| Johann Trollmann | |
| Realname: | Johann Wilhelm Trollmann |
| Nickname: | Rukeli |
| Nationality: | German |
| Birth Date: | 1907 12, df=y |
| Birth Place: | Wilsche near Gifhorn, German Empire |
| Death Place: | Wittenberge, Nazi Germany |
Johann Wilhelm "Rukeli" Trollmann (27 December 1907 - April 1944) was a German Sinti boxer.[1]
Trollmann became famous in the late 1920s.[2] On 9 June 1933, he fought for the German light-heavyweight title and although he clearly led by points over his opponent Adolf Witt, the fight was judged "no result". The audience rebelled, and the Nazi officials were forced to acknowledge Trollmann as the victor. However, six days later he was stripped of the title. A new fight was scheduled for 21 July, with Gustav Eder as Trollmann's opponent. Trollmann was threatened that he had to change his "dancing" style or lose his licence. Trollmann arrived the day of the match with his hair dyed blonde and his face whitened with flour, the caricature of an Aryan. He took the blows of his opponent as he was asked for five rounds before he collapsed.[3]
The persecution of Sinti and Roma in Germany dramatically increased in the following years.[4] Sterilization often preceded their internment in concentration camps, and Trollmann too underwent this operation. In 1939 he was drafted into the Wehrmacht, and fought on the eastern front.[5] He was wounded in 1941 and was returned to Germany as a result.[6] The Gestapo arrested him in June 1942, and he was interned in Neuengamme concentration camp. He tried to keep a low profile, but the camp commandant had been a boxing official before the war and recognized Trollmann. He used Trollmann as a trainer for his troops during the nights. The prisoners committee decided to act, as Trollmann's health deteriorated. They faked his death and managed to get him transferred to the adjacent camp of Wittenberge under an assumed identity. The former star was soon recognized and the prisoners organized a fight between him and Emil Cornelius, a former criminal and hated Kapo (a prisoner given privileges for taking on responsibilities in the camp, often a convict working for a reduced sentence or parole). Trollmann won, Cornelius sought revenge for his humiliation and forced Trollmann to work all day until he was exhausted, before attacking and killing him with a shovel. Trollmann was 36 years old.
In 2003, the German boxing federation officially recognised Trollmann as the winner of the 1933 championship.[7]
On 9 June 2010, the anniversary of his championship fight,[8] the German artist collective Bewegung Nurr erected a temporary memorial "9841" in the Berlin Victoria Park to honour Trollmann.[9] The memorial was also displayed the following year in Hannover and in Dresden in 2012 for six weeks. The title refers to Trollmann's prison number.
In 2015, the Italian alternative rock band C.F.F. e il Nomade Venerabile released the song Come fiori dedicated to Trollmann. This song was the inspiration for the theathral show My Inv(f)erno... gypsy life which opened the X edition of the International TeatroLab Festival at the Tagliavini theatre in Novellara in March 2019.
In 2016, Dario Fo, recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Literature, published the book Razza di zingaro based on Trollmann's life.
In 2022, the German television series Babylon Berlin season four, a fictional version of Trollmann is portrayed by Hannes Wegener and is revealed to be the half-brother of one of the series' leads, Lotte Ritter. A fight takes place between Trollman and Willy Bolze, who in real life was Trollman's first professional boxing opponent. The dates are different in the show with their fight taking place in 1931 instead of 1929.
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round | Date | Location | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 64 | Loss | 31–19–14 | Arthur Polter | PTS | 8 | Mar 12, 1934 | ||
| 63 | Loss | 31–18–14 | Walter Müller | PTS | 6 | Mar 9, 1934 | ||
| 62 | Loss | 31–17–14 | Walter Sabottke | KO | 6 (8) | Feb 9, 1934 | ||
| 61 | Loss | 31–16–14 | Rienus de Boer | KO | 6 (8) | Dec 26, 1933 | ||
| 60 | Loss | 31–15–14 | Walter Sabottke | PTS | 8 | Dec 3, 1933 | ||
| 59 | Loss | 31–14–14 | Erwin Bruch | TKO | 2 (8) | Nov 25, 1933 | ||
| 58 | Win | 31–13–14 | Gustav Eybel | PTS | 10 | Nov 5, 1933 | ||
| 57 | Loss | 30–13–14 | Franz Boja | PTS | 8 | Oct 27, 1933 | ||
| 56 | Loss | 30–12–14 | Fred Boelck | KO | 2 (10) | Oct 8, 1933 | ||
| 55 | Draw | 30–11–14 | Walter Sabottke | PTS | 8 | Sep 1, 1933 | ||
| 54 | Loss | 30–11–13 | Gustav Eder | KO | 5 (10) | Jul 21, 1933 | ||
| 53 | Win | 30–10–13 | Adolf Witt | PTS | 12 | Jun 9, 1933 | ||
| 52 | Win | 29–10–13 | Otto Klockemann | TKO | 2 (8) | May 26, 1933 | ||
| 51 | Loss | 28–10–13 | Gustave Roth | PTS | 10 | May 16, 1933 | ||
| 50 | Draw | 28–9–13 | Karl Eggert | PTS | 8 | Apr 28, 1933 | ||
| 49 | Draw | 28–9–12 | Walter Eggert | PTS | 8 | Apr 21, 1933 | ||
| 48 | Win | 28–9–11 | Johann Fraberger | TKO | 9 (10) | Apr 12, 1933 | ||
| 47 | Draw | 27–9–11 | Hans Seifried | PTS | 8 | Mar 31, 1933 | ||
| 46 | Win | 27–9–10 | Helmut Hartkopp | DQ | 3 (8) | Mar 12, 1933 | ||
| 45 | Win | 26–9–10 | Fred Boelck | TKO | 2 (8) | Feb 26, 1933 | ||
| 44 | Draw | 25–9–10 | Claude Bassin | PTS | 10 | Feb 3, 1933 | ||
| 43 | Draw | 25–9–9 | Karl Ogren | PTS | 8 | Jan 20, 1933 | ||
| 42 | Loss | 25–9–8 | Hein Domgörgen | PTS | 8 | Dec 27, 1932 | ||
| 41 | Loss | 25–8–8 | Adolf Witt | PTS | 10 | Dec 11, 1932 | ||
| 40 | Draw | 25–7–8 | Adolf Witt | PTS | 8 | Nov 27, 1932 | ||
| 39 | Win | 25–7–7 | Julian van Hoof | TKO | 6 (8) | Nov 18, 1932 | ||
| 38 | Draw | 24–7–7 | Hein Domgörgen | PTS | 8 | Nov 9, 1932 | ||
| 37 | Win | 24–7–6 | Josef Czichos | PTS | 8 | Oct 24, 1932 | ||
| 36 | Win | 23–7–6 | Rienus de Boer | PTS | 8 | Oct 7, 1932 | ||
| 35 | Win | 22–7–6 | Onofrio Russo | TKO | 2 (8) | Sep 15, 1932 | ||
| 34 | Win | 21–7–6 | Karl Ogren | PTS | 8 | Aug 5, 1932 | ||
| 33 | Win | 20–7–6 | Walter Sabottke | KO | 2 (8) | Jul 19, 1932 | ||
| 32 | Loss | 19–7–6 | Eric Seelig | PTS | 10 | Jun 3, 1932 | ||
| 31 | Win | 19–6–6 | Adolf Witt | PTS | 8 | May 9, 1932 | ||
| 30 | Win | 18–6–6 | Josef Czichos | PTS | 6 | Mar 31, 1932 | ||
| 29 | Loss | 17–6–6 | Hans Seifried | PTS | 8 | Mar 12, 1932 | ||
| 28 | Loss | 17–5–6 | Claude Bassin | KO | 2 (8) | Mar 4, 1932 | ||
| 27 | Win | 17–4–6 | Rudi Beier | TKO | 6 (8) | Feb 26, 1932 | ||
| 26 | Win | 16–4–6 | Heinrich Buchbaum | PTS | 8 | Feb 5, 1932 | ||
| 25 | Draw | 15–4–6 | Jack Beasley | PTS | 8 | Jan 29, 1932 | ||
| 24 | Win | 15–4–5 | Franz Boja | PTS | 10 | Jan 15, 1932 | ||
| 23 | Loss | 14–4–5 | Erich Tobeck | PTS | 8 | Dec 27, 1931 | ||
| 22 | Win | 14–3–5 | Paul Vogel | PTS | 8 | Dec 11, 1931 | ||
| 21 | Draw | 13–3–5 | Otto Hoelzl | PTS | 8 | Nov 20, 1931 | ||
| 20 | Loss | 13–3–4 | Hein Domgörgen | PTS | 8 | Apr 17, 1931 | ||
| 19 | Draw | 13–2–4 | Franz Krueppel | PTS | 8 | Mar 1, 1931 | ||
| 18 | Loss | 13–2–3 | Erich Tobeck | PTS | 8 | Feb 13, 1931 | ||
| 17 | Win | 13–1–3 | Paul Vogel | PTS | 6 | Dec 5, 1930 | ||
| 16 | Draw | 12–1–3 | Arie van Vliet | PTS | 10 | Nov 7, 1930 | ||
| 15 | Draw | 12–1–2 | Otto Hoelzl | PTS | 8 | Oct 10, 1930 | ||
| 14 | Draw | 12–1–1 | Hein Heeser | PTS | 8 | Sep 19, 1930 | ||
| 13 | Win | 12–1 | Emil Koska | PTS | 8 | Aug 29, 1930 | ||
| 12 | Win | 11–1 | Walter Peter | PTS | 6 | Jul 27, 1930 | ||
| 11 | Win | 10–1 | Paul Vogel | PTS | 6 | Jul 4, 1930 | ||
| 10 | Win | 9–1 | Franz Krueppel | PTS | 8 | May 23, 1930 | ||
| 9 | Win | 8–1 | Georg Gebstedt | KO | 4 (8) | May 2, 1930 | ||
| 8 | Win | 7–1 | Erwin Stiegler | PTS | 6 | Apr 12, 1930 | ||
| 7 | Win | 6–1 | Walter Poehnisch | PTS | 8 | Feb 28, 1930 | ||
| 6 | Win | 5–1 | Hans Thies | TKO | 5 (6) | Feb 15, 1930 | ||
| 5 | Loss | 4–1 | Erich Tobeck | KO | 1 (6) | Jan 10, 1930 | ||
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Joseph Esteve | PTS | 8 | Jan 5, 1930 | ||
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Paul Vogel | KO | 2 (6) | Dec 27, 1929 | ||
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Alex Tomkowiak | KO | 1 (8) | Dec 4, 1929 | ||
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Willy Bolze | PTS | 4 | Oct 18, 1929 | ||