Franz Yaakov Orgler

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Franz Yaakov Orgler (1914–2015) was a German-Jewish track athlete who faced Nazi persecution. He was selected for Germany's 1936 Berlin Olympic team but was expelled because he was Jewish. He excelled at Maccabiah Games and held the 1000m record there. Born in Barmen, he was the son of Kurt and Adele Orgler, with siblings Eva, Mary Louise, and Hans Joachim. The only Jewish member of Black White Barmen, he joined the Jewish Hakoach club in 1933 and trained with both clubs. He ran the 400m and 800m at the German Youth Championships and won the Golden Needle Award. He joined Maccabi in 1933 and trained with the Olympic team in 1934. After competing at the 1935 Maccabiah Games, he was removed from the Olympic team. He founded Hakoach Wuppertal and developed his own training program. After the Berlin Games, Nazi persecution intensified; Orgler escaped to Sweden in 1937, briefly returned for the Berlin Maccabiah, and settled in Sweden, facing some police trouble but continuing his involvement in sport. He became Maccabi Stockholm's sports coordinator and set the Maccabi 1000m world record in 1946. He became a Swedish citizen in 1947 and served in the Swedish Army. He died in Sweden at age 100. His parents were murdered in Auschwitz; Eva moved to Italy, Mary Louise to Britain, and Hans Joachim joined him in Sweden.