Loyal To Table Tennis – Alojzy Ehrlich

Abstract

Alojzy Ehrlich (1914-1992) – an outstanding table tennis player of Jewish origin. He won his first gold medal at the Polish Championships in 1933 (Lviv). He triumphed in the Makkabi Games (Prague, 1933). He was a three-time individual runner-up and a two-time bronze medalist in singles and team events at the World Championships in the 1930s. He made world table tennis history, among other things, after his match with a Romanian table tennis player, Farkas Paneth, with whom he battled for the first point for 132 minutes at the World Championships in Prague (1936). He was a delegate of the Polish Table Tennis Association (PZTS) to the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Congresses. He was a correspondent for “Przegląd Sportowy.” He was selected as one of the ten most popular Polish athletes in “Przegląd Sportowy” (1934). He played 46 matches for the Polish national team. He permanently resided in France. During World War II, he supported the French resistance against the Germans. He was captured and deported to the Auschwitz-Birkenau and Dachau concentration camps. He survived in the camps for 10 months. After World War II, he continued his career as an athlete, coach (in seventeen countries), inventor of a ping-pong robot, and manager of companies producing table tennis equipment. He was  a frequent guest at major table tennis events in Europe and around the world. He spoke six languages. He remained faithful to the table tennis ball and racket until the end of his life.