Polscy Duchowni – Heftlindzy A Rozgrywki Piłki Nożnej w Konzentrationslager Dachau – Cz. II
Polish Clergymen – Prisoners and the Football Contest in Konzentrationlager Dachau – Part Two
Author(s): Jacek BrakowskiSubject(s): Studies in violence and power, WW II and following years (1940 - 1949), Fascism, Nazism and WW II
Published by: Towarzystwo Naukowe Franciszka Salezego (TNFS)
Keywords: World War II; concentration camps; KL Dachau; football;
Summary/Abstract: After the German failure in the Battle of Stalingrad in 1943, Germans ordered organization of sport competitions in concentration camps. The idea was also implemented in KL Dachau where regular soccer matches were organized. Polish clergy prisoners took part in those sport events. The clergymen used it as an opportunity to remind themselves as well as the other prisoners that they were not only numbers destined to slave work and eventual extermination but human beings endowed with spiritual power and dignity. A few among the clergymen, thanks to their sporting and moral stance, became exemplars for the other prisoner comrades. They were able to inspire them with faith and hope for survival in the un-human conditions of the German death camps.
Journal: Seminare. Poszukiwania naukowe
- Issue Year: 38/2017
- Issue No: 3
- Page Range: 169-182
- Page Count: 14
- Language: Polish