1933 Maccabiah Games

1st Winter Maccabiah

Host city	Zakopane, Poland[1]
Nations participating	8[1]
Athletes participating	250[1]
Opening ceremony	February 2
Closing ceremony	February 5
Main venue	Wielka Krokiew, Zakopane
Summer:
<  1st Maccabiah 2nd Maccabiah  >
Winter:
2nd Winter Maccabiah  >

The 1st Winter Maccabiah (Hebrew: מכביית החורף הראשונה‎; Polish: Pierwsza zimowa Makabiada) was held in Zakopane,^[2] Poland from February 2 to 5, 1933.^[1] Coincidentally, the opening ceremony took place two days after Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor (30 January 1933).

History

Following the successful games of the 1st Maccabiah in 1932, there was a growing interest in winter sports among the European nations. The Maccabi federation of Poland was in charge of organizing the Winter Maccabiah.^[3] In the 1930s, that federation was strongest pillar of the Maccabi World Union, consisting of 30,000 Jewish athletes members. The games were met with great opposition;^[4] the Gazeta Warszawska newspaper encouraged Polish youth to intervene during the games to prevent the "Jewification of Polish winter sports venues".^[5]

Opening Ceremony

The opening ceremony for the games took place at the Stadium in Zakopane on February 2, 1933.^[1] Lord Melchett, honorary president of the World Maccabi Organization, did not attend the ceremony; instead he sent his blessing and an apology - a large statue depicting the persecution of Jews resistance to anti-semitism through the ages^[1]

Participating communities

Jewish athletes from 8 nations participated; most notably, no athletes from Eretz Yisrael took part in the games. The number in parentheses indicates the number of athletes in the delegation.^[1]

Austria  Czechoslovakia

Free City of Danzig  Germany

Italy  Poland (150)

Norway  Yugoslavia

Games highlights

Poland received the most medals in the first winter Maccabiah;^[3] Some of the wins include I. Wahrenhaupt (Men's 18 km cross-country skiing), Szwarcbard (Women's 8 km cross-country skiing), M. Enker (Male Luge), R. Enker (Women Luge), G. Bergler (figure skating), H. Mückenbrun (Downhill), and Women's 3×5 kilometer relay.^[3]

The 1st Winter Maccabiah also hosted the first international Maccabiah hockey tournament.

Medal count

Poland led the medal count in the first Maccabiah.

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Poland[3]	?	?	?	?
2	Czechoslovakia[3]	?	?	?	?
3	Austria[3]	?	?	?	?

References

1. נישטו לורד מלצ'ט! [Nicht Lord Melchett!] (in Yiddish). 1933. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
2. Anna Pollak-Fass (May 8, 2006). "JEWISH LIFE IN THE PODHALE DISTRICT". Retrieved 23 February 2014.
3. Rokicki, Jarosław (November 24, 2008). "Makabiady" (in Polish). Rzeczpospolita. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
4. "Maccabi Movement". YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
5. Mendelsohn, Ezra (March 31, 2009). Jews and the Sporting Life : Studies in Contemporary Jewry XXIII. Oxford University Press. p. 26. ISBN 978-0195382914.