Harry Haft (also known as ''Herschel Haft''; born ''Hertzko'' or ''Hertzka Haft'' on 28 July 1925 in

Bełchatów Bełchatów () is a city in central Poland with a population of 55,583 as of December 2021. It is located in Łódź Voivodeship, from Warsaw. The Elektrownia Bełchatów, located in Bełchatów, is the largest coal fueled power plant in ...

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 ...

;Benjamin Knaack
''Boxen auf Leben und Tod''
'' Der Spiegel'' 9 June 2009 died 3 November 2007) was a survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp where he boxed fellow inmates to survive. He was briefly a

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

in post-war Germany, and boxed as a light heavyweight in the United States from 1948–1949.

Early life

Born in Bełchatów, Poland on 28 July 1925, Haft's father died when he was three years old. In 1939, when he was 14, Haft witnessed the invasion and German occupation of Poland. Under Nazi occupation, he ran a smuggling business with his older brother.

Deportation to Auschwitz

By 1942, because he was

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, Haft was imprisoned in several German-Nazi slave labor camps where he was beaten and starved. Because of his strong physical stature, by 1943 an SS overseer trained him to be a boxer, and had him compete at fights to the death in front of the military personnel. The fights took place at the concentration camp Jaworzno, which was situated at a coal mine north of Auschwitz. Haft fought a total of 76 fights there. When the camp in Jaworzno was dissolved because of the advancing Soviet Red Army, thousands of its surviving inmates were sent West on

death marches A death march is a forced march of prisoners of war or other captives or deportees in which individuals are left to die along the way. It is distinguished in this way from simple prisoner transport via foot march. Article 19 of the Geneva Conven ...

to Germany. Haft managed to escape from one such march in April 1945. On the run, he killed a bathing German soldier and donned his uniform. During the remaining weeks until the end of the war, he moved from village to village. At one point he killed two elderly people who harbored him on their farm because he feared they had discovered he was not a German soldier and would turn him in to authorities.

Displaced Person's Camp refugee, 1945–1947

In 1945, Haft found refuge in a Displaced Person's Camp operated by the U.S. Army in occupied Germany. In January 1947, he won an "Amateur Jewish Heavyweight Championship" organized by the US army in post-war

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

, receiving a trophy by General Lucius Clay.Silver, Mike (2016). ''Stars of the Ring'', Published by Rowman and Littlefield, Los Angeles, p. 292-3.

Brief boxing career in America

In 1948, aged 22, he emigrated to the US with the help of an uncle in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. There he made his living by competing as a light heavyweight prizefighter during 1948 to 1949. Haft's professional record comprises 21 fights, of a total of 104 rounds, with 13 wins (8 by KO) and 8 losses (5 by KO). His height was recorded as 5′ 9″ (175 cm), and his weight as between 168 and 180 lb. He won his first twelve fights, but lost against a more experienced boxer, Irish-born Pat O'Connor in

Westchester County Center The Westchester County Center is a 5,000-seat multi-purpose arena in White Plains, New York. It hosts various local concerts and sporting events for the area. The County Center was conceived by the Westchester Recreation Commission in 1924 as a m ...

on 5 January 1949. O'Connor had previously held Irish National light heavy and middleweight championships. He had a convincing win on 14 January 1949 in Binghamton, New York, 1:14 into the first of six rounds, when he scored a knockout, with a right cross that broke the jaw of his opponent Billy Kilby. On 30 May 1949, though outweighed by 14 pounds, he defeated Johnny Pretzie in Brooklyn in a technical knockout, 2:38 into the fourth round. Pretzie was a strong puncher with an impressive knockout record, who had met

Rocky Marciano Rocco Francis Marchegiano (September 1, 1923 – August 31, 1969; ), better known as Rocky Marciano (, ), was an American professional boxer who competed from 1947 to 1955, and held the world heavyweight title from 1952 to 1956. He is the onl ...

only two months earlier. After this win, his record, which had included only two wins since his loss to O'Connor, continued a turn for the worse. He lost to New Yorker Roland LaStarza on 27 June 1949 in a 4th-round TKO at Brooklyn's Coney Island. LaStarza was undefeated, had an exceptional record of 33 wins, and had taken several Golden Gloves light heavyweight championships in 1944-5. In 1953, LaStarza would challenge Rocky Marciano in a close fight for the World heavyweight championship. Haft's final fight was against future champion

, on 18 July 1949 in

Rhode Island Auditorium Rhode Island Auditorium was an indoor arena in Providence, Rhode Island, at 1111 North Main Street. It hosted the NBA's Providence Steamrollers from 1946 until 1949, and the Providence Reds ice hockey team until the Providence Civic Center (now t ...

, in what was Marciano's 18th professional fight. Haft made a good showing in the first round, landing a blow to Marciano's stomach that was the bout's first punch, and went blow for blow in the first minute of the second, but was knocked out by Marciano in the first half of the third round after receiving a flurry of punches. In his biography, Haft claimed that he was threatened by the

Mafia "Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...

and forced to throw the fight against Marciano. While looking for work in New York City after the war, Haft experienced an incident of anti-Semitic hostility from a potential employer. The employer, a man known as Mr. T., told Harry that he wouldn't hire Jews and demanded that he leave. Haft was shocked and hurt by the discrimination leveled at him, and he realized that America was not the safe haven from prejudice and discrimination that he once thought it was.

Marriage and boxing retirement

After his loss to Marciano, Haft retired. He married Miriam Wofsoniker in November 1949 and opened a fruit and vegetable store in Brooklyn. His eldest son, Alan Scott, was born in 1950, followed by a daughter and another son. In April 2007, Haft was inducted into the ''

National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, in Commack, New York, is dedicated to honoring American Jewish figures who have distinguished themselves in sports. Its objective is to foster Jewish identity through athletics, and to commemo ...

''. He died of cancer, in November of the same year, in Pembroke Pines, Florida, at the age of 82.

Legacy

Haft told his life's story to his son Alan Scott in 2003, who edited and published it in 2006, with contributions from historians John Radzilowski and Mike Silver. On the basis of the published biography, Reinhard Kleist created a

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

, which was published sequentially in the German periodical

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung The ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'' (; ''FAZ''; "''Frankfurt General Newspaper''") is a centre-right conservative-liberal and liberal-conservativeHans Magnus Enzensberger: Alter Wein in neuen Schläuchen' (in German). ''Deutschland Radio'', ...

during 2011. The book was nominated for a 2014

Ignatz Award The Ignatz Awards recognize outstanding achievements in comics and cartooning by small press creators or creator-owned projects published by larger publishers. They have been awarded each year at the Small Press Expo since 1997, only skipping ...

for Outstanding Graphic Novel. In 2018, a film about Haft was announced. The biographical film, titled '' The Survivor'', is directed by

Barry Levinson Barry Lee Levinson (born April 6, 1942) is an American filmmaker, comedian and actor. Levinson's best-known works are mid-budget comedy drama and drama films such as '' Diner'' (1982); ''The Natural'' (1984); '' Good Morning, Vietnam'' (1987); ...

and stars Ben Foster as Haft. The film premiered at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...

in 2021 and was released on HBO on April 27, 2022,

Yom HaShoah Yom HaZikaron laShoah ve-laG'vurah ( he, יום הזיכרון לשואה ולגבורה, , lit=Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day), known colloquially in Israel and abroad as Yom HaShoah (יום השואה) and in English as Holocaust Rem ...

, Israel's Holocaust remembrance day.

Selected fights

, - , align="center" colspan=8, 2 Wins, 3 Losses , - , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Result , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Opponent(s) , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Date , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Location , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Duration , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Notes , - , Loss , Pat O'Connor , 5 Jan 1949 , White Plains, NY , 8 Rounds , Was Irish light heavy champ , - , Win , Billy Kilby , 14 Jan, 1949 , Binghamton, NY , 1st Round KO , , - , Win , Johnny Pretzie , 30 May 1949 , Coney Island, Brooklyn , 4th Round KO , Pretzie had already fought
Marciano , - , Loss , Roland LaStarza , 27 June 1949 , Coney Island, Brooklyn , 4th Round TKO , Heavyweight contender
Undefeated with 33 total wins , - , Loss ,

, 18 July 1949 , Providence, RI , 3rd Round KO , Future World heavy champ , -

References

External links

A Look Back: Harry Haft
(jewishboxing.blogspot.com) {{DEFAULTSORT:Haft, Harry 1925 births 2007 deaths Heavyweight boxers American people of Polish-Jewish descent Jewish American boxers Auschwitz concentration camp survivors Sportspeople from Bełchatów Sportspeople from Łódź Voivodeship Polish male boxers American male boxers 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews Auschwitz boxers