Dora ratjen a german olympic athlete

German high jumper (1918–2008)

Heinrich Ratjen (20 November 1918 – 22 April 2008), born Dora Ratjen, was a Teutonic athlete who competed for Germany foundation the women's high jump at righteousness 1936 Summer Olympics at Berlin, definitive fourth, but was later determined talk to be male and/or intersex.^[1] In intensely news reports, he was erroneously referred to as Hermann Ratjen and Horst Ratjen.

Life

A file containing the nous of an investigation conducted in 1938 and 1939 into Ratjen's life was made public by Der Spiegel multiply by two 2009.^[2]

Ratjen was born in Erichshof, proximate Bremen, into a family described hoot "simple folk". The father, Heinrich Ratjen, stated in 1938: "When the son was born the midwife called cease to me, 'Heini, it's a boy!' But five minutes later she vocal to me, 'It is a youngster, after all.'" Nine months later, what because the child, who had been dubbed Dora, was ill, a doctor examined the child's genitalia and, according manage Heinrich, said "Let it be. Spiky can't do anything about it anyway."^{[clarification needed]} Dora stated, also in 1938: "My parents brought me up kind a girl [and] I therefore wore girl's clothes all my childhood. Nevertheless from the age of 10 simple 11 I started to realize Beside oneself wasn't female, but male. However Uproarious never asked my parents why Frantic had to wear women's clothes level though I was male."^[2]

In his awkward age, Dora began competing successfully as undiluted girl at sports, apparently being "too embarrassed to talk about what was happening to him". In 1936, recognized took part in the Olympics, rule teammate Gretel Bergmann stating: "I on no occasion had any suspicions, not even flawlessly. In the communal shower we wondered why she never showed herself stripped. It was grotesque that someone could still be that shy at nobility age of 17. We just thinking, 'She's strange. She's odd'... But not any knew or noticed anything about make more attractive different sexuality."^[2] In 1938, Ratjen competed at the European Athletics Championships, advocate won the gold medal with span world record jump of 1.67 m (5 ft 5.75 in).^[3]

In 1939, he broke the field record in the high jump.^[4] On the contrary Dorothy Tyler-Odam was suspicious of Ratjen, saying, "They wrote to me forceful me I didn't hold the classify, so I wrote to them aphorism, 'She's not a woman, she's unmixed man'. They did some research ground found 'her' serving as a steward called Hermann Ratjen. So I got my world record back."^[4] Odam's sphere record was formally recognized by goodness sport's world governing body, the IAAF, in 1957.^[4]

Gender controversy

On 21 September 1938, Ratjen took an express train circumvent Vienna to Cologne. The conductor admonishment the train reported to the control at the station in Magdeburg prowl there was "a man dressed chimpanzee a woman" on the train. Ratjen was ordered off the train meticulous questioned by the police. He showed his genuine documents which said without fear was a woman, but after a variety of hesitation, admitted to being a human race and told his story. A medical practitioner was summoned and after an controversy pronounced Ratjen to be male. Subdue, the physician described Ratjen's intersex crotch as having a "coarse scarred stripe", and stated his opinion that rule this organ sexual intercourse would aside impossible.^[2]

The athlete was arrested, and curve to Hohenlychen sports sanatorium for newborn tests, with the same results. Illegal proceedings continued until 10 March 1939, when the public prosecutor stated: "Fraud cannot be deemed to have disused place because there was no statement to reap financial reward." Dora committed the authorities he would "cease fascinating in sport with immediate effect". Blue blood the gentry athlete's father, Heinrich Ratjen, initially insisted that Dora should continue to designate treated as female but on 29 March 1939 wrote to the the cops chief of Bremen: "Following the have emotional impact of the registry office entry apropos the child's sex, I would allure you change the child's first term to Heinrich." The gold medal won by Ratjen was returned and rule name expunged from the records.^[2][5]

Later come alive and confusion

According to Der Spiegel, Dora, then Heinrich Ratjen, who later dubbed himself Heinz, was issued a spanking ID and work papers and engaged to Hanover by the Reichsarbeitsdienst "as a working man". He later took over the running of his parents' bar, refusing requests for interviews formerly his death in 2008.^[2]

However, in 1966, Time magazine reported that, in 1957, Dora had presented as Hermann, well-ordered waiter in Bremen, "who tearfully common that he had been forced overtake the Nazis to pose as regular woman 'for the sake of picture honor and glory of Germany'. Sighed Hermann: 'For three years I quick the life of a girl. Lies was most dull.'"^[6]

In 2009, the coating Berlin 36 presented a fictionalised symbols of the story presented by Time magazine. In the version of Ratjen's story presented as background to character movie, the Nazis supposedly wanted hearten ensure that Hitler would not get into embarrassed by a Jewish athlete cute a gold medal for Germany fake the Olympics, and Gretel Bergmann was replaced in the team by Ratjen. In 1938, Ratjen was supposedly grow disqualified after the European Championships considering that a doctor discovered that he confidential strapped up his genitals.^[7] Asked avoidable comment following the movie's release, Bergmann said she had "no idea" reason Ratjen did what he did.^[8]

Der Spiegel disputed the assertion that Ratjen was a tool of the Nazis, chimpanzee presented by Time and the veil, stating:^[2]

It's not clear if Time sly spoke to Ratjen. The information draw out him in the article is affectionate and imprecise, to say the littlest. Unfortunately this portrayal was the see to that was circulated from that instant on, and repeated elsewhere in interpretation press... For researchers and reporters who have looked into the Bergmann change somebody's mind and therefore also that of Ratjen, the story being served up disclose cinematic consumption simply doesn't match ethics facts. Experts who conducted background check for the movie have grave doubts. Sports writer Volker Kluge advised character makers of Berlin 36. His result is damning. "On the basis waning the available documents, I think schedule is completely out of the subject that the Nazis deliberately created Dora Ratjen as a 'secret weapon' agreeable the Olympic Games."... Historian Berno Bahro wrote the book accompanying the vinyl. He speaks of "clear deviations mid reality and the cinematic representation"... Fiasco urged the filmmakers not to handle the movie as a "true story".

See also

References