Foiled: Hitler's Jewish Olympian
AUTHOR: Milly Mogulof
ISBN: 978-1-57143-092-2
Arguably history's most famous woman fencer, named as one of the top 100 athletes of the century by Sports Illustrated, Helene Mayer won the gold for Germany in the 1928 Berlin Olympics. Eight years later, with America poised to boycott the 1936 Berlin Olympics over anti-Semitism, the Nazis brought Mayer home from self-imposed exile in California to be the token Jew on their team. This marvelous book is the story of a beautiful and talented young woman who tries to win back her citizenship by fencing for the Third Reich. The thought-provoking saga of the central figure in the 20th century's most dramatic sports controversy.
“One of the top 100 athletes of the 20th century.”
- Sports Illustrated
“Mogulof does a masterful job of telling her heroic story while
expertly weaving in Hitler’s rise to power. . . The writing is without
fluff and scores a direct hit - like the lunge of a Helene Mayer
thrust.”
- Oakland Tribune
“Foiled describes the short, poignant life of a heroine, assigned to
become a Jewish heroine by Hitler and Goebbels as it suited their needs
for propaganda, and is an excellent read. Certainly without a happy
ending, but a wonderfully interesting one.”
- The Jewish Press
“Readers will have to decide for themselves whether Mayer was simply a
self-hating Jew or an athlete who was so consumed by her passion for
fencing that nothing could stand in the way of her competing. Enough
data are provided so that a judgment can readily be made.”
- The Jewish Journal
“Mogulof competently documents the rise and fall of one of the greatest fencers of all time.”
- Publisher’s Weekly
“. . . with a reporter’s instincts and a detective’s doggedness,
Mogulof has put together a very good book about the woman who was the
finest female foilest in history. Her account is gracefully written,
gripping and immensely sad by turns. For anyone interested in one of
the most dramatic episodes in fencing’s rich history, here is the
definitive account.
- The Sword
“But of greater significance is how skillfully the author lays bare the
tragic story of how many people turned their backs on the plight of the
Jews.”
- San Francisco Chronicle