Ruth Langer, later known as Ruth Lawrence (21 May 1921-2 May 1999), was an Austrian swimmer who competed both nationally and internationally. Langer won several national titles, beginning at age 14 when she established the Austrian records for the 100m and 400m freestyle, and won the Austrian championship that year. She won a bronze medal at the

1935 Maccabiah Games The 2nd Maccabiah ( he, המכביה השנייה), aka the Aliyah Olympics, which was held in April 1935, was the second edition of the Maccabiah Games. The Games were held despite official opposition by the British Mandatory government. A total ...

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 i ...

, in the 200 m breaststroke. Selected for the Austrian Olympic Team, which was due to compete in the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics ( German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad ( German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi- ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, she refused to participate, as a protest against the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...

regime in Germany and their anti-semitism. In retaliation, Langer was banned for life by the Austrian Swimming Federation from competing in Austria. The lifetime ban was not lifted until 60 years later, at which time the

Republic of Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ci ...

and the Austrian Swimming Federation officially apologized to her, and reinstated her titles and honors which they had repealed.

Personal life

Langer was born in

Vienna, Austria en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, to Wilhelm (a silk merchant) and Frimette Langer, and was Jewish. She had a younger brother, Alfred.

Swimming career

Austria

Langer began swimming competitively at the age of 11. Her father brought her to coach Zsigo Wertheimer, who encouraged her to join the Hakoah Vienna swimming club, which had become the leading sports club in interwar Austria. Langer won several national titles, beginning at age 14 when she established the Austrian records for the 100m and 400m freestyle, and won the Austrian championships at those distances that year. She represented Austria in the

, where she won a bronze medal in the 200 m breaststroke. Langer was selected to compete in the 400m freestyle and the 4x100m freestyle relay for the Austrian Olympic Team, which was due to compete in the

Anti-semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Ant ...

in Austria was strong, and the pools at which she and the other swimmers would engage in their final training had signs saying: "No entry for dogs and Jews." She refused to participate in the Games in Berlin, along with Austrian Jewish swimmers Judith Deutsch and Lucy Goldner, also members of Hakoach Vienna, as a protest against the

regime in Germany and their anti-semitism saying; "We do not boycott Olympia, but Berlin". In retaliation, Langer and the other two girls were banned immediately by the Austrian Swimming Federation from competing in Austria for two years as a result of their refusal, and the Federation expunged the records of all Jewish victories, and removed the names of all Jewish swimmers from the Austrian record books. Later, after Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany, a lifetime ban was entered against her. After the annexation, Viennese athletes forced Langer to clean the SS and SA barracks. Hakoah Vienna was dissolved in April 1938 along with all other Jewish sports clubs, its stadium was confiscated, and two Hakoah officials who happened to be there at the time were deported to

Dachau concentration camp Dachau () was the first concentration camp built by Nazi Germany, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents which consisted of: communists, social democrats, and other dissidents. It is ...

. At least 37 members of Hakoah Vienna were murdered in Nazi concentration camps. The lifetime ban was not lifted until 1995. At that time the

and the Austrian Swimming Federation officially apologized to Langer, and reinstated her titles and honors which they had repealed 60 years earlier. Ruth and the two other women declined their invitations to go to Austria for the reinstatement ceremony.

Later life

Langer escaped from Austria to Italy in June 1938, traveling to a swim meet in

Milan, Italy Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, with false papers, dying her hair blonde, and identifying her as a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

. She stayed in Italy until September 1938. She then went to England in 1939. She competed in, and won, the last

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the ...

long-distance British championship race the same year. However, after the outbreak of World War Two, insasmuch as she held a German passport she was initially treated by the British as an "

enemy alien In customary international law, an enemy alien is any native, citizen, denizen or subject of any foreign nation or government with which a domestic nation or government is in conflict and who is liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured and ...

", and transferred from London to Bath, Somerset. She was later allowed to return to London. She married John Lawrence (formerly known as Hans Liebermann), whom she had known since she was a young child in Vienna, in 1943. They lived in London, and raised a son and daughter together.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Langer, Ruth 1921 births 1999 deaths 20th-century Austrian Jews Austrian female breaststroke swimmers Austrian female freestyle swimmers Austrian Jews Competitors at the 1935 Maccabiah Games Jewish swimmers Jews and Judaism in Vienna Jews who emigrated to escape Nazism Maccabiah Games medalists in swimming Swimmers from Vienna SC Hakoah Wien Jewish sportswomen