I was born in Vienna
to a family that had long established itself there.
They saw themselves as Austrians, Viennese.
So, I have to say that until -
I was at Velden, near Pörtschach.
It was summer vacation,
and I was swimming happily
until Zsigo Wertheimer asked me if I wanted to swim for Hakoah.
Back then, I didn't know what Hakoah was.
I had no connection to Judaism,
like a little Gentile girl who, at 15,
joins a sports club because she can swim well.
That’s all.
Later it had a much more profound meaning.
I was a promising swimmer in Hakoah,
but I was still young.
My sister Judith was the real champion.
Every day at 6:00 p. m. Sharp I visit her.
We drink some vermouth and have a chat.
Since we both love poetry we read some poems.
Cheers.
Let’s read a bit...
from "Poet’s Love. "
"- A boy"- "- A boy loves a girl"-
Speak more slowly.
A boy loves a girl. She has chosen another.
That other loves another and it is this one he has wed.
"The girl"-
in anger takes the next best fellow
who comes her way. The boy takes it badly.
It is an old tale, but it always stays fresh,
and to whom it actually happens, it breaks his heart asunder.
What type of swimming were you the champion of?
The crawl.
What distance?
I wasn't so great in the 100 meter, good in the 400,
but in the 500-1,500, I was the best.
Later, others swam faster, but in my day, I was the best.
Is Hanni a good sister?
- I beg your pardon? - Is Hanni a good sister?
Excellent.
Were you friends as children too?
Not always.
I remember when I decided... it was nonsense.
I think I was 12.
We've been friends ever since. Sisters and friends.
I saw pictures of you in Pörtschach.
Yes, at the Wörthersee.
Hakoah was formed
for the following reason:
In Austria...
an Aryan Clause was introduced.
That is,
in Vienna there were 200,000 Jews.
They had many children.
Some clubs -
soccer clubs, swimming clubs -
wouldn't accept Jews.
That’s why, in 1909,
Hakoah was formed.
It was announced:
"Here, Jewish children,
Jewish youth, can practice sports. "
That trip was very significant for me.
It changed my whole life.
I don't know how to describe it.
I simply fell in love with the country.
The freedom, the welcome,
the way Jews treated me.
I wasn't used to things like that.
I was told what it meant to be Jewish.
Suddenly I felt that maybe I did belong.
Maybe it was wrong that I felt so alienated.
I was a guest of the Biran family in Haifa,
and they were so warm and so kind to me
that I wanted to stay, not to leave them,
because it was a very different life from the life I had at home.
At home there was a huge distance between children and parents,
and there, they were together.
They respected their children.
They were interested in what I did,
what I studied, what I wanted and didn't want.
It was a real change.
When I returned home to Vienna,
I told my parents that I had decided to emigrate to Palestine.
My father took my hand and said:
"I am very glad to hear it. "
He was being sarcastic, of course.
"When are you going? Tomorrow? The next day? In a month? When?"
I was so offended by his response, because he didn't take me seriously.
Yes?
Fate had it, that after the Anschluss, in 1938,
my parents had to leave their home
and their coffee house,
and they were left with nothing.
Through me, and through Hakoah,
they were able to get onto an illegal ship,
that took them to Palestine.
It saved their lives.
So that sarcasm: "When are you going to Palestine?"
With lots of-
It wasn't just sarcasm.
It was humiliating, simply humiliating.
"That stupid girl wants to go to Palestine. "
Later they learned that Palestine saved their lives.
In Vienna I didn't look at him, because he didn't look at me,
but when I was on the bus with him, yes, I did look at him.
But that was it. We didn't get involved.
Through Hakoah and the Hakoah newsletter,
we knew all about each other.
The next time we met was a year ago.
One day I got a phone call from this lovely lady,
whom I hadn't heard from in years,
inviting me for coffee and cake on such and such a day.
We went to the Kapulsky Café by the beach.
We got there at 8:45,
and the first time I checked my watch, it was already 11:45.
We enjoyed the company so much, talking about the memories,
and we've been together ever since.
That’s it. I got caught in the net. What can I do?
Be careful. You may just fall out of the net.
Can love still happen at your age?
Do you understand what he's asking?
Yes, I do, but you answer first.
Definitely.
Meaning?
With passion...
and physical attraction.
Maybe the style is different,
but yes, it’s very satisfying.
- It is, isn't it? - Yes.
Hakoah isn't a subject for some dry lecture.
It’s like a folk tale.
A Jewish boy had to study, had to get his doctorate,
had to go into his father's business.
But to be an athlete?
The greater the success, the more people wanted to join.
So they formed a swimming section,
a water polo section,
wrestling, etc.
Over the years,
Hakoah Vienna became the biggest sports club in the world.
I've researched all over the world,
including the U. S. A., Germany, etc.,
and I haven't found a sports club
with so many active members - over 3,000-
who participated in competitions in all branches of sports.
And as I told you before, there was not one Austrian national team...
that didn't have at least three, four,
if not 90% Hakoah Vienna members.
You wanted to know about the 1936 Olympics,
when Hitler was the dictator there.
We never went to Germany once Hitler was in power,
but Judith had to represent Austria,
because she was the champion.
If I remember correctly, she broke 12 records that year.
It was Judith and two other Hakoah swimmers.
She went to our father and said:
"What do you think?
I don't think I should go to Hitler.
There are signs in all the parks and the pools saying:
'Dogs and Jews are forbidden. '
Exactly that: 'Dogs and Jews. "'
So our father said:
"Judith, it’s your decision,
participating in the Olympics for a swimmer
after devoting half your life
and not to reach this peak,
is a really tough decision,
but I can't influence you. "
Then Judith decided,
with great courage, in my opinion,
"I'm not going. "
The Olympic games have begun.
The best athletes in the world have gathered in Berlin.
The best in the world have come to Berlin.
Fifty-one countries compete for victory.
I claim you were the first person who stood up to Hitler.
True.
As Führer and Chancellor of the German Nation and Reich,
I herewith announce before German history...
the entry of my homeland into the German Reich.!
The "Gemütlichkeit," the coziness.
Where was the "coziness"...
when they chased us, humiliated us, insulted us?
Where was the "coziness"?
The Viennese charm. Where did it disappear to?
I can't forget the humiliation we experienced,
the rejection, the danger, the fear,
and the persecution of so many people,
friends and family.
I can never forget that.
I can never meet people -
I automatically start to calculate
how old they were in 1938.
If they are around my age, I can't even look at them.
I was at a psychologists' conference in London,
and I don't know how this man,
who was around my age, found out.
He was Austrian.
I knew who he was, because he gave a very good lecture.
He approached me, and I turned around and left.
I just couldn't -
The memory?
Yes.
Maybe I can't forgive, maybe I can't understand.
I just can't.
I can't find Mr. Rosenfeld. Do you see Mr. Rosenfeld?
He and Zsigo saved everyone from the Nazis.
It was amazing.
Mr. Rosenfeld was our President.
He escaped to London.
The Nazis were so furious that,
when they only found his dog, they killed it.
Zsigo, our trainer, also escaped.
Together, they saved all the Hakoah swimmers.
It was amazing.
They stole stamps and did all kinds of things
to save all the swimmers.
I was only 17.
My sister was a year older.
Hakoah approached my parents
and offered to take us on an illegal ship.
No one knew where and if we would arrive.
We arrived a month later,
from Vienna to Israel on an illegal ship.
That’s why this thought and memory
has stayed with me until the end.
I believe that because of Hakoah, we were saved.
Tell me about the trip to Vienna.
How do you feel about it?
Initially, I told you that I didn't feel like going.
To London, I'd go tomorrow. I don't feel like going to Vienna.
When you said "Opera," I was a little tempted.
Or operetta. I hear there isn't much opera now.
But you really got me when you said I could bring my granddaughter.
To spend five days with Amiti, just me, that’s wonderful!
It’s not easy to go back there.
There are too many painful memories.
But on the other hand,
maybe it’s good to go back.
Maybe I can mend those memories.
Judith!
So, Judith, this is it.
- Bye! - I'm going.
- Shall I walk you home? - Yes, please.
Only you, Vienna
There's a song like that.
You must always be the city of my dreams
You must always be the city of my dreams.
But they left me, those dreams.
But what did we do wrong?
Here. Here.
Things have changed a lot.
A bit. A bit.
More than a bit.
I don't know how long it’s been since you were here, but -
My memories go back long before you were born.
- 63 years. - Oh, that is a long time.
Did you emigrate to America?
Pardon?
- Did you emigrate? - Yes.
- Well, they kicked me out. - You don't say.
But I was lucky enough to be able to get to America.
I lived here for a year and a half under Hitler.
- Not pleasant. - When was that?
From Hitler's entry, the so-called Anschluss,
in March 1938,
until August 1939.
I was on the ship when the war broke out.
- Those were terrible times. - Yes.
- Not for everyone. - That’s right.
Not for everyone, but for most.
For...
non-natives, so to speak.
Well, I can't see myself as a non-native.
My mother was born in Vienna. I was born in Vienna.
But that’s the way it was.
You weren't German, so to speak.
And he said "non-native"today.
Over 65 years.
I can't believe it!
This isn't very crunchy either.
- Wonderful. - You should take it back.
- Do you have to touch everything? - I washed my hands.
My girl wants hot chocolate.
He was so handsome.
Yes, we were crazy about him.
That’s me.
No, that’s me. That’s Ruth.
This is the water polo team.
- That’s Arthur Körbler. - I don't remember him.
I was madly in love with him on the "Roma" deck.
Do you remember Pauli Steiner? But he wasn't interested at all.
- He wasn't interested in me. - His loss.
Judith, you, Ruth,
Lucie, and me in Pörtschach.
What a fantastic figure!
In 1936 they held the Olympics in Berlin
and the Olympic torch passed through Vienna on its way to Berlin.
They invited all the sports clubs to a parade.
It was full of people from all sides.
The EWASK marched and everyone cheered.
They shouted "Bravo! Bravo!"
They also shouted "Heil Hitler!" Which was forbidden then.
Until 1938, the Nazis were outlawed.
Then we marched,
and there was silence.
It was totally silent,
a silence full of fear.
You can't imagine it.
From both sides, we felt the hatred,
mass hatred.
I felt terrible.
It really was one of my most horrible experiences.
It ended when we all ran quickly,
very quickly, back to our club.
We had a clubhouse.
We ran as fast as we could.
We were afraid someone might attack us.
Really quickly.
We went in and shut the door,
and we all hugged and kissed.
It felt so good to have friends,
to belong.
Never mind what happened. I belonged.
I thought about it years later.
When you have such hatred from the masses,
the hatred of the masses, the fear and danger-
That’s it. That’s the story of this place.
It’s the first time I've heard it.
The first time you've heard it? It stayed deep inside me.
That’s it.
Finished.
- It won't happen to me again, right? - Right.
And it will never happen to you either Never, never.
Good evening.
He followed her trail
Because he desired her so
All the way to the hunting ground
There he spoke to her:
Schnucki, oh Schnucki
Let’s go to Kentucky
At the Old Shatterhand Bar
Plays an Indian Band
Then off to the pampas
For a glass of champagne
The train leaves at 7:30
I have spoken. Cheers.!
A good drop, three times daily
That’s the best medicine
When something special happens
Is there reason to despair
Then a larger dose strengthens
And you'll get healthy as a bear
Hello
When the day awakes, before the sun smiles
The columns are marching to the day's toils
Into the breaking dawn
And the forest is black, and the heaven is red
And in our bags we have a piece of bread
And in our hearts the sorrows
Oh Buchenwald, I cannot forget you
Because you are my fate
Whoever leaves you, he alone can measure
How wonderful freedom is
Oh Buchenwald, we don't lament and wail
Whatever our fate may be
But we want to say yes to life
The day will come when we are free
But we want to say yes to life
The day will come when we are free
Who woulïve thought that Leopoldi,
an assimilated Jew, and an Austrian patriot,
would be one of the first sent to Buchenwald after the Anschluss in 1938.
Ironically, it was there that he met Lehár's librettist,
the first president of Hakoah Vienna, Fritz Löhner "Beda".
The commander of the camp ordered them to write
the infamous "Buchenwald March. "
On a freezing night in December 1938,
over 7,000 prisoners were lined up in the roll call square.
There they had to practice the march,
and they couldn't go to sleep, until the commander was satisfied.
No one who was there will ever forget that horrifying concert.
Oh Buchenwald, I cannot forget you
Because you are my fate
Whoever leaves you, he alone can measure
How wonderful freedom is
Oh Buchenwald, we don't lament and wail
Whatever our fate may be
But we want to say yes to life
The day will come when we are free
But we want to say yes to life
The day will come when we are free
He went too far.
"To the best friend, and loyal Hakoah member,
your grateful club members. "
Don't experiment.
- I don't want to stay here. - Not yet.
That’s how life is.
He was a -
Yes, a driving force, a character.
Someone who knew us well,
not always in the best situations,
but he was an important figure for us.
Without him we wouldn't have been as good as we were.