Pechauer, Attila

Attila Pecschauer ( Hungarian Petschauer Attila ; December 14, 1904 , Budapest , Austria-Hungary , January 30, 1943 , Reich Commissariat Ukraine ) - Hungarian fencer athlete of Jewish origin, champion of the Olympics in 1928 and 1932.

Attila Pechauer
Attila Petschauer
personal information
Floor	male
A country	Austria-Hungary → Hungary
Specialization	fencing
Date of Birth	December 14, 1904 ( 1904-12-14 )
Place of Birth	Budapest , Austria-Hungary
Date of death	January 30, 1943 ( 1943-01-30 ) (38 years old)
Place of death	Ukraine
Awards and medals Fencing Olympic Games Silver Amsterdam 1928 saber Gold Amsterdam 1928 team saber Gold Los Angeles 1932 team saber World Championships Bronze Ostend 1925 saber Silver Budapest 1926 saber Bronze Naples 1929 saber Silver Liege 1930 saber Gold Liege 1930 team saber Bronze Vienna 1931 saber Gold Vienna 1931 team saber

He began his career as an athlete-fencer in his youth. The mentor called him "the new d'Artagnan ." He gained fame in Hungary as the winner of the "Hero's Memory Tournament" ^[1] . Since 1925 he played in the Hungarian national team, repeatedly becoming the winner of the world championships in its composition (in 1930 and 1931 he won gold medals in the team championship). In addition, he won the gold and silver of the Olympic Games.

After completing his sports career, he became a famous journalist.

During the Second World War, in recognition of his sporting merits, he received a “security certificate” from the Hungarian government, but despite this, he was arrested by a street patrol and deported to the Davydovka concentration camp in Ukraine . On January 30, 1943, on the orders of Lieutenant Colonel Kalman Cech von St. Katolina (who spoke at the 1928 Olympics in equestrian sports), Pechauer was forced to undress and climb a tree, where they watered cold water, until he froze to death.

Since 1994, one of his descendants, Richard Markowitz, has been conducting the Attila Pechauer Memorial in the United States.

Many episodes of Pechauer's life were used in the film “ Taste of Sunlight ” (1999), where the role of the athlete Schorsch was played by Ralph Fiennes .