Ernest Wilimowski
Encyclopedia
Ernst Willimowski (June 23, 1916 – August 30, 1997) was a football player who played for both the Polish
and German national teams.
Born in Kattowitz (Katowice), Prussian Silesia, German Empire
, he was raised in a Silesian family, typical of the Upper Silesia
n Polish-German borderland. In 1922 eastern Upper Silesia became part of Poland and Ernst became a citizen of the Second Polish Republic
.
His father Ernst-Roman, a soldier of the German Empire
, died on the Western Front
in the First World War
, and his mother Paulina re-married. Both were German. His mother sent him to a German kindergarten, a German primary school and, when he was nine years old, to the German football team 1. FC Kattowitz. At the age of 13 he was legally adopted by his stepfather who was Polish and took on the surname Willimowski. At home, he spoke German for the most part, while in public he often spoke a Silesian dialect of the Polish language. Officially a citizen of Poland, he referred to himself as a Silesian
("Górnoślązak" - Oberschlesier).
He was one of the best goalscorers in the history of both the Polish national team
and in Polish club soccer before he decided to re-take German citizenship and play for Germany. He is well remembered as the first player to score four goals in a single FIFA World Cup
game. Allegedly, in the course of his career he has scored a total of 1.175 goals; this, however, is unconfirmed and will include friendly and unofficial matches. Willimowski also occasionally played ice hockey
for the team Pogoń Katowice.
. "Ezi" quickly established himself as the team's best player: in his first season he scored 33 goals to lead the league. His first Ekstraklasa game took place on April 8, 1934, a few weeks later, he capped for Polish national team. With a number of excellent footballers besides Willimowski (for example Teodor Peterek
and Gerard Wodarz
), Ruch dominated the Polish soccer and was the league champion in 1933-1936 and 1938.
Willimowski played 86 games for Ruch, scoring 112 goals, and was the league's top scorer in 1934 and 1936. He also led the league in scoring in 1939 until the German invasion of Poland. On May 21, 1939, he scored 10 goals in a single match against Union Touring Łódź as his club won 12-1. That performance still stands as a league record.
in København on May 21, 1934 in a 2:4 loss: he was just 17 years and 332 days old. In a total of 22 appearances for Poland Willimowski netted 21 goals, nearly a goal per game. However, his off field conduct was less than ideal and in 1936 the young man's penchant for drinking and partying led to a one year suspension imposed by the Polish football association just before the Olympic Games
in Berlin
. Without his goal scoring touch the Poles managed only a fourth place finish in the Olympic tournament. Many felt that his presence could have brought the team a gold medal.
Willimowski's appearances for Poland include two performances that were both historic and memorable.
In a match against Brazil
played in Strasbourg
, France
during the 1938 FIFA World Cup
, "Ezi" put on a stunning display by becoming the first player ever to score four goals in a single World Cup match. His continued attacks on the opposition net also drew a penalty as he was fouled to the ground by Brazilian keeper Batatais
, which led to Poland's fifth goal scored from the spot by German-born Fritz Scherfke, from Poznań
. However, it was not enough - Poland lost the match 5-6 and was eliminated from the tournament. Willimowski's record was later equalled by other players, but was bettered only 56 years later, when Oleg Salenko scored five goals against Cameroon during the 1994 FIFA World Cup
.
Willimowski put on another memorable display on August 27, 1939 in Warsaw
in an international friendly against what was then one of the best teams in the world - Hungary
, the 1938 World Cup runner-up. After 33 minutes of play the Hungarians were ahead 2:0. Willimowski scored three goals and again drew a penalty through his attacking play which was converted by teammate Leonard Piątek
, giving Poland a 4:2 win. The match was the last game played before the start of World War II
just four days later.
. Allegedly, Joschke threatened that Willimowski would have to wear the letter "P" (for Pole) on his clothes. This never happened, as Willimowski was too good a player and well appreciated by other German football officials. However, his mother Paulina, was placed in Auschwitz Concentration Camp
, which she survived. Wilimowski's mother was incarcerated because she got engaged in an intimate relationship with a Russian Jew, which was regarded as Rassenschande
in Nazi Germany. Ernst, who in later stages of the war became friends with legendary pilot Hermann Graf
, managed to save her, with Graf's help.
For propaganda purposes Nazi sports officials made 1. FC Kattowitz a model side representative of the German Upper Silesia. The region's best players were assigned to the team and besides Willimowski included Erwin Nyc
, Ewald Dytko
and Paweł Cyganek. "Ezi" played there until February 1940, before moving on to Chemnitz
, where he took up a job as a policeman while playing for the local team Polizei-Sportverein Chemnitz
(1940–1942).
Through the course of the war he also played for TSV 1860 München
(1942–1944), where he was a member of the Tschammerpokal (German Cup) winning side of 1942. In the final game of the 1942 German Cup, at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin
, the Munich side won 2-0, with the first goal scored by Wilimowski. In final years of the war, Wilimowski became soldier of the Wehrmacht, but he was allowed to play in army football teams, f.e. LSV Mölders in German occupied Cracow.
, manager of the German national team, developed an immediate appreciation for Wilimowski's talent. He debuted for Germany against Romania on June 1, 1941, in Bucharest
scoring twice in a 4:1 victory. He followed that performance with three goals against Finland
in Helsinki
on October 5, 1941 as the Germans scored an easy 6:0 win.
The only international match Wilimowski ever played in his native Upper Silesia (in Beuthen now Bytom
, Poland), whether wearing a Polish or German jersey, was on August 16, 1942 versus the Romanian side. He contributed one goal in a 7–0 win (another German star, Fritz Walter
, netted three goals in the contest). The match was the biggest sporting event staged there during the war as 55,000 fans came to cheer on their native son.
Willimowski's most memorable performance for the German national side came on October 18, 1942 in Bern, Switzerland
as the Germans defeated a well-respected Swiss national team by a score of 5:3. "Ezi" scored four of five goals with the other being netted by Fritz Walter.
Wilimowski was capped a total of eight times for Germany, scoring 13 goals (1.63 per match). His last appearance for Germany was in a 5:2 victory over Slovakia
in Bratislava
on November 22, 1942. After this match Germany no longer played international friendlies because of the war.
in 1946-47 and had a short spell with RC Strasbourg
in 1949. After that, he settled in the Karlsruhe
area, opening a restaurant there. Even though he was already in his 30s when organized playing resumed, he continued a career that lasted until 1959 and age 43. During this period he played for several German club teams including TSV Detmold, FV Offenburg, BC Augsburg
, Singen 04 and VfR Kaiserslautern (including 70 goals in 89 Oberliga Südwest appearances for the latter, all scored when he was over 35 years old). After retiring, together with wife, Wilimowski for a while ran a restaurant, then worked in a Pfaff factory, to retire in 1978.
In the FIFA World Cup 1974 in Germany, Willimowski allegedly wanted to pay a visit to the Polish national team that stayed in Murrhardt
near Stuttgart, but was refused permission by PZPN officials. In 1995 he was invited by Ruch Chorzów to come to Upper Silesia and celebrate club's 75th anniversary. Willimowski, according to his oldest daughter, Sylvia Haarke, wanted to come to Poland, saying that had it not been for the war, he would never have left Katowice. However, his wife Klara (née Mehne) was sick then and he had to stay with her. Willimowski died in Karlsruhe, Germany, leaving behind four children - three daughters (Sylvia, Sigrid and Ulle) and a son, Rainer.
Sylvia Haarke who lives in Hamburg
, and in May 2007 visited Tarnowskie Góry
with her husband Karl-Heinz Haarke (author of Wilimowski's biography), presented some interesting facts about her father. She said that Willimowski was a devout Roman-Catholic, always emphasizing the role of religion in his life. On many occasions he would tell his kids about his alleged encounter with Karol Wojtyła
, which happened in the late 1930s in the Tatra Mountains
. Also, after the famous Poland v Brazil (1938)
game, Brazilian officials wanted to acquire his services. Willimowski had signed a preliminary contract, but it did not work out. According to Haarke, one of her father's biggest disappointments was not having been a member of the German team which won the 1954 FIFA World Cup
.
Legendary coach of the Polish national team, Kazimierz Górski
, met Wilimowski at a hotel in Murrhardt
during the World Championship in Germany in 1974. Gorski immediately recognized Ezi, because in the interbellum period, Wilimowski was one of his idols. Whenever Ruch Chorzow came to play in Lwów
(now Lviv), Gorski always attended the games, watching Wilimowski. However, being observed by an agent of the Polish secret police SB
, the Polish coach greeted his idol very coldly: Mr Wilimowski, if you had not done anything wrong, perhaps you should have come back to Poland, and explain your behavior, cleanse yourself of all charges - said Górski. I was afraid - answered Wilimowski.
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
and German national teams.
Born in Kattowitz (Katowice), Prussian Silesia, German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
, he was raised in a Silesian family, typical of the Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia. Since the 9th century, Upper Silesia has been part of Greater Moravia, the Duchy of Bohemia, the Piast Kingdom of Poland, again of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown and the Holy Roman Empire, as well as of...
n Polish-German borderland. In 1922 eastern Upper Silesia became part of Poland and Ernst became a citizen of the Second Polish Republic
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
.
His father Ernst-Roman, a soldier of the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
, died on the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
in the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and his mother Paulina re-married. Both were German. His mother sent him to a German kindergarten, a German primary school and, when he was nine years old, to the German football team 1. FC Kattowitz. At the age of 13 he was legally adopted by his stepfather who was Polish and took on the surname Willimowski. At home, he spoke German for the most part, while in public he often spoke a Silesian dialect of the Polish language. Officially a citizen of Poland, he referred to himself as a Silesian
Silesians
Silesians , are the inhabitants of Silesia in Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic. A small diaspora community also exists in Karnes County, Texas in the USA....
("Górnoślązak" - Oberschlesier).
He was one of the best goalscorers in the history of both the Polish national team
Poland national football team
The Poland national football team represents Poland in association football and is controlled by the Polish Football Association, the governing body for football in Poland...
and in Polish club soccer before he decided to re-take German citizenship and play for Germany. He is well remembered as the first player to score four goals in a single FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
game. Allegedly, in the course of his career he has scored a total of 1.175 goals; this, however, is unconfirmed and will include friendly and unofficial matches. Willimowski also occasionally played ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
for the team Pogoń Katowice.
Ruch Chorzów
Willimowski, who had six toes on his right foot, played on the left side as a forward and showed himself to be a very skilled dribbler as well as a natural goalscorer. He began his career with the ethnically German club 1. FC Kattowitz, then in 1933 at the age of 17, moved to Polish side Ruch Wielkie Hajduki, today known as Ruch ChorzówRuch Chorzów
Ruch Chorzów is a Polish association football club based in Chorzów, Upper Silesia. It is one of the most successful football teams in Poland: 14 time national champion, and 3 time winner of the Polish Cup. Currently the team plays in the top Polish league, the Ekstraklasa. Their stadium capacity...
. "Ezi" quickly established himself as the team's best player: in his first season he scored 33 goals to lead the league. His first Ekstraklasa game took place on April 8, 1934, a few weeks later, he capped for Polish national team. With a number of excellent footballers besides Willimowski (for example Teodor Peterek
Teodor Peterek
Teodor Peterek , a Polish soccer player from interwar period, forward, represented Ruch Chorzów and Polish National Team...
and Gerard Wodarz
Gerard Wodarz
Gerard Wodarz was one of the best soccer players of interwar Poland. He was a multiple champion of the country and also played 28 games on the Polish national football team, scoring 9 goals.He was born in 1913 in Wielkie Hajduki Gerard Wodarz (August 10, 1913 – November 8, 1982) was one of...
), Ruch dominated the Polish soccer and was the league champion in 1933-1936 and 1938.
Willimowski played 86 games for Ruch, scoring 112 goals, and was the league's top scorer in 1934 and 1936. He also led the league in scoring in 1939 until the German invasion of Poland. On May 21, 1939, he scored 10 goals in a single match against Union Touring Łódź as his club won 12-1. That performance still stands as a league record.
Polish national team
Soon after beginning his club football career, "Ezi" earned his first cap for Poland when he debuted against DenmarkDenmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
in København on May 21, 1934 in a 2:4 loss: he was just 17 years and 332 days old. In a total of 22 appearances for Poland Willimowski netted 21 goals, nearly a goal per game. However, his off field conduct was less than ideal and in 1936 the young man's penchant for drinking and partying led to a one year suspension imposed by the Polish football association just before the Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. Without his goal scoring touch the Poles managed only a fourth place finish in the Olympic tournament. Many felt that his presence could have brought the team a gold medal.
Willimowski's appearances for Poland include two performances that were both historic and memorable.
In a match against Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
played in Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
during the 1938 FIFA World Cup
1938 FIFA World Cup
The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third staging of the World Cup, and was held in France from 4 June to 19 June. Italy retained the championship, beating Hungary 4–2 in the final.-Host selection:...
, "Ezi" put on a stunning display by becoming the first player ever to score four goals in a single World Cup match. His continued attacks on the opposition net also drew a penalty as he was fouled to the ground by Brazilian keeper Batatais
Algisto Lorenzato
Algisto Lorenzato , usually known as Batatais , was a football goalkeeper....
, which led to Poland's fifth goal scored from the spot by German-born Fritz Scherfke, from Poznań
Poznan
Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
. However, it was not enough - Poland lost the match 5-6 and was eliminated from the tournament. Willimowski's record was later equalled by other players, but was bettered only 56 years later, when Oleg Salenko scored five goals against Cameroon during the 1994 FIFA World Cup
1994 FIFA World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in nine cities across the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988...
.
Willimowski put on another memorable display on August 27, 1939 in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
in an international friendly against what was then one of the best teams in the world - Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, the 1938 World Cup runner-up. After 33 minutes of play the Hungarians were ahead 2:0. Willimowski scored three goals and again drew a penalty through his attacking play which was converted by teammate Leonard Piątek
Leonard Piatek
Leonard Franciszek Piątek was a Polish football player of Upper Silesian origin who played in the interwar period....
, giving Poland a 4:2 win. The match was the last game played before the start of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
just four days later.
War years
After the division of Poland, Willimowski as Volksdeutscher re-took German citizenship, like the majority of the inhabitants of the Eastern part of Upper Silesia, among them all the players of the Polish national team coming from this region. It allowed them to continue their football careers as Poles were not permitted to participate in sports under the Nazi occupation. In the early days of the war Willimowski had to hide from the Nazis because of the enmity of a local kreisleiter (ward leader) of the NSDAP named Georg Joschke who held against Willimowski the 1933 transfer from the ethnically-German club 1. FC Kattowitz to the Polish Ruch ChorzówRuch Chorzów
Ruch Chorzów is a Polish association football club based in Chorzów, Upper Silesia. It is one of the most successful football teams in Poland: 14 time national champion, and 3 time winner of the Polish Cup. Currently the team plays in the top Polish league, the Ekstraklasa. Their stadium capacity...
. Allegedly, Joschke threatened that Willimowski would have to wear the letter "P" (for Pole) on his clothes. This never happened, as Willimowski was too good a player and well appreciated by other German football officials. However, his mother Paulina, was placed in Auschwitz Concentration Camp
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
, which she survived. Wilimowski's mother was incarcerated because she got engaged in an intimate relationship with a Russian Jew, which was regarded as Rassenschande
Rassenschande
Rassenschande or Blutschande was the Nazi term for sexual relations between Aryans and non-Aryans, which was punishable by law...
in Nazi Germany. Ernst, who in later stages of the war became friends with legendary pilot Hermann Graf
Hermann Graf
Colonel Hermann Graf was a German Luftwaffe World War II fighter ace. A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. He served on both the Eastern and Western Fronts...
, managed to save her, with Graf's help.
For propaganda purposes Nazi sports officials made 1. FC Kattowitz a model side representative of the German Upper Silesia. The region's best players were assigned to the team and besides Willimowski included Erwin Nyc
Erwin Nyc
Erwin Peter Nytz or Edward Piotr Nyc was an interwar Polish soccer midfield player of Upper Silesian origin. Born Erwin Nytz his Silesian homeland became Poland after Treaty of Versailles and he changed his last name to its Polonized version in 1934...
, Ewald Dytko
Ewald Dytko
Edward Jan Dytko was a German-born Upper Silesian soccer player, who, when his home country became Poland by Treaty of Versailles represented the no longer existing team of Dąb Katowice, also in 1935-39 he played in the Polish National Team.He was born in Zalenze and since early childhood played...
and Paweł Cyganek. "Ezi" played there until February 1940, before moving on to Chemnitz
Chemnitz
Chemnitz is the third-largest city of the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Chemnitz is an independent city which is not part of any county and seat of the government region Direktionsbezirk Chemnitz. Located in the northern foothills of the Ore Mountains, it is a part of the Saxon triangle...
, where he took up a job as a policeman while playing for the local team Polizei-Sportverein Chemnitz
Chemnitzer FC
Chemnitzer FC is a German association football club based in Chemnitz, Saxony.The roots of the club go back to its establishment as Chemnitzer BC 1933 in 1933 after the collapse of former Chemnitzer BC 1899....
(1940–1942).
Through the course of the war he also played for TSV 1860 München
TSV 1860 München
Turn- und Sportverein München von 1860, commonly known as TSV 1860 München or 1860 Munich, is a German sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. The club's football team plays in the Second Bundesliga, after relegation from the Bundesliga following the 2003–04 season...
(1942–1944), where he was a member of the Tschammerpokal (German Cup) winning side of 1942. In the final game of the 1942 German Cup, at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, the Munich side won 2-0, with the first goal scored by Wilimowski. In final years of the war, Wilimowski became soldier of the Wehrmacht, but he was allowed to play in army football teams, f.e. LSV Mölders in German occupied Cracow.
German national team
Like other officials, Sepp HerbergerSepp Herberger
Josef "Sepp" Herberger was a German football player and manager...
, manager of the German national team, developed an immediate appreciation for Wilimowski's talent. He debuted for Germany against Romania on June 1, 1941, in Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
scoring twice in a 4:1 victory. He followed that performance with three goals against Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
on October 5, 1941 as the Germans scored an easy 6:0 win.
The only international match Wilimowski ever played in his native Upper Silesia (in Beuthen now Bytom
Bytom
Bytom is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. The central-western district of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union - metropolis with the population of 2 millions. Bytom is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Bytomka river .The city belongs to the Silesian Voivodeship since...
, Poland), whether wearing a Polish or German jersey, was on August 16, 1942 versus the Romanian side. He contributed one goal in a 7–0 win (another German star, Fritz Walter
Fritz Walter
Friedrich "Fritz" Walter was a German footballer. In his time with the German national team, he won 61 caps and scored 33 goals.-Early club career:...
, netted three goals in the contest). The match was the biggest sporting event staged there during the war as 55,000 fans came to cheer on their native son.
Willimowski's most memorable performance for the German national side came on October 18, 1942 in Bern, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
as the Germans defeated a well-respected Swiss national team by a score of 5:3. "Ezi" scored four of five goals with the other being netted by Fritz Walter.
Wilimowski was capped a total of eight times for Germany, scoring 13 goals (1.63 per match). His last appearance for Germany was in a 5:2 victory over Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
in Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
on November 22, 1942. After this match Germany no longer played international friendlies because of the war.
Postwar career
After the war, Willimowski, who was regarded by the Polish government as a traitor, was not allowed to visit his Silesian homeland during Communism. He was with SG Chemnitz-WestChemnitz
Chemnitz is the third-largest city of the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Chemnitz is an independent city which is not part of any county and seat of the government region Direktionsbezirk Chemnitz. Located in the northern foothills of the Ore Mountains, it is a part of the Saxon triangle...
in 1946-47 and had a short spell with RC Strasbourg
RC Strasbourg
Racing Club de Strasbourg is a French association football club founded in 1906 and professional since 1933, based in the city of Strasbourg, in Alsace...
in 1949. After that, he settled in the Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
area, opening a restaurant there. Even though he was already in his 30s when organized playing resumed, he continued a career that lasted until 1959 and age 43. During this period he played for several German club teams including TSV Detmold, FV Offenburg, BC Augsburg
FC Augsburg
FC Augsburg is a German football club based in Augsburg, Bavaria. The team was founded as Fußball-Klub Alemania Augsburg in 1907 and played as BC Augsburg from 1921 to 1969....
, Singen 04 and VfR Kaiserslautern (including 70 goals in 89 Oberliga Südwest appearances for the latter, all scored when he was over 35 years old). After retiring, together with wife, Wilimowski for a while ran a restaurant, then worked in a Pfaff factory, to retire in 1978.
In the FIFA World Cup 1974 in Germany, Willimowski allegedly wanted to pay a visit to the Polish national team that stayed in Murrhardt
Murrhardt
Murrhardt is a town in the Rems-Murr district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located 12 km east of Backnang, and 18 km southwest of Schwäbisch Hall. The source of the Murr is situated in Murrhardt....
near Stuttgart, but was refused permission by PZPN officials. In 1995 he was invited by Ruch Chorzów to come to Upper Silesia and celebrate club's 75th anniversary. Willimowski, according to his oldest daughter, Sylvia Haarke, wanted to come to Poland, saying that had it not been for the war, he would never have left Katowice. However, his wife Klara (née Mehne) was sick then and he had to stay with her. Willimowski died in Karlsruhe, Germany, leaving behind four children - three daughters (Sylvia, Sigrid and Ulle) and a son, Rainer.
Sylvia Haarke who lives in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, and in May 2007 visited Tarnowskie Góry
Tarnowskie Góry
Tarnowskie Góry is a town in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. Borders on the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union - metropolis with the population of 2 millions. Located in the Silesian Highlands....
with her husband Karl-Heinz Haarke (author of Wilimowski's biography), presented some interesting facts about her father. She said that Willimowski was a devout Roman-Catholic, always emphasizing the role of religion in his life. On many occasions he would tell his kids about his alleged encounter with Karol Wojtyła
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
, which happened in the late 1930s in the Tatra Mountains
Tatra Mountains
The Tatra Mountains, Tatras or Tatra , are a mountain range which forms a natural border between Slovakia and Poland, and are the highest mountain range in the Carpathian Mountains...
. Also, after the famous Poland v Brazil (1938)
Poland v Brazil (1938)
Poland v Brazil was a football match held during the 1938 FIFA World Cup in France and still remembered by Polish fans of this sport as the one in which Poland national football team debuted. To qualify to the tournament Poland had to beat only one team - Yugoslavia...
game, Brazilian officials wanted to acquire his services. Willimowski had signed a preliminary contract, but it did not work out. According to Haarke, one of her father's biggest disappointments was not having been a member of the German team which won the 1954 FIFA World Cup
1954 FIFA World Cup
The 1954 FIFA World Cup, the fifth staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. Switzerland was chosen as hosts in July 1946. The tournament set a number of all-time records for goal-scoring, including the highest average goals scored per game...
.
Legendary coach of the Polish national team, Kazimierz Górski
Kazimierz Górski
Kazimierz Klaudiusz Górski was a coach of Poland national football team and honorary president of Polish Football Union . He was also a football player, capped once for Poland....
, met Wilimowski at a hotel in Murrhardt
Murrhardt
Murrhardt is a town in the Rems-Murr district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located 12 km east of Backnang, and 18 km southwest of Schwäbisch Hall. The source of the Murr is situated in Murrhardt....
during the World Championship in Germany in 1974. Gorski immediately recognized Ezi, because in the interbellum period, Wilimowski was one of his idols. Whenever Ruch Chorzow came to play in Lwów
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
(now Lviv), Gorski always attended the games, watching Wilimowski. However, being observed by an agent of the Polish secret police SB
SB
SB or Sb may refer to:* Spina bifida* S.B., Scientiæ Baccalaureus or Bachelor of Science, an academic degree* Senate Bill, especially when quoting a bill's code SB or Sb may refer to:* Spina bifida* S.B., Scientiæ Baccalaureus or Bachelor of Science, an academic degree* Senate Bill, especially when...
, the Polish coach greeted his idol very coldly: Mr Wilimowski, if you had not done anything wrong, perhaps you should have come back to Poland, and explain your behavior, cleanse yourself of all charges - said Górski. I was afraid - answered Wilimowski.
Literature
- Karl-Heinz Harke, Georg Kachel; Fußball – Sport ohne Grenzen. Die Lebensgeschichte des Fußball-Altnationalspielers Ernst Willimowski., DülmenDülmenDülmen is a municipality in the district of Coesfeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-Geography:Dülmen is situated in the south part of the Münsterland area, between the Lippe river to the south, the Baumberge hills to the north and the Ems river to the east...
, Laumann-Verlag 1996, ISBN 3-87466-259-4 - Thomas Urban: Schwarze Adler, weiße Adler. Deutsche und polnische Fußballer im Räderwerk der Politik. GöttingenGöttingenGöttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:...
2011, p. 28-48.