THE BOXER WHO SURVIVED THE HOLOCAUST

Salamo Arouch – The Holocaust Victim Who Survived Auschwitz Through Boxing.

The protagonist of one of the greatest tales in boxing history, Salamo Arouch was a fighter whose talent literally saved his life.

Born in Greece, the southpaw ‘Ballet Dancer’ was sent to Auschwitz in 1943. Ordered to entertain both SS and Nazi officers throughout his time spent under their control, Arouch was one of 47,000 Jews from his home that were sent to the death camp. Held prisoner for just over a year and a half, it is estimated that the Greek/Israeli middleweight competed in over 200 hundred fights whilst in occupied Poland – defeat meant death.

His story, portrayed in the 1989 film ‘Triumph of the Spirit’, saw the undefeated 24-0 (prior to his arrival in Auschwitz) 1938 champion of Greece lose only once in his long career – Italian Amleto Falcinelli winning by knockout after the war in 1955.

Transferred in 1945 to work as a slave labourer in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, Arouch was the only one of his immediate family to survive the war, the 22-year-old eventually liberated by the Allies.

Forced to compete up to three times a week by his capturers, it is important to remember stories like Arouch’s on Holocaust Remembrance Day (Monday 27th January). Far from the prize money earnt by a winner today, the reward as a prisoner (other than survival) was a loaf of bread that was shared with fellow victims.

While boxing continues to develop, the horrors of the past can be easily forgotten. Passing away in 2009, Arouch died a businessman with an incredible tale that should continue to be told.

“We fought until one went down or they got sick of watching. They wouldn’t leave until they saw blood. The loser would be badly weakened. The Nazis shot the weak.” – Arouch talking to People Magazine in 1990.

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Author – Noah Abrahams