Józef Klotz (2 January 1900 – 1941) was a Jewish Polish footballer who played as a forward.[1][2] He scored the first ever goal for the Poland national team. He was killed by the Nazis in the Warsaw Ghetto in 1941.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 2 January 1900 | ||
| Place of birth | Kraków, Galicia, Austria-Hungary | ||
| Date of death | 1941 (aged 40–41) | ||
| Place of death | Warsaw Ghetto, General Government | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1910–1912 | Jutrzenka Kraków | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1912–1925 | Jutrzenka Kraków | ||
| 1925–1929 | Makabi Warsaw | ||
| International career | |||
| 1922 | Poland | 2 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Biography
editKlotz was born in Kraków, southern Poland, and was Jewish.[1][3] His father was a shoemaker.[4]
He scored the first ever goal for the Poland national team. He scored it against Sweden in Stockholm in May 1922, in the team's third international match.[3][5][1][6][7]
Klotz played for two clubs. He played first for Jutrzenka Kraków, which he joined as a youth team player and played for from 1912 to 1925, and then for Makabi Warsaw from 1925 to 1929 (both teams were Jewish minority teams).[8][4][9] He retired as a player in 1930.[4]
He was imprisoned in the Warsaw Ghetto in 1940. He was murdered there by the Germans in 1941.[3][10][7][1][4]
In 2019, Klotz was honored by the Polish Football Association.[3][11]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d Bolchover, David (6 May 2019). "Remembering the cream of Jewish footballing talent killed in the Holocaust". The Guardian.
- ^ Grunwald-Spier, Agnes (2016). Who Betrayed the Jews?: The Realities of Nazi Persecution in the Holocaust. The History Press. ISBN 9780750958011 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c d "Poland honors national soccer player murdered in Holocaust" Israel HaYom, 11 June 2019.
- ^ a b c d Nick Westerby (10 June 2019). "The man who scored Poland's first ever goal remembered ahead of tonight's game against Israel". The First News.
- ^ Radosław Kossakowski, Przemysław Nosal, Wojciech Woźniak (2020). Politics, Ideology and Football Fandom; The Transformation of Modern Poland
- ^ Henryk Vogler (1994). Wyznanie mojżeszowe: wspomnienia z utraconego czasu. pg 16: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy. p. 123. ISBN 83-06-02355-2.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) - ^ a b Eldad Beck (8 August 2010). "Anti-Semitism feared ahead of Euro 2012". Ynetnews.
- ^ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Józef Klotz". www.national-football-teams.com.
- ^ Liphshiz, Cnaan (7 June 2019). "Polish soccer team honors Holocaust victim who scored its 1st international goal". The Times of Israel.
- ^ Grunwald-Spier, Agnes (2016). Who Betrayed the Jews?: The Realities of Nazi Persecution in the Holocaust. The History Press. ISBN 9780750958011 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Before Polish-Israeli soccer match, murdered Jewish player honored". The Jerusalem Post. 10 June 2019.
Sources
edit- ^ Andrzej Gowarzewski "FUJI Football Encyclopedia – History of the Polish National Team (1) – White and Red" ; GiA Katowice 1991