Becker squeezed out of hall of fame by Nazis

An attempt to create a German sporting Hall of Fame has caused raised eyebrows – and no doubt a few raised arms in certain reactionary quarters - because the organisers have excluded well-known figures like Wimbledon champion Boris Becker [pictured] and Formula 1 driver Michael Schumacher in favour of former Nazi party members.

The pantheon of fame, which will tour the country this year, was inaugurated by Germany's President Horst Kohler this week. That went off OK, but when the names of the athletes were examined it was immediately, and surely predictably, branded the "Pantheon of shame" by the media for including athletes connected with Hitler's regime, among them the Third Reich's football trainer Sepp Herberger.

Other Nazis on the list, which was set up by Deutsche Sporthilfe, the German sports foundation, with the help of big business, are Josef Neckermann, the Olympic riding champion who made millions from a mail-order empire he started during the Third Reich; Willi Daume, the former German International Olympic Committee member, and the cyclist Gustav Kilian.

When confronted, Hans Wilhelm Gab, chairman of Sporthilfe's board, was far from emollient, blasting the critics with unconcealed anger. Referring to the press reports, he said "people who I don't actually consider to be journalists" were "not sticking to the facts".

Asked why Becker and co were not on the 40-strong list, he claimed that it was because the hall of fame was designed to honour sporting heroes who were dead. But he failed to explain why the German footballer Beckenbauer and the six other living sportsmen and women had made the cut.

A spokesman for Sporthilfe, no doubt sensing a public relations disaster, explained the move with less bellicosity. "Sport is no better than society. These people led a life after the Nazi era and in some cases they went on to receive awards of merit for the contributions to society."