Helene Mayer (December 20, 1910 – October 15, 1953) was a world champion Olympic fencer who competed for Nazi Germany in the 1936 Summer Olympics, despite having been forced to leave Germany and resettle in the United States because she was of partial Jewish family background.
Mayer was born in Offenbach am Main, the daughter of Ida (née Becker) and Ludwig Mayer, a physician. Her father was Jewish and her mother was Lutheran. According to the Daily Herald, "Most accounts of Mayer's life say she did not consider herself Jewish".
Read more about Helene Mayer: Fencing Career, Return To Germany and Death, Hall of Fame, Accomplishments
Famous quotes containing the word mayer:
“I had a long day’s work, starting at eight in the morning and ending after nine at night, but in those days [we] ... did not think of our day in terms of hours. We liked our work, we were proud to do it well, and I am afraid that we were very, very happy.”
—Louie Mayer (b. c. 1914)