Adolf Hitler, the German dictator, had once played cricket and had wanted to "Nazify" the game by rewriting its rules, according to a new book. The book says that after the game, the Fuhrer had “advocated the withdrawal of the use of pads” because the "artificial bolsters" were "unmanly and un-German". The Fuhrer, had an ulterior motive for wanting to learn the game. “He desired to study it as a possible medium for the training of troops off duty and in times of peace. He also wanted the game to be Nazified,” The Times said quoting the 1930 article.The Mirror piece that appeared under the headline “Adolf Hitler As I Know Him” on September 30, 1930, was written by Oliver Locker-Lampson, an MP and fervent admirer of Hitler.
It revealed that the dictator was taught the rules of the game by British troops to play a friendly match against some POWs of the First World War. He informs how in 1923, shortly after the Munich putsch, Hitler had asked some British POWs to teach the game and how, they (prisoners of war) have written the rules for him in the best British sport-loving spirit“.
The Oliver Locker-Lampson’s article, however, fails to inform who won the match.
News Courtesy: TheHindu.com
