Walter Rothenburg

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Walter Rothenburg (portrait drawing by Emil Stumpp , 1931)

Walter R. Rothenburg , called Wero (born December 28, 1889 in Hamburg ; † March 10, 1975 in Ascona ) was a boxing promoter, hit writer and writer.

Life

Walter Rothenburg was born as the son of brewery agent Josef Rothenburg in Hamburg-Eimsbüttel in 1889 . His grandfather Charles Rothenburg was a writer and publisher. He published the first USA newspapers in German, the Boston Telegraph and USA States newspaper.

After finishing school, Walter Rothenburg went to sea and in 1909 joined the Navy. There he drove on the battleship Westfalen . During the First World War he was wounded on the battle cruiser Moltke . He was a boatswain and was transferred to the Flanders Front in 1916.

Boxing promoter

Rothenburg was able to use the Berlin Sportpalast for a boxing event for the first time in 1925 . He organized the boxing match Walter Neusel against the former heavyweight world champion Max Schmeling on August 26, 1934. The venue was the dirt track facility, a sand racing track in the immediate vicinity of Hagenbeck's zoo , which he had converted into a model facility within a few weeks. Almost 100,000 spectators came, a number never reached again at any boxing event in Germany.

Max Schmeling postage stamp, 2005

Max Schmeling wanted to get back into the American boxing business and box against Joe Louis . However, in 1934 he had lost to Steve Hamas over 12 rounds on points. Walter Rothenburg advised Schmeling to stamp out this defeat: “I will,” he said, “bring the man to Hamburg.” He managed to allay Schmeling's concerns and the operator of Madison Square Garden in New York City , who had an option on Hamas had to maneuver out. To the objection that March would be too cool in Hamburg for an open-air event, he replied: Then a hall will be built . With 750,000 Reichsmarks of state subsidy, Rothenburg managed to convert an old warehouse for timber in Hamburg-Rothenburgsort on Zollvereinsstraße / Ausschläger Allee into the largest covered sports arena in the world for 25,000 spectators (Madison Square Garden could only accommodate 20,000) in just 42 days . On March 10, 1935, it opened with the Schmeling - Hamas boxing match, which Schmeling won in the ninth round with a technical knockout . During the Second World War, the 162 meter long and 75 meter wide Hanseatic Hall was destroyed by aerial bombs .

Walter Rothenburg believed in the stars. Der Spiegel quoted him in 1947: “When Schmeling was boxing Joe Louis on June 19, 1936, I sent a telegram to New York informing Schmeling that he would win in the 12th round.” His astrologer was out Schmeling's horoscope predicted this victory. In fact, Schmeling surprisingly won in the 12th round by knockout. Schmeling only found out about the telegram after the fight.

Freelance writer

From 1927 Rothenburg also worked as a freelance writer. Typical for him were glosses in Low German and High German with local Hamburg flavor . One such appeared in the first edition of the Hamburger Abendblatt on October 14, 1948: No way Spickaal [smoker eel]. “I don't know if science has ever established how much water a person's mouth has to fill in order to drown. There they are now, the Spick Eels, as they say. Long, slim and shiny. One next to the other. "A hungry crowd gathers in front of the shop window, complaining about the prices of the fishmonger, until" the sonorous voice of a real, cozy old hamburger rings out ":" Dat Woter is wanted! "

Music writer

As a music writer, Rothenburg had a wide range. He wrote folk, Low German songs that quickly became very popular. He wrote his first traditional song on the Flanders front in 1916: O du vlaamsche Deern . His collaboration with the folk singer Charly Wittong , whom he met in 1912 and whom he a. a. wrote the songs from Hamburger Fährjung (Fohr mi mol röber!) and An de Eck by de Steenstroot .

After the Second World War he wrote the lyrics for the composers Lotar Olias , Michael Jary , Gerhard Winkler and Gerhard Jussenhoven . He celebrated great success as a North German in the carnival. Such a day, as beautiful as today! became a carnival anthem and his greatest success as a lyricist. He also wrote the lyrics for some successful hits - for example for Heideröslein , with whom Friedel Hensch and the Cyprys topped the charts for three months in 1954 , or for youngsters, come back soon! (from the operetta Heimweh nach St. Pauli ), with which Freddy Quinn was No. 1 for thirteen weeks in 1963 .

Songs and hits (selection)

Honors

Gravestone Walter Rothenburg , Ohlsdorf cemetery

In Hamburg, the Walter-Rothenburg-Weg in the Neuallermöhe district is named after him.

His grave is in the Ohlsdorf cemetery in Hamburg (S 10, No. 279, near Chapel 1).

literature

Web links

Commons : Walter Rothenburg  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Notes / individual evidence

  1. ↑ Walter Habel (Ed.): Who is who? The German who's who. XV. Edition of Degeners who is it ?, Berlin 1967, p. 1630.
  2. ↑ See Max Schmeling; Henry Mask (Preface / Ed.): Memories . Ullstein , Frankfurt a. M., Berlin, Vienna, 1977, p. 286 f.!
  3. ^ Cf. mj: Walter Rothenburg - Wero, an institution . Hamburger Abendblatt, July 8, 2002
  4. ↑ See Max Schmeling; Henry Mask (Preface / Ed.): Memories . Ullstein , Frankfurt a. M., Berlin, Vienna, 1977, p. 291!
  5. ↑ ullsteinbild.de Boxkampf + Max + Schmeling + against + Steve + Hamas + in + Hamburg + 1935 ( Memento of the original from January 19, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ; Uwe Bahnsen (journalist) : Memories of the triumph in the Hanseatenhalle , WELT on Sunday February 6, 2005 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / ullsteinbild.de
  6. ↑ See also Horst Schüler, Hans Jürgen Müller: The big day in the Hanseatenhalle . Hamburger Abendblatt , August 29, 1977, page 10
  7. ↑ Black fed . In: Der Spiegel from September 27, 1947, accessed September 25, 2010
  8. ↑ “Dear Mr. Rudolph! […] I am happy to confirm that I received a telegram from Walter Rothenburg in 1936 before my fight against Joe Louis in which he congratulated me on my victory in the 12th round. I was only shown the telegram after the fight. […] ”, Max Schmeling in a letter dated October 24, 1976. Printed in Hamburger Hefte , edition 2/1992. In 1991/92 the Hamburger Hefte published the text "The stars don't lie! - Sensational astrological predictions. A factual report by Walter Rothenburg." , Hamburg, self-published, 1948, edition 50,000, in the rubric "Michael Feist - Zeugen der Zeit" .
  9. ↑ The city is in ruins, the newspaper shows heart  - No way Spickaal ( Memento from September 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  10. ↑ Recorded on YouTube
  11. ↑ Proof in the DNB
  12. ↑ Celebrity Graves
  13. ↑ Grave illustration
personal data
SURNAME Rothenburg, Walter
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rothenburg, Walter R.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German songwriter, boxing promoter
DATE OF BIRTH December 28, 1889
PLACE OF BIRTH Hamburg-Eimsbüttel
DATE OF DEATH March 10, 1975
Place of death Ascona