Gertrude Kleinová
Encyclopedia
Gertrude "Traute or Trude" Kleinová (born in Brno
, Czechoslovakia
; August 13, 1918 – February 1975) was a three-time world champion table tennis
player, winning the women's team world championship twice, and the world mixed doubles once.
She and her first husband were deported by the Nazis to the Theresienstadt concentration camp
and eventually sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp
, where her husband was killed. She was posthumously inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
.
, England, she advanced to the quarterfinals in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles.
In March 1936, she also teamed with Miloslav Hamr
to win the gold medal
in the Mixed Doubles
10th World Table Tennis Championships
in Prague. In the competition they defeated Americans Buddy Blattner
and Jay Purves in the preliminaries, as they won 21–19 in the fifth game.
In the Women's Doubles in 1936, Kleinová and Jindra Holoubkova-Juarez lost to Americans World Champion Ruth Aarons
and Jay Purves in the quarter-finals, losing 21–19 in the fourth game. In singles, she advanced as far as the round of 32.
In 1937, in the Mixed Doubles at the World Table Tennis Championships in Baden
, Austria, Americans Abe Berenbaum and Emily Fuller upset the defending champions Kleinová and Hamr in the round of 32, by a score of −11, −15, 5, 19, 15. She also lost in the round of 16 in both singles and Womens Doubles.
Kleinová married Jacob Schalinger, the Chairman of her table tennis division, in 1939.
in December 1941. Each was eventually sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp
. She and Vogel survived, but her husband was killed.
She later married Vogel. After World War II concluded, in 1946 Kleinová and Vogel emigrated to the United States. She died of cancer in 1975.
.
Brno
Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
, Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
; August 13, 1918 – February 1975) was a three-time world champion table tennis
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
player, winning the women's team world championship twice, and the world mixed doubles once.
She and her first husband were deported by the Nazis to the Theresienstadt concentration camp
Theresienstadt concentration camp
Theresienstadt concentration camp was a Nazi German ghetto during World War II. It was established by the Gestapo in the fortress and garrison city of Terezín , located in what is now the Czech Republic.-History:The fortress of Terezín was constructed between the years 1780 and 1790 by the orders...
and eventually sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
, where her husband was killed. She was posthumously inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame was opened July 7, 1981, in Netanya, Israel. It honors Jewish athletes and their accomplishments from anywhere around the world....
.
Table tennis career
Kleinová was a member of the Czech national table tennis team that won the 1935 and 1936 Womens World Table Tennis Championships (the Corbillon Cup). At the 1935 championships in WembleyWembley
Wembley is an area of northwest London, England, and part of the London Borough of Brent. It is home to the famous Wembley Stadium and Wembley Arena...
, England, she advanced to the quarterfinals in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles.
In March 1936, she also teamed with Miloslav Hamr
Miloslav Hamr
Miloslav Hamr was a Czechoslovakian table tennis player, who was world champion in mixed doubles and team table tennis.-Table tennis career:In March 1936, he teamed with Gertrude Kleinová to win the gold medal in the Mixed Doubles 10th World Table Tennis Championships in Prague, in a competition...
to win the gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
in the Mixed Doubles
Mixed Doubles
Mixed Doubles: An Entertainment on Marriage is a programme consisting of a series of eight short plays or revue sketches, each with two characters, composed by various English playwrights. It was first performed on 6 February 1969 in the Hampstead Theatre Club with the title, We Who Are About To......
10th World Table Tennis Championships
World Table Tennis Championships
The World Table Tennis Championships are held since 1926, biennially since 1957. Seven events were included in the Championships. The World Team Table Tennis Championships, which include men's team and women's team events, were first their own competition in 2000. The Team Championships are held in...
in Prague. In the competition they defeated Americans Buddy Blattner
Buddy Blattner
Robert Garnett Blattner , commonly known as "Buddy" or "Bud" Blattner, was an American table tennis and baseball player and radio and television sportscaster.-Playing career:Blattner played table tennis in his youth, winning the world men's doubles championship in 1936...
and Jay Purves in the preliminaries, as they won 21–19 in the fifth game.
In the Women's Doubles in 1936, Kleinová and Jindra Holoubkova-Juarez lost to Americans World Champion Ruth Aarons
Ruth Aarons
-Biography:Aarons was Jewish, and lived in New York.Her main achievements were winning two gold medals in the singles competition at the World Table Tennis Championships in 1936 and 1937. She also won doubles and team medals in the World Table Tennis Championships....
and Jay Purves in the quarter-finals, losing 21–19 in the fourth game. In singles, she advanced as far as the round of 32.
In 1937, in the Mixed Doubles at the World Table Tennis Championships in Baden
Baden
Baden is a historical state on the east bank of the Rhine in the southwest of Germany, now the western part of the Baden-Württemberg of Germany....
, Austria, Americans Abe Berenbaum and Emily Fuller upset the defending champions Kleinová and Hamr in the round of 32, by a score of −11, −15, 5, 19, 15. She also lost in the round of 16 in both singles and Womens Doubles.
Kleinová married Jacob Schalinger, the Chairman of her table tennis division, in 1939.
Concentration camps, and later life
Kleinová and her husband, as well as her coach Eric Vogel, were deported by the Nazis to the Theresienstadt concentration campTheresienstadt concentration camp
Theresienstadt concentration camp was a Nazi German ghetto during World War II. It was established by the Gestapo in the fortress and garrison city of Terezín , located in what is now the Czech Republic.-History:The fortress of Terezín was constructed between the years 1780 and 1790 by the orders...
in December 1941. Each was eventually sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
. She and Vogel survived, but her husband was killed.
She later married Vogel. After World War II concluded, in 1946 Kleinová and Vogel emigrated to the United States. She died of cancer in 1975.
Hall of Fame
In 1994, Kleinová was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of FameInternational Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame was opened July 7, 1981, in Netanya, Israel. It honors Jewish athletes and their accomplishments from anywhere around the world....
.
See also
- List of victims and survivors of Auschwitz
- World Table Tennis ChampionshipsWorld Table Tennis ChampionshipsThe World Table Tennis Championships are held since 1926, biennially since 1957. Seven events were included in the Championships. The World Team Table Tennis Championships, which include men's team and women's team events, were first their own competition in 2000. The Team Championships are held in...
- List of select Jewish table tennis players