Lilli Henoch
Encyclopedia
Lilli Henoch was a German track and field
athlete who set four world records and won 10 German national championships, in four different disciplines.
Henoch set world records in the discus
(twice), the shot put
, and the 4 × 100 meters relay events. She also won German national championships in the shot put four times, the 4 × 100 meters relay three times, the discus twice, and the long jump
. She was Jewish
, and during the Holocaust
she and her mother were deported and machine-gunned to death by the Nazis.
, East Prussia
(Germany). Her father, a businessman, died in 1912. She and her family moved to Berlin, and her mother subsequently remarried.
, shot put
, and—with her teammates—4 × 100 meters relay events.
Between 1922 and 1926, she won 10 German national championships: in shot put, 1922–25; discus, 1923 and 1924; long jump, 1924; and 4 × 100 meters relay, 1924–26.
After World War I, Henoch joined the Berlin Sports Club
(BSC), which was approximately one quarter Jewish. She missed a chance to compete in the 1924 Summer Olympics
, because Germany was not allowed to participate in the Games after World War I. In 1924, she trained the women's section in Bar Kochba Berlin. She was a member of the BSC hockey team, which won the Berlin Hockey Championship in 1925.
, Henoch set the world shot put record with a toss of 11.57 meters. She won the German national championship in shot put in 1922–25, and won the silver medal in 1921 and 1926.
, breaking the prior record that had stood for 1,421 days by a full second. She won the German national championship in the 4 × 100 meters relay in 1924–26.
came to power in 1933, Henoch and all other Jews were forced to leave the membership of the BSC, by the Nazi's new race laws
. She then joined the the Jüdischen Turn-und Sportclub 1905 (Jewish Gymnastics and Sports Club 1905), which was limited to Jews, for which she played team handball
and was a trainer. She also became a gymnastics teacher at a Jewish elementary school.
Because she was Jewish, the German government did not allow her to participate in the 1936 Summer Olympics
.
in Nazi Germany-occupied Latvia on September 5, 1942, during World War II. She and her mother were taken from the ghetto and machine-gunned to death by an Einsatzgruppen
mobile killing unit in September 1942, along with a large number of other Jews taken from the ghetto. They were all buried in a mass grave
in the woods outside Riga, Latvia. Her brother disappeared, without a trace.
in 1990.
A "Stolperstein" was installed in her honor in Berlin, in 2008. Stolpersteine (which literally means "stumbling blocks") are small shiny brass plaques, containing an inscribed biography of the key dates of a person's life and death, set into the ground before the former homes of Holocaust victims.
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
athlete who set four world records and won 10 German national championships, in four different disciplines.
Henoch set world records in the discus
Discus
Discus, "disk" in Latin, may refer to:* Discus , a progressive rock band from Indonesia* Discus , a fictional character from the Marvel Comics Universe and enemy of Luke Cage* Discus , a freshwater fish popular with aquarium keepers...
(twice), the shot put
Shot put
The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action....
, and the 4 × 100 meters relay events. She also won German national championships in the shot put four times, the 4 × 100 meters relay three times, the discus twice, and the long jump
Long jump
The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point...
. She was Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, and during the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
she and her mother were deported and machine-gunned to death by the Nazis.
Early life
Henoch was Jewish, and was born in KönigsbergKönigsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
, East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
(Germany). Her father, a businessman, died in 1912. She and her family moved to Berlin, and her mother subsequently remarried.
Track and field career
Henoch set world records in the discusDiscus
Discus, "disk" in Latin, may refer to:* Discus , a progressive rock band from Indonesia* Discus , a fictional character from the Marvel Comics Universe and enemy of Luke Cage* Discus , a freshwater fish popular with aquarium keepers...
, shot put
Shot put
The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action....
, and—with her teammates—4 × 100 meters relay events.
Between 1922 and 1926, she won 10 German national championships: in shot put, 1922–25; discus, 1923 and 1924; long jump, 1924; and 4 × 100 meters relay, 1924–26.
After World War I, Henoch joined the Berlin Sports Club
Berliner Sport-Club
Berliner Sport-Club is a German football club from the city of Berlin.- History :Berliner SC was created out of the merger of Amateur-Sport-Club 1895 Berlin and Sport-Club 1896 Berlin. The club was known as Sport-Club 1895/1896 Berlin until simplifying its name to the current form in 1905.In its...
(BSC), which was approximately one quarter Jewish. She missed a chance to compete in the 1924 Summer Olympics
1924 Summer Olympics
The 1924 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VIII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1924 in Paris, France...
, because Germany was not allowed to participate in the Games after World War I. In 1924, she trained the women's section in Bar Kochba Berlin. She was a member of the BSC hockey team, which won the Berlin Hockey Championship in 1925.
Discus
She set her first world record in discus on October 1, 1922, in Berlin, with a toss of 24.90 meters. On July 8, 1923, in Berlin, she set a new discus world record, with a distance of 26.62 meters. She won the German national championship in discus in 1923 and 1924, and won the silver medal in 1925.Long jump
In 1924, Henoch won the German Long Jump Championship, having won the bronze medal in the event the prior year.Shot put
On August 16, 1925, in LeipzigLeipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, Henoch set the world shot put record with a toss of 11.57 meters. She won the German national championship in shot put in 1922–25, and won the silver medal in 1921 and 1926.
4 × 100 meters relay
In 1926, she ran the first leg on a 4 × 100 meters relay world record—50.40 seconds—in CologneCologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, breaking the prior record that had stood for 1,421 days by a full second. She won the German national championship in the 4 × 100 meters relay in 1924–26.
100 meter dash
In 1924, she won the silver medal at 100 meters in the German national championships.Post-Nazi-rise disruption of career
After Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
came to power in 1933, Henoch and all other Jews were forced to leave the membership of the BSC, by the Nazi's new race laws
Nuremberg Laws
The Nuremberg Laws of 1935 were antisemitic laws in Nazi Germany introduced at the annual Nuremberg Rally of the Nazi Party. After the takeover of power in 1933 by Hitler, Nazism became an official ideology incorporating scientific racism and antisemitism...
. She then joined the the Jüdischen Turn-und Sportclub 1905 (Jewish Gymnastics and Sports Club 1905), which was limited to Jews, for which she played team handball
Team handball
Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...
and was a trainer. She also became a gymnastics teacher at a Jewish elementary school.
Because she was Jewish, the German government did not allow her to participate in the 1936 Summer Olympics
1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain on April 26, 1931, at the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona...
.
Killing
The Nazi German government deported Henoch, her 66-year-old mother, and her brother to the Riga GhettoRiga Ghetto
The Riga Ghetto was a small area in Maskavas Forštate, neighborhood of Riga, Latvia, designated by the Nazis where Jews from Latvia, and later from Germany, were forced to live during World War II. On October 25, 1941, the Nazis relocated all Jews from Riga and the vicinity to the ghetto while the...
in Nazi Germany-occupied Latvia on September 5, 1942, during World War II. She and her mother were taken from the ghetto and machine-gunned to death by an Einsatzgruppen
Einsatzgruppen
Einsatzgruppen were SS paramilitary death squads that were responsible for mass killings, typically by shooting, of Jews in particular, but also significant numbers of other population groups and political categories...
mobile killing unit in September 1942, along with a large number of other Jews taken from the ghetto. They were all buried in a mass grave
Mass grave
A mass grave is a grave containing multiple number of human corpses, which may or may not be identified prior to burial. There is no strict definition of the minimum number of bodies required to constitute a mass grave, although the United Nations defines a mass grave as a burial site which...
in the woods outside Riga, Latvia. Her brother disappeared, without a trace.
Hall of Fame and commemoration
Henoch was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of FameInternational Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame was opened July 7, 1981, in Netanya, Israel. It honors Jewish athletes and their accomplishments from anywhere around the world....
in 1990.
A "Stolperstein" was installed in her honor in Berlin, in 2008. Stolpersteine (which literally means "stumbling blocks") are small shiny brass plaques, containing an inscribed biography of the key dates of a person's life and death, set into the ground before the former homes of Holocaust victims.
See also
- List of select Jewish track and field athletes
Further reading
- “Lilli Henoch. Fragmente aus dem Leben einer jüdischen Sportlerin und Turnlehrerin”, Ehlert, Martin-Heinz, Sozial- und Zeitgeschichte des Sports, Volume 3, Issue 2, pages 34–48, 1989
External links
- "Lilli Henoch and Martha Jacob – Two Jewish Athletes in Germany Before and After 1933", by Berno Bahroa, Sport in History, Volume 30, Issue 2, pages 267–87, 2010