The Joden Houttuinen used to host a boxing club, named Olympia. Unlike most Dutch Jews, the founder of Olympia, Joop Cosman, was very aware of the threat that the Nazi powers posed. During the 1930’s, he attended international championships in Germany with his professional team of boxers, and they were shocked by the open Antisemitism that they came across there. As a consequence, Cosman, and several of his lead boxers, such as Bennie Bluhm and David (Lard) Zilverberg, actively stood up against the Nazi regime, already before the war. Among others, they painted graffitis with the text “Fascism is murder” on public buildings, to alert others to the threat.
The photo seen here shows graffiti from Rotterdam, however, Cosman’s club painted similar graffiti in Amsterdam.
© Wally Elenbaas / Nederlands Fotomuseum