ROMA HISTORY: Boxer: The Life and Death of Johann Trollmann
Content Warning: Racism, Violence, Murder, Genocide. This is the story of Johann Wilhelm ‘Rukeli’ Trollmann. You’ve probably never heard of him. He was a famous Sinti Romani boxer in the 1920s. The reason that, particularly in the English speaking world, he is not particularly well known is because of the events described in this post. Part of the goal in writing this is to draw more attention both to Trollmann himself, and also to the suffering undergone by the Roma including the Sinti during the genocide carried about by the Nazis and their allies. It is a story of pain, suffering, and defiance, and both the story and the man deserve to be remembered. Johann Wilhelm 'Rukeli' Trollmann as an amateur boxer in 1928 Johann Trollmann was born on 27 December 1907, at Wilsche near Gifhorn in what was then the German Empire. In the 1920s he rose to fame as a skilled boxer, known for his technique, hand speed, and movement. He was ...