Eintracht Frankfurt to strip former Nazi of honorary presidency

Berlin, Jan 24, 2020 (AFP) - Eintracht Frankfurt are on Sunday set to posthumously revoke an honorary title given to a former president of the Bundesliga club, because of his Nazi past.

At the club's annual general meeting, Eintracht president Peter Fischer intends to withdraw the title of honorary president awarded to Rudolf Gramlich, who served in the Waffen-SS during World War II.

Gramlich, who died in 1988, was twice head of Eintracht, from 1938-42 and 1955-70, despite having been an SS officer from 1939-40 under Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime.

Gramlich captained Germany in 10 internationals during the 1930s and skippered the national team when Berlin hosted the 1936 Olympic Games.

He was later made honorary president of Eintracht and in 1975 became an honorary member of the German Football Association (DFB).

Gramlich had previously been chairman of the DFB's Bundesliga committee between 1968 and 1974.

The DFB says that "in light of the new findings that Eintracht will present" on Sunday, the national governing body is examining whether further honours they bestowed on Gramlich can also be revoked.

DFB president Fritz Keller praised Eintracht Frankfurt for their stance.

In a statement, Fritz said there is a duty to remember "to ensure that these crimes are never forgotten.

"It is exemplary, and an important signal, how Eintracht Frankfurt is facing up to that responsibility this weekend," he added.

Monday marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camp Auschwitz.

The DFB is organising a "Remembrance Day" on Monday with numerous activities to pay tribute to the victims of the Holocaust.

Keller insists the DFB should have done more to resist the Nazi regime, which was in power from 1933-45.

"This unprecedented suffering that was inflicted on people, is all the more painful because football, which today stands for understanding and diversity and against racism and discrimination, did not resist at that time," he said.

"On the contrary: it was complicit."

Keller pointed out that former DFB president Felix Linnemann, head of the governing body from 1925 to 1945, was actively involved in the deportation of Sinti and Roma people to Auschwitz under the Nazis.

"We feel a special responsibility," he added.