Gottfried Erik Fuchs (3 May 1889 – 25 February 1972), also known as Godfrey Fuchs, was a German Olympic footballer. He scored a then-world record 10 goals for the Germany national team in a 16–0 win against

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

at the 1912 Olympics. He left Germany to escape

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

, as he was Jewish, and ultimately emigrated to Canada.

Biography

Fuchs was

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. He was a direct descendant of the legendary medieval rabbi

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki (; ; ; 13 July 1105) was a French rabbi who authored comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Hebrew Bible. He is commonly known by the List of rabbis known by acronyms, Rabbinic acronym Rashi (). Born in Troyes, Rashi stud ...

. Fuchs debuted for the Germany national team at the age of 18. He played for (1904–06, 1914–20), and Karlsruher FV (1906–14)—winning the German national title in 1910, beating Holstein Kiel 1–0. In 1912, they lost the final against Holstein Kiel, 1–0. Between 1911 and 1913 he was considered the best centre in the world. During this time period, he earned six caps and scored 13 goals. Fuchs was part of the legendary attacking trio of Karlsruher FV with Fritz Förderer and Julius Hirsch (who was killed in

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

). He was the first German player to score four goals in a single match. He is remembered for scoring a world record 10 goals for Germany in a 16–0 win against

at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm on 1 July, becoming the top scorer of the tournament; his international record was not surpassed until 2001 when

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

's Archie Thompson scored 13 goals in a 31–0 defeat of

American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...

. This performance of 10 goals in one international match tied a record set by

Sophus Nielsen Sophus Erhard "Krølben" Nielsen (15 March 1888 – 6 August 1963) was a Danish amateur football player and manager, and the first player in history to score ten goals in a full national team match. Nielsen scored a total 16 goals in 20 games for ...

at the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were originally schedu ...

, which remained on the books until

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

. The

German Football Association The German Football Association ( ; DFB ) is the governing body of Association football, football, futsal, and beach soccer in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB has jurisdiction for the German football league system and ...

erased all references to him from their records between 1933 and 1945. He had the record of being the top German scorer in one match. He served in the

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

in World War I as an artillery officer and was awarded the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

. In 1928, he and his family moved to Berlin. He was a member of the local tennis club Nikolassee e. V., but it barred him from membership in 1935. A German Jew, he was exiled and fled

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

in 1937 because of

and emigrated first to England and then in 1940 to Canada. His older brother was composer and architect Richard Fuchs. When, years after the Holocaust in 1972, German former player and national team coach

Sepp Herberger Josef "Sepp" Herberger (28 March 1897 – 28 April 1977) was a German football player and manager. He is most famous for being the manager of the West Germany national team that won the 1954 FIFA World Cup final, a match later dubbed '' The Mir ...

asked the German Football Association vice president Hermann Neuberger to invite Fuchs as a guest or a guest of honour to an international against Russia on the 60th anniversary of Fuchs' performance for the German team, the DFB Executive Committee declined to do so, writing that it was not willing to invite Fuchs because it would have created an unfortunate precedent (as was pointed out, given that Fuchs was the last remaining former Jewish German international, the DFB's concern about creating a precedent was a difficult one to understand).

References

External links

Pictures at Karlsruher-fv1891.de
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fuchs, Gottfried 1889 births 1972 deaths Jewish Canadian sportspeople Jewish German sportspeople Jewish footballers German men's footballers Germany men's international footballers Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Canada Olympic footballers for Germany Footballers at the 1912 Summer Olympics Karlsruher FV players Footballers from Karlsruhe Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914) Men's association football forwards 20th-century German sportsmen

Biography

See also

References

External links