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Heaven or hell?
Boxing heaven i would suppose
Boxing heaven i would suppose
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And he was able to keep his mental faculties. He also built a fortune after he retired and helped out Joe, who struggled in that respect, with money from time to time. Seems like he was a great guy.Originally posted by rightuppercutComment
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Max was a tremendous boxer who in his later years was an ambassador for the sport and helped out Louis quite abit.
I have a serious question for you(not trying to be funny) Did he not support the **** party and stood silent during the holocuast? Stood proud with Hitler? I don't remember exactly the history and would have to research..but that is what my memory tells me. I need Jabs or dempseyfire to clarify...or another historian.Comment
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That really sucks but 99 is a long life. I heard he was a racist, but I don't want to bad mouth a guy on a day of mourning.Comment
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I don't think he was a **** supporter. I think Hitler wanted his victory over Louis to be portrayed as a **** victory though. I can't say I blame him for not going against Hitler in that regard though.Comment
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nah, Schmeling was a good guyI heard he was a racistComment
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I agree. Think about what would have happened. And once he lost they were like "Who is Max Schmeling?" I am also not sure whether or not he was a **** supporter but I watched a couple of documentaries over the years and they didn't seem to prtray him as a proponent but more like a pawn. They also used Joe as America's champion, a title Joe wasn't comfortable with. Especially considering that he couldn't even vote.Originally posted by KornhuskerComment
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The whole issue with Schmeling and ****sm is contentious. After Schmeling defeated Louis in their first bout Hitler declared him a hero and made him one of Germany's elite citizens. He even had dinner with him. Schmeling claimed all along that he did not support Hitler or ****sm, and that he acted as a hero of the Third Reich because bascially he did not have any choice.
Whether you accept this or not is up to you. There's no doubting that he did a lot of good after he retired and after the Reich had fallen. The fact that he was such good friends with Louis seems to indicate that he did not support the ****s' theories on racial segregation and superiority...Louis certainly would not have been friends with him if he had.
Thing is you still might crticize him for "standing silent" while the ****s committed their horrors...again, this is a difficult issue. How much could one man say or do, especially while living under a ******* regime that could do away with him qutie easily if he spoke out? Maybe he was just worried about surviving. Hard to say.Comment
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well said, I'm not judging him at all, I'm more curious as to the facts.Originally posted by BombardierComment
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Schmeling had a ***ish manager and hid ***ish children in his apartment. He stayed loyal to Germany only because he grew up there, but he hated the **** ideology. I mean if Hitler asked you to dinner or to march in a parade of course you are going to do it. People who criticize Max for that haven't a clue as to how powerful Hitler really was. He didn't need a reason; the only law was the will of the Fuhrer. He would have you and your family executed for simply embarassing him, regardless of your celebrity status.
Schmeling was one hell of a guy based on everything I've read about him, and I've never heard that he was a racist. You may be thinking of Max Baer, who definitely said some racist stuff. I think many would be surprised at the amount of racism that passed as acceptable in those days.
I wish he could have made it to 100. As it stands, he survived longer than any other boxing champion.Comment
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