Johann Wilhelm "Rukeli" Trollmann (27 December 1907 – April 1944) was a German Sinto

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

. Trollmann became famous in the late 1920s. On 9 June 1933, he fought for the German light-heavyweight title and although he clearly led by points over his opponent Adolf Witt, the fight was judged "no result". The audience rebelled, and the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

officials were forced to acknowledge Trollmann as the victor. However, six days later he was stripped of the title. A new fight was scheduled for 21 July, with Gustav Eder as Trollmann's opponent. Trollmann was threatened that he had to change his "dancing" style or lose his licence. Trollmann arrived the day of the match with his hair dyed blonde and his face whitened with flour, the caricature of an

Aryan Aryan or Arya (, Indo-Iranian *''arya'') is a term originally used as an ethnocultural self-designation by Indo-Iranians in ancient times, in contrast to the nearby outsiders known as 'non-Aryan' (*''an-arya''). In Ancient India, the term ' ...

. He took the blows of his opponent as he was asked for five rounds before he collapsed. The persecution of

Sinti The Sinti (also ''Sinta'' or ''Sinte''; masc. sing. ''Sinto''; fem. sing. ''Sintesa'') are a subgroup of Romani people mostly found in Germany and Central Europe that number around 200,000 people. They were traditionally itinerant, but today o ...

and

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in Germany dramatically increased in the following years. Sterilization often preceded their internment in

concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

s, and Trollmann too underwent this operation. In 1939 he was drafted into 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 previous ...

, and fought on the eastern front. He was wounded in 1941 and was returned to Germany as a result. The

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

arrested him in June 1942, and he was interned in

Neuengamme concentration camp Neuengamme was a network of Nazi concentration camps in Northern Germany that consisted of the main camp, Neuengamme, and more than 85 satellite camps. Established in 1938 near the village of Neuengamme in the Bergedorf district of Hamburg, th ...

. He tried to keep a low profile, but the camp commandant had been a boxing official before the war and recognized Trollmann. He used Trollmann as a trainer for his troops during the nights. The prisoners committee decided to act, as Trollmann's health deteriorated. They faked his death and managed to get him transferred to the adjacent camp of Wittenberge under an assumed identity. The former star was soon recognized and the prisoners organized a fight between him and Emil Cornelius, a former criminal and hated

Kapo A kapo or prisoner functionary (german: Funktionshäftling) was a prisoner in a Nazi camp who was assigned by the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) guards to supervise forced labor or carry out administrative tasks. Also called "prisoner self-administrat ...

(a prisoner given privileges for taking on responsibilities in the camp, often a convict working for a reduced sentence or parole). Trollmann won, Cornelius sought revenge for his humiliation and forced Trollmann to work all day until he was exhausted, before attacking and killing him with a shovel. Trollmann was 36 years old.

Rehabilitation and commemoration

In 2003, the German boxing federation officially recognised Trollmann as the winner of the 1933 championship. On 9 June 2010, the anniversary of his championship fight, the German artist collective Bewegung Nurr erected a temporary memorial "9841" in the Berlin

Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to: Places Australia * Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales * Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse * Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...

to honour Trollmann. The memorial was also displayed the following year in Hannover and in Dresden in 2012 for six weeks. The title refers to Trollmann's prison number. In 2015, the Italian alternative rock band

C.F.F. e il Nomade Venerabile C.F.F. e il Nomade Venerabile is an Italian alternative rock band formed in 1999 in Gioia del Colle (Bari, Apulia). Musical style The band stands out for its experimental approach, which combines New wave music, new wave rock music with Concer ...

released the song ''Come fiori'' dedicated to Trollmann. This song was the inspiration for the theathral show ''My Inv(f)erno... gypsy life'' which opened the X edition of the International TeatroLab Festival at the Tagliavini theatre in

Novellara Novellara ( Reggiano: or ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy and has a population of 13,670. It is north of Reggio Emilia and has a railway station for the local train going from Reggio to Guastalla. ...

in March 2019. In 2016,

Dario Fo Dario Luigi Angelo Fo (; 24 March 1926 – 13 October 2016) was an Italian playwright, actor, theatre director, stage designer, songwriter, political campaigner for the Italian left wing and the recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Literature. I ...

, recipient of the 1997

Nobel Prize in Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...

, published the book ''Razza di zingaro'' based on Trollmann's life.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Trollman, Johann 1907 births 1944 deaths German Sinti people People who died in Neuengamme concentration camp Romani sportspeople German people of Romani descent German civilians killed in World War II German people who died in Nazi concentration camps People from Gifhorn (district) People who died in the Romani genocide German male boxers Deaths by beating in Europe German Army personnel of World War II Sportspeople from Lower Saxony