Roman Kantor
{{short description|Polish fencer (1912–1943)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name = Roman Kantor
|image = Chwała olimpijczykom - s.064a - Roman Kantor.tif
| image_size =
| caption = Kantor c. 1930s
| birth_name =
| fullname = Roman Józef Kantor
| nickname =
| nationality =
| residence =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1912|3|15}}
| birth_place = Łódź, Congress Poland, Russian Empire
| death_date = {{Death year and age|1943|1912}}
| death_place = Majdanek concentration camp, Poland
| height =
| weight =
| website =
| country = {{POL}}
| sport = Fencing
| event =
| collegeteam =
| club =
| team =
| turnedpro =
| coach =
| retired =
| coaching =
| worlds =
| regionals =
| nationals =
| olympics =
| paralympics =
| highestranking =
| pb =
| show-medals = yes
}}
Roman Józef Kantor (15 March 1912 – 1943) was a Polish Olympic épée fencer.{{cite book|author=Ezra Mendelsohn|title=Jews and the Sporting Life: Studies in Contemporary Jewry XXIII|publisher=Oxford University Press US|page=25|year=2009|isbn=978-0-19-538291-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l-9PAnwdMHwC&dq=kantor+roman+jewish+sport&pg=PA25}}{{cite web |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ka/roman-kantor-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417200157/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ka/roman-kantor-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 April 2020 |title=Roman Kantor Olympic Results |accessdate=5 June 2010 |work=sports-reference.com}}
Early life
Kantor was born in Łódź, Poland, and was Jewish.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nMzYdZpk8qMC&dq=Roman+Kantor&pg=PA61 |title=The Olympics at the Millennium: Power, Politics, and the Games |isbn=9780813528205 |last1=Schaffer |first1=Kay |last2=Smith |first2=Sidonie |year=2000 |publisher=Rutgers University Press }}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A3-BAAAAMAAJ&q=Roman+Kantor |title=Jews and the Olympic Games: the clash between sport and politics |first=Paul |last=Taylor|year=2004 |publisher=Sussex Academic Press |isbn=9781903900888 }}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HXuBAAAAMAAJ&q=Roman+Kantor |title=Jews and the Olympic Games: sport: a springboard for minorities |first=Paul Yogi |last=Mayer |year=2004 |publisher=Vallentine Mitchell |isbn=9780853035169 }} He was the son of Elchanan and Barbara (née Bekier) Kantor. After finishing local primary school, he left for Paris in 1924 to continue his education. He played tennis and was captain of the school soccer team.
Fencing career
He also started to train in fencing. Shortly after, he received 3rd place in fencing at the academic championship of Paris, and 6th place at the Open Championship of France in 1929.
He then trained in England from 1931–32 under the supervision of fencer Lefevre’a, and in Germany under the supervision of Italian coach Gatzera. In 1934 he returned to Łódź and joined the fencing section of the Army Sport Club, twice winning the team title of City Champion. In 1935 he won the title of Warsaw and contributed to the Polish victory over Germany.
After receiving 2nd place at the Open Championship in Lviv, he was nominated a member of the Olympic delegation for the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin in 1936. There, at the age of 24, he won seven bouts in the quarterfinals in épée (defeating eventual silver medal winner Saverio Ragno) and four in the semifinals (defeating eventual gold medal winner Franco Riccardi), but did not get to the finals.{{cite web |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ka/roman-kantor-1.html |title=Roman Kantor Bio, Stats, and Results |work=Sports-Reference.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417200157/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ka/roman-kantor-1.html |archive-date=17 April 2020 }} He did, however, contributed to receiving an 8th spot finish by the Polish épée team.{{cite book|title=The Olympics at the Millennium|author=Kay Schaffer|author2= Sidonie Smith|year=2000|publisher=Rutgers University Press|page=58|isbn=0-8135-2820-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nMzYdZpk8qMC&dq=%22roman+kantor%22+jewish+sport&pg=PA58
In December 1936, he moved to Łódzki Klub Sportowy. He was twice champion of the city, both in individual and team fencing (1938 and 1939). He won the Nordic countries championship in 1938 and received a 2nd place in 1939 in the last Championship of Poland before the outbreak of World War II. On 14 May 1939, he took the Olympic oath with other Łódź Olympians before the planned 1940 12th Summer Olympic Games.
When the Germans took over Poland, however, he escaped to Lviv, where in 1940, in Kharkiv, he won the Championship of the Soviet Union.
Concentration camp and death
When Lviv was taken over by the Germans, to escape the Nazis because he was Jewish, he obtained a passport and citizenship of a South American country, and waited for the German authorities' permit to leave for a neutral country. In this time, he lived in a building on Sapieha Street. It turned out that the Germans were misleading the inhabitants of the building, and they were all later arrested and transported in 1942 to the Majdanek concentration and extermination camp.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ghwMAQAAMAAJ&q=Roman+Kantor |title=Doorway to Freedom: The Story of David Kaufmann, Merchant, Benefactor, Rescuer |first1=William E. |last1=Ramsey |first2=Betty Dineen |last2=Shrier |year=2008 |publisher=Mosaic Press |isbn=9780889628878 }} There, Kantor was forced to do work for Ostindustrie, and was mentioned in the 1943 register of prisoners.{{cite book|author=Paul Taylor|title=Jews and the Olympic Games: the clash between sport and politics : with a complete review of Jewish Olympic medallists|publisher=Sussex Academic Press|page=106|year=2004|isbn=1-903900-87-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tGcPDXOjxMoC&dq=%22Roman+Kantor%22+jewish+sport&pg=PA106}}
He was murdered there in 1943.{{cite web |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/friv/lists.cgi?id=65 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417055433/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/friv/lists.cgi?id=65 |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 April 2020 |title=Olympians Who Were Killed or Missing in Action or Died as a Result of War |accessdate=24 July 2018 |work=Sports Reference}} The Jewish Polish swimmer Ilja Szrajbman, who had also participated in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, was also murdered by the Nazis that year. Kantor was one of approximately 3 million Polish Jews murdered during the Holocaust.{{cite web| url = https://www.ushmm.org/exhibition/olympics/?content=holocaust_athletes| title = The Nazi Olympics: Berlin 1936 {{!}} The Holocaust — Persecution of Athletes}}
See also
Notes
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{cite book
|title=The Olympics at the Millennium
|author=Kay Schaffer, Sidonie Smith
|year=2000
|publisher=Rutgers University Press
|isbn=0-8135-2820-8
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nMzYdZpk8qMC&dq=%22roman+kantor%22+fencer&pg=PA61
}}
- {{webarchive |date=16 April 2013 |url=https://archive.today/20130416004949/http://www.ujc.org/content_display.html?ArticleID=122636 |title="The Olympics and the Holocaust," 2004}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20050507035105/http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/olympics/zcd078.htm Holocaust Museum bio]
- {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061028144448/http://www.lodzjews.com/us/k.htm |date=28 October 2006 |title=Dictionary of Lodz Jews }}
- {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020226073739/http://www2.tltc.ttu.edu/Harper/3338Sports/Study/PPNotesSP/nazi.htm |date=26 February 2002 |title="The Nazi Olympics" }}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kantor, Roman}}
Category:Jewish Polish sportspeople
Category:Olympic fencers for Poland
Category:Fencers at the 1936 Summer Olympics
Category:Polish civilians killed in World War II
Category:People who died in Majdanek concentration camp
Category:Sportspeople from Łódź
Category:People from Piotrków Governorate