József Braun, standing in the centre with the Hungary team for the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris, remains one of football's forgotten greats. In his new book, David Bolchover delves into the lives of Jewish footballers who perished in the Holocaust, highlighting Braun's exceptional talent and tragic fate.
The Question of the Greatest Jewish Footballer
When asked about the best Brazilian player, Pelé comes to mind; for Argentina, Maradona or Messi; Hungary, Puskas; Holland, Cruyff; Germany, Beckenbauer; Portugal, Eusébio or Ronaldo; France, Zidane; England, perhaps Bobby Charlton. But what about the best Jewish footballer ever? This question often stumps even historically literate Jewish football enthusiasts, leading to silence or a smile suggesting Jews aren't good at football. However, after extensive research, Bolchover identifies two outstanding talents: Kalman Konrad and Jozsef Braun, both right-sided attacking players from Hungary.
József Braun's Rise and Fall
Braun, the youngest of 12 siblings from a religious Jewish family in Putnok, Hungary, was selected for the national team at age 17. Known for his lightning speed and technical skill, his career was cut short by injuries from vengeful defenders. By age 41, he was murdered as a slave laborer in a Russian winter by Hungarians who once admired his football feats. The last image shows guards extracting gold teeth from his body.
Unlike Eusébio, Cruyff, or Maradona, Braun received no posthumous tributes. The genocide not only killed six million Jews but shattered collective memory, erasing stories like Braun's. Most who remembered him died alongside him, leaving no one to pass on his legacy.
Bolchover's Exploration of Jewish Football Heritage
Bolchover previously wrote about Bela Guttmann, a renowned Jewish coach who survived the Holocaust. Researching Guttmann revealed the vast role European Jews played in football before the war—top players, innovative coaches, Zionist teams, club presidents, and passionate fans. This discovery led Bolchover to focus on those who did not survive, such as Braun, to illustrate the rule of obliteration rather than the exception of survival.
Bolchover also collected stories of Jewish athletes in other sports, like boxer Salamo Arouch, who fought 200 bouts in Auschwitz, and swimmer Alfred Nakache, who broke world records after surviving camps. Yet, the stories of those who perished, like Braun, often go untold. This edited extract from Digging Deep: Unearthing the Stories of Eleven Murdered Jewish Footballing Greats (Biteback, £22) by David Bolchover aims to correct that.
