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One Man Played for His Country. The Other, Hounded by the Gestapo, Played for His Life. (Part 2) [1]

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Date: 2022-09-03

Gottfried von Cramm on the cover of TIME Magazine, September 13, 1937.

Link to Part 1 of This Diary — One Man Played for His Country. The Other, Hounded by the Gestapo, Played for His Life. (Part 1)

Sometimes you need more than 280 characters to tell a good story.

This diary was mostly written over five years ago but I only now finished it a few days ago. Before you read any further, you should know that by design, this is a very long, two-part diary as it is a complicated, wide-ranging, and interesting story that covers a great deal of historical ground. It deals with some painful issues which are briefly referenced to provide context and background. To say that I’ve spent a fair bit of time researching and writing it is to state the obvious.

Frequently and, at times, relentlessly, we obsess with the “here and now” of politics on this blog — often communicating and recording our thoughts by using as few characters as possible. In the Age of Twitter, seeking instant gratification and a reaffirmation of our political views seems to be the preferred norm. However, every now and then, it is useful to delve back into history with some effort to search for hidden lessons; hence, this diary.As a suggestion — and particularly if you are pressed for time — use the social sciences method of reading books and long articles, i.e., read the first paragraph or two, skim through the middle, and read the conclusion of this diary. If you think you might like it, feel free to recommend it. Come back and read the rest of the diary at a leisurely pace. I hope you enjoy doing so. Thanks.

What You Missed in Part I of This Diary - posted today AT 1:23 PM ET. 1937 Wimbledon champion Donald Budge. The story revolves around four tennis players — two Americans, a German, and a Soviet immigrant to Berlin trying to avoid becoming a victim of vicious anti-Semitism. Bill Tilden comes from an affluent Philadelphia family and is widely accepted as the greatest player of all-time but considered somewhat of a maverick by the tennis elite in the United States. Baron Gottfried von Cramm hails from German nobility and is ranked #2 in the world. The third man is the reigning Wimbledon champion from the United States, Donald Budge. The fourth, a former top-ranked German player, has been banned from international tennis competition. Distinctly secularist in how he conducted his life, Daniel Prenn's only "crime" in Adolf Hitler’s Germany was that he was born Jewish. In 1937, Gottfried von Cramm was ranked #2 in the world. Their lives intersect against the backdrop of a world in turmoil and facing a growing Fascist threat in Western Europe. In Nazi Germany, a brutally repressive regime is "cleansing" society by sending tens of thousands of undesirables to concentration camps. Homosexuals are the second-most persecuted group after Jews. In 1934, Adolf Hitler has purged the Brownshirts — of which several leading members are gay — as a potential threat to his authority and consolidated power. From then on, the Gestapo under Heinrich Himmler accelerates its reign of terror. By the summer of 1937, Cramm and Budge are set to anchor their teams in the semifinals round of the prestigious Davis Cup in London, England. The stakes are high, with the winner favored to defeat Britain in the finals. Importantly, two of the four men are guarding secrets which, if exposed, could have dire consequences for them. ____________________________________________

The term “homosexual” was widely used in books and articles written about Gottfried von Cramm, Bill Tilden, and the interwar period discussed in this diary. The more inclusive term “LGBTQI” has only been in common use since the 2000s.

Rejecting Hermann Goering’s Offer — and Incurring Adolf Hitler’s Wrath

It became known to Himmler's underlings that another top Nazi, Hermann Goering, Commander of the Luftwaffe (Air Force), was enamored with the prowess of German athletes, a tennis enthusiast, and had been protecting Cramm. In the 1935 Davis Cup semifinals match vs the United States team, Cramm voluntarily reversed a pivotal call by the referee, which contributed to Germany losing a critical match and overall defeat. The crowd applauded his sportsmanship, but Hitler had desperately wanted to defeat the Americans to prove his theory of racial superiority.

Something Cramm was not discreet about was his contempt for the criminals in charge of running his country. He once referred to Hitler in a British newspaper as nothing more than a "house painter."

Once again, Hitler, in particular, was furious — especially with Von Cramm. Kleinschroth, the German captain, was apoplectic after the doubles defeat. Germany had never won the Davis Cup, and Von Cramm’s sportsmanship had cost the fatherland a golden opportunity. The Baron had apparently disgraced both his country and his team-mates. Kleinschroth sputtered with complete and utter rage. At this, the normally affable Von Cramm leveled his captain with a frigid stare... He had already angered the Nazi regime by protesting about the banishment from Davis Cup play of Daniel Prenn but his popularity was such that Hitler’s regime were reluctant to move against him. Now, however, his actions had cost his country a victory and that popularity was slipping. Hitler started to step up the pressure on the gentleman tennis player. It is hard to describe the contempt with which Gottfried von Cramm viewed Adolf Hitler and other top-ranking Nazis. His family’s prominence and personal popularity due to his achievements in tennis afforded him that luxury. Von Cramm was politely asked to join the Nazi Party by Herman Goring. Equally politely, Gottfried simply refused. Over months the pressure increased with Goring meeting Cramm again and again at times pleading with him to join the party and show support for Hitler and at the same time warning him that it would not be good for him or his family if he refused. Again, the tennis player rejected the proposals from Goring. Eventually, despite these repeated previous “invitations” from Göring being refused, the Field Marshall stood in front of Von Cramm and ostentatiously ripped up all the mortgages held on Von Cramm’s castles and estates by Jewish bankers. “Now,” the portly field marshal announced with a mixture of pride and menace, “you are free.” Gottfried Von Cramm’s reaction to this gesture was to simply stare at the shredded documents and say icily, “All the more reason for me not to join your party.” ____________________________________________

"The King, The Baron, The House Painter and Boris!," Strandsky Tales and Stories, June 14, 2014.

This defeat would not diminish Cramm's stature or popularity as a tennis player in Germany. The real reason his team lost was not that he had "given away" a match because of good sportsmanship; rather, the absence of Prenn had made all the difference. By then, Prenn had left Germany in 1933 and immigrated to Britain. Given what would happen to Jews over the next twelve years in much of Europe, that fateful decision would prove to be prescient.

With his friends disappearing and his choices dwindling, Von Cramm started wondering if he could still continue a lifestyle he enjoyed. In April 1937, two Gestapo agents knocked on his house door and took him in for questioning. The visit had been prompted by a young hustler who had signed a statement denouncing Von Cramm for immoral behavior. He denied it and the Gestapo released him but not without forcefully suggesting that he better shape up, or there would be more visits like it! From 1933-37, he had taken every opportunity to compete abroad as other European cities were the only safe havens for him. In the spring of 1937, his wife divorced him as she fell in love with another man, Gustav Jaenecke, Germany's best ice hockey player.

With the facade of heterosexual "respectability" removed, Cramm was on his own. In order to keep the Gestapo off of his tail, he simply had to keep traveling and winning tennis matches. The alternative was unthinkable and the choice clear: excel on the tennis courts and survive, or be sent to a concentration camp.

"The Greatest Tennis Match Ever Played" — Participants, Listeners, and Spectators, including Gestapo Agents in the Stands at Wimbledon Tennis Center

A renegade and maverick, Bill Tilden had been at odds with the United States Lawn Tennis Association (USLTA) for all of his tennis-playing career. Amateurs were not allowed to take financial advantage of the game. Not that he needed the money, Tilden disregarded every rule and made money on the side by writing newspaper articles, authoring tennis books, playing exhibition matches, accepting undisclosed payments from endorsements, and other underhanded means. Such commercialism by amateur players was not only illegal but frowned upon by purists of the game. Moreover, as a player, he was known for abusing ball boys, linesmen, and umpires while making impossible demands of tournament organizers. A complex person, he attracted controversy wherever he played tennis.

Ranked #1 in the world from 1920-1925, Bill Tilden hardly lost any tennis match of significance in that almost 6-year period. He was the “Face” of American tennis in the 1920s and the first American to be crowned Wimbledon champion in 1920.

Many in the tennis world also believed that he (probably) was a homosexual, with a preference for teenage blonde boys. In an era when homosexuality was rarely if ever discussed in public, few on the outside were aware of Tilden's sexual preferences. Certainly, no one ever wrote about it, although European journalists once tried to entrap and expose him at the French Open but did not succeed. By 1937, Tilden had visited Germany every year for a decade and had seen the character of that country change dramatically under the Nazis. He had known Cramm since the German was a teenager and was very impressed with his tennis skills. Was he physically attracted to Cramm when he first met him in 1927? Perhaps, but tennis was on his mind and as a rule, Tilden never, ever got involved with his proteges. By all accounts, their close relationship was a professional one.

The USLTA frequently looked the other way as Tilden was the biggest draw in tennis, even after he had turned professional in 1930 and made large sums of money playing pro tournaments and exhibition matches around the world. As far as the public was concerned, he was a tennis icon and showman extraordinaire. For years, he offered his coaching services for free to the American Davis Cup team but was turned down every time. The USLTA feared that the unpredictable Tilden would embarrass himself and his country at some point by getting entangled in some sexual scandal.

Bill Tilden (sitting) coaching Gottfried von Cramm in 1937 at the Rot-Weiss Club in Berlin, as German Davis Cup captain Heinrich Kleinschroth looks on. Tilden was the “unofficial” coach of the German team. On this occasion, however, Bill would not be cloaked in the red, white, and blue of Old Glory, for he was a key adviser and occasional coach to the German team. Though Bill's position with the German Davis Cup squad was never officially stated, publicized, or even rumored at the time, there is little doubt he had become close to several of the players, especially Gottfried Von Cramm... Tilden was a living legend and prolific tennis author, universally recognized as the greatest player to have played the game, and any nation would have jumped at the chance to have him coach or provide guidance and tactical tips to its players. The Davis Cup Committee's rejection must have stung back. Taken aback, Tilden admitted he was "surprised" at the decision... Obviously, some of the old guard at the USLTA had it in for Bill. ____________________________________________

Allen M. Hornblum, "A Burning Affection for the Game," American Colossus: Big Bill Tilden and the Creation of Modern Tennis (Lincoln, NE, 2018), pp 365-66.

Donald Budge was coming into his prime in 1937. Still considered to this day to possess one of the best shots in the history of the game, he used his devastating backhand (see brief video) to great effect — using it more as an offensive, rather than, defensive weapon. Fresh from his straight-set victory over Cramm in the Wimbledon finals, in which he had won 6–3, 6-4, 6-2, Budge felt confident about his team's prospects. Not since Tilden had led his team to seven straight victories from 1920-26 had the Americans been successful. France's Four Musketeers — Jean Borotra, Jacques Brugnon, Henri Cochet, and Rene Lacoste — had an uninterrupted run of victories for six years from 1927-1932. Fred Perry, the Wimbledon champion from 1934-36, and Bunny Austin had helped Britain dominate and win the Davis Cup for four straight years from 1933-36.

Budge felt confident that he could bring the Davis Cup back to where it belonged — in the United States.

Gottfried von Cramm (left) and Donald Budge had a great deal of respect for each other as tennis players.

By the time, the two friends and rivals walked onto Wimbledon's Centre Court (shown right), Budge and Von Cramm were clearly the two best tennis players in the world. Tilden thought that Cramm was the better player; he based his analysis on "sheer stroke equipment and brilliance of execution." After Daniel Prenn's departure, he won the German National Championship four times from 1933-36 and also claimed the French Open title in both 1934 and 1935. At Wimbledon, he had reached the finals three years in a row, losing twice to Perry in 1935-36 and then to Budge the following year. Cramm's motivations were clear even as his position had become increasingly precarious. He simply had to win and avenge his recent losses to Perry and Budge; otherwise, something sinister and dangerous awaited him back home.

The personal and professional bond between von Cramm and Budge was elevated to legendary levels when the pair squared off in the deciding match of the 1937 Davis Cup played on Centre Court at Wimbledon. Gottfried von Cramm was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in 1977. Von Cramm’s worldwide appeal was so magnetic that after the match, he was featured on the September 13, 1937 cover of Time Magazine. Pre-Davis Cup match prognosticators predicted an easy victory for Budge, especially given the ease in which he defeated von Cramm previously. The match oozed with political overtones. Budge was the American who stood for democracy and von Cramm, the aristocrat born into nobility, who “represented” Nazi Germany, despite his repeated refusal to join the party. The U.S. had not won the Davis Cup in 10 years, and Budge felt a huge responsibility to bring the cup back home. German dictator Adolph Hitler was obsessed with winning the cup, allegedly phoning von Cramm [before] the match to dispense some encouraging, or threatening, words. ____________________________________________

"Baron Gottfried Von Cramm," International Tennis Hall of Fame.

In addition to celebrities from around the world, another special spectator in the stands who was "clapping harder and harder throughout the match" was Cramm's old friend, teammate, and mentor, Daniel Prenn. Migrating to England soon after he was banned from tennis by Hitler in 1933, he had become quite a successful businessman.

Deep down in his heart, he felt that he should have been playing on the German team with Cramm. Surely, they would have won together but it wasn't meant to be.

Not that he regretted his decision to move to England. Lucky as he was in getting out of Germany, Prenn didn't forget that most other Jews left behind would have loved to have exchanged positions with him.

Life for them was becoming unbearable under the Nazis.

What did the Racist and Anti-Semitic 1935 Nuremberg laws do? The Nuremberg Laws were two race-based measures depriving Jews of basic human and civil rights. It put the notion of Aryan superiority into practice. Stripped Jews of their civil rights and property if they tried to leave Germany.

Deprived German Jews their citizenship and prohibited marriage between Jews and other Germans.

Forced Jews over 6 years of age to wear Jewish stars sewn to their clothing. It was in Nuremberg, officially designated as the "City of the Reich Party Rallies," in the province of Bavaria, where Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party in 1935 changed the status of German Jews to that of Jews in Germany, thus "legally" establishing the framework that eventually led to the Holocaust... In 1933 Jews were denied the right to hold public office or civil service positions; Jewish immigrants were denaturalized; Jews were denied employment by the press and radio, and Jews were excluded from farming. The following year, Jews were excluded from stock exchanges and stock brokerage. During these years, when the Nazi regime was still rather shaky and the Nazis feared opposition from within and resistance from without, they did nothing drastic, and the first measures appeared, in relative terms, rather mild. After Germany publicly announced in May 1935 its rearmament in violation of the Versailles Treaty, Nazi party radicals... wanted to completely segregate them from the social, political, and economic life of Germany... At their annual rally held in Nuremberg on September 15, 1935, Nazi party leaders announced, after the Reichstag had adopted them, new laws that institutionalized many of the racial theories underpinning Nazi ideology. The so-called Nuremberg Laws, signed by Hitler and several other Nazi officials, were the cornerstone of the legalized persecution of Jews in Germany. They stripped German Jews of their German citizenship, barred marriage and "extramarital sexual intercourse" between Jews and other Germans, and barred Jews from flying the German flag, which would now be the swastika. ____________________________________________

Fisher, A Terrible Splendor, pp 157-59. "The Nuremberg Laws," Prologue Magazine, Winter 2010, National Archives. Not coincidentally, in 1945 Nuremberg was the site where several prominent Nazis were put on trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The "Nuremberg Laws" were signed by the top Nazi brass and resulted in 12 death sentences, including Hermann Goering, and life or long sentences for other Third Reich leaders. With the original documents missing, the allied prosecutors were forced to rely on published images of the laws. Decades later, the originals were found at the California home of US Army General George S. Patton, Jr. and transferred to the National Archives in 1999.

In the 1930s, winning the Davis Cup was considered far more prestigious than winning any of the four major tennis tournaments.

In the 1930s, the Davis Cup was considered the most prestigious event in tennis, far more so than the four major tournaments — French, Australian, US, and Wimbledon. The trophy had been donated by Dwight Davis, a member of Harvard's tennis team in 1900. A total of 24 teams had entered the 1937 Davis Cup. The best-of-five format included four singles and a doubles match. The match was broadcast live on NBC Radio and BBC Radio. Many listeners tuned in and even traders on the New York Stock Exchange stopped proceedings from following the match.

Over 15,000 spectators packed Wimbledon's Centre Court, with most fans cheering for the German team. By 1937, Fred Perry had turned professional and the British team was not as strong. Many felt that Britain had a better chance of defending the Cup against Germany as Budge and his American teammates looked unbeatable. By the time Budge squared off against Cramm in the fifth and final match, both teams had won two matches each. Their match would decide the outcome and the winner would play defending champion Great Britain in the finals.

____________________________________________

Paul Gittings, "Hitler, the German Aristocrat and 'The Greatest Match in History," CNN, August 5, 2011. Gittings wrote that Fisher had carefully researched and studied tennis history for his book. Given the stakes, and after examing all evidence, Fisher still thought this was the greatest tennis match ever played.

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