The Boxer Who Opposed Nazi Germany

 by Tishe Osunlana

Rohann “Rukeli” Trollman was a Sinti Roma boxer who lived in Germany during the Nazi regime. He was born in Hannover in 1907 as one of eleven children in a large Roma family. By the time he was 10 he proved to have great talent for the sport and his reputation grew in boxing clubs like the BC Heros Hannover and the BC Sparta Hannover-Linden. It was during this period of growth when Rohann earned the nickname “Rukeli”, which originated from the Romani word for tree that was meant to praise his strength in matches and his inability to be taken down.

As an amateur he was hitting monumental milestones as he won four regional championships and the North German championship. He was even on track to represent Germany in the 1928 Olympics at the age of 21. This was sadly opposed by officials due to his “non-German” fighting style, this was obviously one of the earliest encounters of racism that inhibited his career. Through dedication and sheer determination he turned pro in two years in Berlin. In 1932 he amazingly won 32 matches and unfortunately as his fame grew his opposition in fascist media also grew. On the 9 of June 1933 he was paired with Adolf Witt in a politically charged match with Witt representing the favoured Aryan and Rukeli the disgraced Roma. However Rukeli had true talent and was not easily defeated. For six rounds he controlled the fight. Despite that, the Chairman of the Boxing Association was a member of the Nazi party and ruled the match as a “no decision”. Nevertheless, Trollman's dedicated fans were outraged and forced the Association to revoke the decision.

Surprisingly Hitler was an avid boxing fan and this series of events enraged him. Within a week Rukeli lost his belt for “bad boxing” and “bad behaviour”. He went through an era of defiance towards the Association's racist actions but it was cut short. By 1938 the Sinti population in Germany were demoted to equal status with the Jews. This meant they had to either be forcibly sterilised or sent to a concentration camp. Trollman opted for sterilisation and divorced his non-Sinti wife to protect his family.

In 1939 he was conscripted to serve in the army but was discharged in 3 years due to racial discrimination. That same summer Rohann was arrested in his hometown of Hannover and was sent to a concentration camp in Hamburg. There he was forced to train German soldiers in addition to his labour camp duties.

Johann was transferred to Wittenberg after a conspiracy was discovered, which aimed to fake his death. In this camp after years of abuse and mistreatment he was challenged to a boxing match by a high-ranking officer by the name of Emil Cornelius. And he won.

As revenge Cornelius murdered him in front of other inmates during their labour duties.

More than half a century later his daughter and other descendants finally received his championship belt and his legacy as a champion boxer was reinstated. Although he was disrespected in his lifetime posthumously he has become an admirable figure lauded by all.