classify inhabitants of Nazi-occupied territories (1939-1945) into categories of desirability according to criteria systematised by ''Reichsführer-SS'' Heinrich H ...

(

Volksliste The Deutsche Volksliste (German People's List), a Nazi Party institution, aimed to classify inhabitants of Nazi-occupied territories (1939-1945) into categories of desirability according to criteria systematised by ''Reichsführer-SS'' Heinrich ...

) and played for a newly created team, Bismarckhütter SV 99 (which was based on the prewar Ruch Chorzów). In 1941 he was called up to the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

and in 1944 he was captured by the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

. The Americans passed him to the

Polish Armed Forces in the West The Polish Armed Forces in the West () refers to the Polish military formations formed to fight alongside the Western Allies against Nazi Germany and its allies during World War II. Polish forces were also raised within Soviet territories; th ...

, where he returned to soccer, playing for some British teams. In 1946 he returned to Poland and for next two years represented Ruch Chorzów. His career ended in 1947. Later on he tried to coach several Upper Silesian teams, but without major achievements.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wodarz, Gerard 1913 births 1982 deaths Polish footballers Ruch Chorzów players Footballers at the 1936 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers of Poland 1938 FIFA World Cup players Polish military personnel of World War II People from the Province of Silesia Poland international footballers Polish football managers Górnik Zabrze managers Ruch Chorzów managers People from Chorzów German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States Sportspeople from Silesian Voivodeship Association football forwards German Army personnel of World War II Volksdeutsche

Biography

See also

References