Hans Halberstadt

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Hans Ignaz Halberstadt (born June 10, 1885 in Offenbach , † September 22, 1966 in San Francisco ) was a German fencer , German champion and Olympic participant. During the Nazi era he emigrated to the USA. There he founded the Halberstadt Fencers' Club , which still bears his name today. In Germany he fought for FC Offenbach .

Life

Halberstadt was born in Offenbach in 1885. His family was Jewish and had grown wealthy from the tanning industry. In the twenties, Halberstadt was successful as a sword and saber fencer. He won two German championships and took part in the Olympic Games in Amsterdam. In the thirties he was also on the board of FC Offenbach, even after the National Socialists came to power. However, the Jewish members of the association were later asked to resign of their own accord.

Shortly after the Reichspogromnacht , the Halberstadt family business was confiscated. He himself was deported to Bergen-Belsen . Thanks to his sporting activity as a fencer, however, it was possible for him to leave Germany quickly. He benefited from the fact that Reinhard Heydrich and numerous other SS officers were also active fencers. He fled to London and then to San Francisco in the United States . There he first worked in the fencing school of the German-born fencing master Eric Funke, later he founded his own fencing school, the Halberstadt Fencers' Club , at which he worked until his death in 1966. Helene Mayer , who also fought for FC Offenbach in Germany, joined Halberstad's club after emigrating and won eight American championships for him. Other famous students of his club were Sal Giambra ( 1948 Olympian ) and Tommy Angell ( 1964 Olympian ).

successes

Halberstadt won the German individual championships in epee fencing in 1922 and 1930 . With FC Offenbach he was German team champion in 1920 and 1921 with the sword, in 1923 , 1924 and 1925 with the saber.

In 1928 he represented Germany at the Olympic Games in Amsterdam. In the individual he took part in the epee competition and was eliminated as the best German in the semi-finals. The saber team consisting of Halberstadt, Erwin Casmir , Heinrich Moos and Hans Thomson just missed a medal and came in 4th. With the sword, he was eliminated in the second round together with Theodor Fischer , Fritz Gazzera and Fritz Jack .

Due to his success as a trainer, he is a member of the US Fencing Hall of Fame . The fencing club he founded still bears his name today. The Halberstadt Fencing Foundation named after him aims to promote young fencers.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Milly Mogulof, Foiled, Hitler's Jewish Olympian: The Helene Mayer Story , RDR Books, 2002, p. 205.
  2. ↑ Waldemar Krug: "... and I will stay forever". FAZ, accessed on September 28, 2014 (via Helene Mayer).
  3. ^ "Hans Halberstadt". U.S. Fencing Hall of Fame, accessed September 28, 2014 .
  4. ↑ German individual champions. Deutscher Fechter Bund, accessed on February 17, 2015 .
  5. ^ FC Offenbach, successes. FC Offenbach, accessed on September 28, 2014 .
  6. ↑ Hans Halberstadt in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
  7. ^ Halberstadt Fencers' Club. Retrieved May 5, 2019 .
  8. ↑ Halberstadt Fencing Foundation at guidestar.org. Retrieved May 5, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Halberstadt, Hans
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Halberstadt, Hans Ignaz (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German fencer, German champion and Olympic participant
DATE OF BIRTH June 10, 1885
PLACE OF BIRTH Offenbach am Main
DATE OF DEATH September 22, 1966
Place of death San Francisco