Forgiving the Nazis too great a leap for Gretel Bergmann
Her voice was fragile but her spirit unbowed as former German high jumper Gretel Bergmann celebrated her 102nd birthday in New York a fortnight ago. Bergmann says she will “never, never, never” forgive the German Nazi regime for denying her the chance to
“I am feeling quite well,” Bergmann says. “A lot of things have happened and I take it as it comes.”
Two years ago, when she turned 100, she said: “I am surprised to be alive because I have experienced so many terrible things and under Nazis had to expect every day to die.”
Bergmann left her German hometown of Laupheim in 1937, fearing for her life and with bitter feelings. The emigrated to New York where she is still living, in the Queens district.
She swore never to return to Germany but eventually did so in 1999 to accept a prize. She was later entered into the “Hall of Fame” of the German Sports Aid Foundation.
Bergmann was one of the world’s leading high jumpers ahead of the1936 Games and equalled the German record with 1.60 metres. But she was only entered into the German Olympic team after the US threatened to boycott the Games if no Jews were admitted to the German team. Bergmann was dropped again as soon as the Americans departed for Berlin. Bergmann has insisted she would have won Olympic gold but these days she is not sure whether that would have changed her life.
“I don’t know. I had good times and bad times. Now I am not really thinking about it anymore,” she said.
Hungary’s Ibolya Csak took the gold with 1.60m while Dora Ratjen took fourth place in place of Bergmann. She was later revealed to be a man, Heinrich Ratjen, a fact Bergman learnt in 1966.
“He was my room-mate. I never thought it wasn’t a woman,” Bergmann once said. Bergmann continued her high jump career in the US, becoming national champion in 1937 and 1938, while despising everything about her former home country.
“I hated Germany, the people and even the language for what it did tome and the Jewish people,” she once said, while also admitting in 1996 in the Schwaebische Zeitung that her fate was not a big deal” compared to the fate of the 6 million innocent Jews who were killed.”
Now she says “I have to accept what has happened” and already looks ahead to her 103rd birthday next year: “You can call me again – I am here.”
