Amateur boxing in Belgium, 1930's

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Rickard
Super Welterweight
Posts: 1
Joined: 18 Sep 2014, 16:36

Amateur boxing in Belgium, 1930's

Post by Rickard »

I guess this is the right forum for my inquiry. I've recently learned that my grandmother's uncle, Michel Lévien, was an amateur boxer in Belgium the late 1930's. I was hoping to find out more. I tried contacting AIBA, who apparently hold archival material of the Fédération Internationale de Boxe Amateur, but they never got back to me.
I know virtually nothing of his boxing history, but I'm aware of some biographical details. Michel was born in Latvia 27-01-1896. He was an engineer by profession (having studied in Riga, where and when I imagine he got into boxing) and moved to Belgium some time after marrying in 1934. There he participated (and apparently won) in some amateur boxing championships, enjoying short lived fame. He fled from Belgium with his wife Pauline and daughter Liv in 1939, and settled in Norway where his brothers and his wife's parents lived. In Oslo his daughter fell ill and was hospitalized, and in July 1941 Michel was arrested by the Nazis and interned in Polizeihäftlingslager Grini for being a "stateless Jew". The guards recognized him as a boxer and forced him into "fights" where he was banned from hitting back (two of them were later wanted by the UN, but they were never caught). Michel was released a month later (the final solution was not yet set into motion), suffering from severe internal bleeding. He managed to cross the border to Sweden with his wife before dying from his wounds.
I realize this is a long shot, but can anyone point me at an archive in Belgium where I might find more about his boxing history.

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cc1921
Welterweight
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Joined: 05 Apr 2016, 10:42

Re: Amateur boxing in Belgium, 1930's

Post by cc1921 »

I am searching for information on a Belgian relative that was a boxer as well. Did you ever find more information on this? Any help to guide me to the best place to find out more about him will be appreciated. Thanks!
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