Norbert Lopper

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Norbert Lopper (born July 4, 1919 in Vienna , Austria; † April 18, 2015 there ) was an Austrian football player and later a football official.

Because of his Jewish descent, Lopper was forced to flee to Belgium in March 1938, immediately after Austria was annexed to the German Reich. There he married Rebecca Cige. Shortly after the wedding, the couple were deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1942. Lopper's wife and many more of his relatives were murdered in Auschwitz. He himself was severely tortured in the concentration camp and came on a death march to Gleiwitz in January 1945, then to other camps in Germany. After trying to escape, he was transferred to the Mauthausen concentration camp , which was liberated by American troops in May 1945. Then Lopper returned to Belgium. The intended resumption of his football career was no longer possible after the torture injuries he had suffered.

In 1953 Lopper returned to Vienna, where he founded Austria Wien's first supporters' club in 1954 . After he was appointed club secretary of Austria Wien in 1956, he held this position, which today would be comparable to that of a sports director, until 1983. Norbert Lopper is considered to be the discoverer of Herbert Prohaska and initiated his move from Ostbahn XI to Austria Vienna.

literature

  • Johann Skocek : Mister Austria: The life of the club secretary Norbert Lopper - soccer player, concentration camp prisoner, citizen of the world , Falter Verlag 2014, ISBN 3854395256 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ A piece of contemporary Austrian history. In: DiePresse.com. August 30, 2014, accessed August 15, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Lopper, Norbert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian football player and official
DATE OF BIRTH 4th July 1919
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna , Austria
DATE OF DEATH April 18, 2015
Place of death Vienna , Austria