Good and bad exist in all people, and whereas there is no doubt that Schmeling allowed himself to be used as a tool of Nazi propaganda, he did a lot of very good things, including, but not limited to, refusing to fire his Jewish manager, refusing to divorce his Czech wife, reportedly hiding two children during Kristallnacht, and helping Joe Louis with some bills, including funeral expenses. On the balance, I would say a very good man who deserves to be remembered.
Well it's easy to criticize him for allowing himself to be used for propaganda purposes but we have to remember that 1. History is written by the victors, so if the Axis powers had won, he would instead be a Noble, Nazi Patriot. 2. He was a German citizen and had to live in Germany. Going against the Party could have meant his imprisonment or even his execution for treason. As well as losing all of his material possessions.
Yes while good & bad exists in everyone, it like most everything else is a Bell Curve. And Schmellling rates very far on the right hand side of it. Not only would he have lost everything, including possibly his life if he completely opposed the Nazis-rather than have the cojones to defy some of their orders & wishes-he could not have done much of the good he did, including then & for the rest of his 99 years. And this is coming from a Jewish man whose Father was separated from his parents when a small child, while they went to & were killed at separate concentration camps.
It's nice to be a fan of such a good sports figure. There are not many boxers who lived their lifes as cleanly as Max. Great man, inside and outside the ring.
