Statue of Colonel Claus Schenk Graf Von Stauffenberg in the
re-constructed inner courtyard of the old 'Bendler Block' building complex in Berlin where he was executed after the abortive attempt on Adolf Hitler's life on July 20 1944.
The plaque in front of the figure reads as
follows:
Ihr trugt die Schande nicht. Ihr wehrtet euch. Ihr gabt das große ewig wache Zeichen der Umkehr, opfernd Euer heißes Leben für Freiheit, Recht, und
Ehre You did not bear the shame. You resisted. You bestowed the eternally vigilant symbol of
change by sacrificing your impassioned lives for freedom,
justice and honour.
The photograph was taken on a visit to the German Resistance Memorial Centre Stauffenbergstraße
in Berlin-Mitte.
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media
Boxing Correspondent
October
31st 2014
Boxing
fans tend to remember the great fighters, great fights and great moments in
boxing. The late Hank Kaplan, who wrote Boxing Digest on his own for many
years, was a walking encyclopedia of the fighters of his era, with most names
long forgotten. As the boxing historian, I often feel a lot like Hank, as I
feel very connected to some many people, places and events experienced as the
reporter.
So many
names have come and gone, some delegated to the obscurity of the subconscious,
others are in the hereafter.
One such name is the ‘Jersey Jolter’, the late Italian American
light heavyweight Frankie De Paula (1939-1970) of Jersey City, New Jersey.
Frankie compiled a successful professional record of 21-7-3 with 16 knockouts,
fighting in the shadows during the Cassius Clay-early Muhammad Ali days.
Many fighters never get a title shot or a significant fight.
Near the end of his life Frankie DePaula fought two highly significant bouts.
One was the bout of the year at Madison Square Garden in October 1968. Ex-WBA
and WBC World Light Heavyweight champion Dick Tiger of Nigeria, afterlosing his
world titles ot Bob Foster five months earlier, won a hair raising 10 round
decision over DePaula at The Garden. Tiger went down twice in the second,
DePaula went down twice in the third. Referee Arthur Mercante scored the bout
5-5, but his scorecard went to 7-6 for Tiger with the supplemental scoring
method in place in New York at that time.
On the basis of that great performance, Bob Foster, for his
first world title defense, gave DePaula a shot at his WBA and WBC world titles
at The Garden in January 1969. DePaula was a big draw in his day and his
presence sold tickets like wild at Madison Square Garden. It was a shock when
DePaula dropped the hard hitting Foster in the first round. Foster beat the
count, and came back to drop DePaula three times for an automatic first round
TKO at 2:17. DePaula came back twice, scoring knockouts over undistinguished
opponents in April 1969 and November of 1969.
An iron worker and 1962 New York Golden Gloves Sub Novice
champion. After breaking the jaw of a police officer’s son in a street brawl,
DePaula was incarcerated at Rahway State Prison, where he met middleweight Ruben
‘Hurricane’ Carter. A bar bouncer, hard partying womanizer, boozer, and drug
user, had the right connections to rise above club fighter status.
Unfortunately, DePaula hung out with the wrong crowd.
In May 1969, DePaula was arrested by Federal agents with seven
others and charged with conspiracy, theft and possession of stolen copper from
the Newark waterfront. His boxing license was suspended and he was later
indicted for perjury. He was found innocent of possession and theft, with a
hung jury on the conspiracy charge.
He was
shot in Jersey City on May 14, 1970, in a mob hit. He was taken to Jersey City
Medical Center where he developed paralysis and died four months later.
There
were rumors DePaula’s title bout with Bob Foster was fixed by the mob, but it was
never proven. Nobody was ever convicted of the DePaula hit. For those
interested in learning more about Frankie DePaula’s life, a recent book,
entitled ‘Jersey Boy-The Life and Mob Slaying of Frankie DePaula’ by Adeyinka
Makinde, tells the DePaula story in great detail.
