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Salamo Arouch

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Salamo Arouch
Σολομόν Αρούχ
סלמו ארוך‎
Born(1923-01-01)1 January 1923
Thessaloniki, Kingdom of Greece
Died26 April 2009(2009-04-26) (aged 86)
Tel Aviv, Israel
Nationality
  • Greek
  • Israeli
Other names"The Ballet Dancer"
Statistics
Weight(s)Lightweight, welterweight, middleweight
Height5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
StanceSouthpaw

Salamo Arouch (Greek: Σολομόν Αρούχ; Hebrew: סלמו ארוך; 1 January 1923 – 26 April 2009) was a Greek-Israeli boxer and Holocaust survivor. The Middleweight Champion of Greece in 1938 and the All-Balkans Middleweight Champion in 1939, his career was cut short due to the outbreak of World War II in the following year. During the Axis occupation of Greece, Arouch, along with his entire family, was deported to German-occupied Poland, where he was interned at the Auschwitz concentration camp. There, he survived the Holocaust by being made to engage in makeshift boxing (over 200 bouts) with his fellow prisoners for the entertainment of German military officers.[1] His story was the subject of the 1989 film Triumph of the Spirit, in which he was portrayed by the American actor Willem Dafoe.[2][3]

Biography

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Early life and boxing career

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Salamo Arouch was born in 1923[4] in Thessaloniki, Greece, one of two sons in a family that also included three daughters.[5] His father was a stevedore who nurtured his son's interest in boxing, teaching him when he was a child. He worked briefly with his father as a stevedore.[4] Arouch said that when he was 14, he fought and won his first amateur boxing match [6] in 1937 in Maccabi Thessaloniki, a Jewish youth center and gymnasium. He also fought with the colors of Aris Thessaloniki. He won the Greek Middleweight Boxing Championship, and in 1939, won the All-Balkans Middleweight Championship, an achievement he was best known for. After compiling an undefeated record of 24 wins (24 knockouts),[7] Arouch was drafted into the Greek Army. He became a member of Greek Army's boxing team, winning three fights by knockout.

World War II and Axis invasion of Greece

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Deportation to Auschwitz-Birkenau and coerced boxing

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In 1943, Arouch and his family were transported by boxcar and interned in German Nazi Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in present-day Poland.[4] They arrived on May 15, 1943. In Auschwitz, where Arouch was tagged prisoner 136954, he said the commander sought boxers among the newly interned and, once assured of Arouch's abilities, set him to twice- or thrice-weekly boxing matches against other prisoners.[6]

According to Arouch, he was undefeated at Auschwitz, though two matches he was forced to fight while recovering from dysentery ended in draws.[6] Lodged with the other fighters forced to participate in these matches and paid in extra food or lighter work, Salamo fought 208 matches in his estimation,[8] knowing that prisoners who lost would be sent to the gas chamber or shot.[5] Fights generally lasted until one fighter went down or the Nazis got tired of watching.[8] Arouch claimed he weighed about 135 pounds and often fought much larger men. Once, he finished off a 250-pound opponent in only 18 seconds.[8]

Transfer to Bergen-Belson and liberation by the Allies

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Though Arouch survived the war, being released from Auschwitz on January 17, 1945, his parents and siblings did not. In 1945, he was transferred to Bergen-Belsen, where he worked performing slave labor until the allies liberated the camp.[9][4][5]

After the Holocaust

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Search for surviving family and immigration to Israel

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During a search for family at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in April, 1945, he met Marta Yechiel, a 17-year-old survivor from his own hometown.[4]

With Yechiel, he immigrated to Israel and settled in Tel Aviv, where he managed a shipping firm.[4][10] Arouch and Yechiel wed in November 1945 and raised a family of four.[4]

After the war he gave inspirational speeches. Arouch's undefeated boxing record (1937–1955) ended on June 8, 1955, when he was knocked out in four rounds by Italy's Amleto Falcinelli in Tel Aviv.[9]

Work on Triumph of the Spirit (1989)

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Arouch was a consultant on the movie, Triumph of the Spirit, the 1989 dramatic re-enactment of his early life.[10] He accompanied filmmakers several times on an emotional return to the concentration camp where large portions of the film were actually produced.[5] The film takes some artistic liberties with the biographical details of his life, including the renaming of his wife and placing her in his story prior to internment.[5]

After the movie came out, another Jewish boxer from Salonika, Jacques "Jacko" Razon, sued Arouch and the filmmakers for more than $20 million claiming that they had stolen his story and that Arouch had exaggerated his exploits. The case was later settled for US$30,000.[8]

Arouch lived in Tel Aviv, Bat Yam, and Rishon LeZion and died on April 26, 2009. He had been weakened by a stroke he suffered around 1994 and had been in declining health for six months prior to his death.[9]

Boxing record (career highlights)

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Result Record Opponent Method Date Round Time Event Location Notes
Loss  Amleto Falcinelli K.O. 1955 June 08 4 Tel Aviv, Israel
Win  Klaus Silber[11] K.O. 1944 1 Auschwitz-Birkenau, German-occupied Poland
Win  Unknown Pole K.O. 1943 March 1 Auschwitz-Birkenau, German-occupied Poland
Win  Unknown Czechoslovak K.O. 1943 March 1 0:18 Auschwitz-Birkenau, German-occupied Poland
Win  Chaim K.O. 1943 March 3 Auschwitz-Birkenau, German-occupied Poland
Win  Artino K.O. 1939 2 Thessalonica, Greece
Win  Papadopoulos K.O. 1939 1 Thessalonica, Greece
Win  Anagnos K.O. 1937 1 Thessalonica, Greece
Win  Christodoulou K.O. 1937 1 Thessalonica, Greece
Win  Thouvenin K.O. 1937 1 Thessalonica, Greece

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Barak, Roy (30 April 2009). "Auschwitz Inmate Who Survived by Boxing Dies Aged 86". Haaretz. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
  2. ^ Hevesi, Dennis (3 May 2009). "Salamo Arouch, Who Boxed for His Life in Auschwitz, Is Dead at 86". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 May 2009.
  3. ^ Atlas, Teddy; Peter Kaminsky; Peter Alson (2006). Atlas: From the Streets to the Ring : a Son's Struggle to Become a Man. HarperCollins. p. 141. ISBN 0-06-054240-3. The movie was based on the true story of Salamo Arouch, a Greek Jew who was sent to Auschwitz during World War II and literally had to fight for his life in boxing matches with other concentration camp inmates.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Schindehette, Susan; Jack Kelley; Mira Avrech (19 February 1990). "Boxer Salamo Arouch's Death Camp Bouts End in a Triumph of the Spirit". People Magazine. 33 (7). Retrieved 22 November 2008.
  5. ^ a b c d e Taliabue, John (14 May 1989). "Fighting for life itself in a Nazi boxing ring". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 November 2008.
  6. ^ a b c Berger, Phil (18 December 1989). "Prisoner in the ring". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 November 2008.
  7. ^ Hevesi, Dennis (4 May 2009). "Salamo Arouch, Who Boxed for His Life in Auschwitz, Is Dead at 86". The New York Times.
  8. ^ a b c d Schudel, Matt (1 May 2009). "Boxer Fought for His Life at Auschwitz". The Washington Post. p. B5.
  9. ^ a b c Transferred to Bergen Belson in "Salamo Arouch, 86; Survived Auschwitz by Boxing", The Arizona Republic, reprinted from the Los Angeles Times, Phoenix, Arizona, p. 14, May 5, 2009
  10. ^ a b Travers, Peter (1989). "Triumph of the Spirit". Rolling Stone. No. 570. Archived from the original on 20 November 2007. Retrieved 22 November 2008.
  11. ^ "Salamo Arouch Obituary". The Telegraph. 1 May 2009. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
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