Originally posted by nuclear1
Pfft. Freakin Nazi.
Oh, uh, sorry to see him go.
[q]Years later Schmeling, who had always refused to act as a mouthpiece for Nazi propaganda, said he was almost glad he had lost.
"A win over Joe Louis might have made me the perfect Aryan of the Third Reich," he said. "The Nazis tried to use me but I used them to help other people." [/q]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Schmeling[q]
Incorrectly branded as a NaziSchmeling was branded as a "Nazi" by many boxing fans, but nothing was further from the truth. In reality, Schmeling became quite unpopular among the Nazis after the embarrassing loss to the black man, and was not used anymore in Nazi propaganda, which was a relief to him.
Starting from the Kristallnacht events in November of 1938, he used to hide young Jews in his house, sheltering them and protecting them from the SS and Gestapo. When World War II broke out in 1939, Schmeling was drafted into the German Army. Because he had long refused to join the Nazi party, a vengeful Hitler sent him on suicidal missions in order to make him a hero -a very dead hero - only to see him return every time. Schmeling remained anti-Nazi throughout the war, and after it was over was interned briefly, still recovering from his war injuries. Afterwards he frequently visited American troops, giving away signed photos and taking pictures with the American soldiers.[/q]
Idiot.