In a world where antisemitism is once again raising its head, including in international sport, the Jewish champions erased from history must be restored to it.

When we speak about the Holocaust, we tend to think in numbers: six million Jews murdered, thousands of communities destroyed, and an entire Jewish world annihilated. Yet behind those numbers were also Olympic champions, world-record holders, national champions, and athletes regarded as the finest in their fields.

Before the Second World War, Jewish athletes were among the leading forces in European sport. They won Olympic medals, led national teams, and excelled in nearly every discipline: gymnastics, fencing, swimming, athletics, football, boxing, rowing, tennis, wrestling, and ice hockey. They were not only outstanding competitors; they were cultural heroes in their countries.

This month marks the 90th anniversary of the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Hitler’s carefully orchestrated propaganda spectacle and a defining turning point. While the world admired the new stadiums, flashy ceremonies, and flawless organization, the Nazi regime was already excluding Jewish athletes from clubs, national teams, and the center of sporting life. The Games were used to project an image of an enlightened and modern Germany, even as racism, antisemitism, and persecution deepened beneath the surface.

The persecution of Jewish athletes did not begin at Auschwitz. It began on the playing field.

We will never know how many Jewish athletes were murdered in the Holocaust. Many were killed at Auschwitz-Birkenau, Theresienstadt,........

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