Splitter der Herrschaft: Schach im Generalgouvernement in Polen 1939-1945
Splintered Subjugation: Chess in the General Government in Poland 1939-1945

Summary/Abstract: In a context of internecine conflicts, mass murder and exploitation within the Nazioccupied General Government in Poland, the idea of chess as a popular non-political pastime became untenable. The motto of the World Chess Federation FIDE, gens una sumus, was nullified in the social hierarchy between the German perpetrators of terror and their victims among indigenous communities. In the “gray areas” of everyday culture any shared interest in the game was suppressed by rigid boundaries. Supported by the chess enthusiasm of the Governor General Hans Frank, top players from Germany were attracted to participate in a series of chess tournaments with world class professionals like the World Champion Alexander Alekhine and his rival Efim Bogoljubow. Both were officially employed by the Propaganda Department and, like their fellow-travelling elite competitors, they benefitted from the privileges of a dominant small minority. In the chief cities Kraków and Warsaw and other district capitals chess clubs were organized for the military and civilian German residents. Other communities, except Ukrainians, were excluded, but Polish players found avenues for playing the game, be it on the level of privacy or even in contact with German players. While they were barred from any organized sports, they persisted in playing the game in cafés and clandestine meetings. The inhabitants of the Jewish ghettoes were, on a few occasions, permitted to organize chess matches. The regional minorities of Ukrainians were, in hopes of enhancing their collaboration with the Nazis, encouraged to organize their sports and games, particularly in Galicia. The propaganda press of the Kraków administration provided chess columns in Slavonic languages. Personal contacts in chess matters could never be completely suppressed. Altogether, the complexities of the situation led to a profusion of contradictions that defied any complete control by the occupants.

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