The tennis club Hakoah in Basel celebrates 100 years of Jewish sports history and sporting success.
For generations, the Hakoah tennis club (TC) Basel has been an integral part of the district, a place to play, laugh and get together. For many Basel Jews, he is not only a tennis club, but a piece of home. Founded in response to exclusion, Hakoah celebrates its 100th anniversary this year-a century full of stories, sporting success and change and still a meeting point where tradition and openness are handing out.
From exclusion to success
The beginnings of the Hakoah TC Basel are at a time when tennis gained popularity internationally, but in Basel, however, Jewish players often failed to access the established clubs. Today, it is no longer clear whether this was due to the elitist character of the existing clubs or also reserved in anti -Semitic. What is certain is that on April 28, 1925, 15 young Jewish athletes under the direction of Paul Cahen founded their own tennis club in response. This foundation was a sign against discrimination and expression of a Jewish identity characterized by Zionism and the idea of “muscle Jewish”, the physical exertion and sporting success as a means of promoting self -confidence and conveying a positive picture of Judaism in public.
The new club was quickly received. Already three weeks after the foundation, he counted 50 members. Initially, you played on rented places on Gundeldingerstrasse, later in the Hirzbrunnenquartier. In 1926, the club opened its first plant in the Neubad with three places, which was enlarged by two more a year later. In 1930 the Swiss Lawn Tennis Association took place. However, this was only granted if the original name “Jewish tennis club Basel” were abandoned. With the new name “Hakoah”, Hebrew for “the strength”, the Jewish cover was preserved and the values of strength and cohesion focused on.
The 1930s and 1940s brought difficult times: the economic crisis and the Second World War led to a decline in membership, in 1941 two of the five places had to be sold. The fact that the Hakoah TC Basel still continues was due to the commitment of the members, who jointly bore the financial challenges.
In the 1950s and 1960s, a sporting heyday followed, led by Ruth Kaufmann. The player fled from Germany won 18 national and two international titles, won silver in 1950 at Makkabia in Israel and in 1955 played a narrow finale against the world ranking first Doris Hart. Despite an international career, she remained loyal to her Basel Heimatclub. Decades later, Jessica Anner continued this tradition: she won gold in the European Makkabi games, reached 26th place in the Swiss ranking and is now committed to the board for the Hakoah offspring.
In 2007 the club faced the end. There was no new president and even a sale of the site was considered. For Joel Guttmann, who was president of the club from 1978 to 1989, this was out of the question: “For me it was clear to me that the Hakoah TC was not allowed to go into, so I took over the presidium again.” He led the club for another 16 years and only resigned this year – at the age of 80 and after a total of 28 years. He remains connected to the club as honorary president. Right at the beginning of his second term, Guttmann set a new board, opened the club for non -Jewish members and stabilized the structures. He secured the continued existence and laid the foundation for further development.
Preservation of Jewish identity
The growing variety of members gave the club new impulses, but also brought challenges. Because Hakoah TC was always more than just a tennis club. For a long time he was a center of Jewish community life in Basel. “The club used to be part of social life here,” recalls Guttmann, who has been in the club since he was 13 years old. «When we organized barbecues, around 30 members came. And our asparagus meal in Himmelried once attracted 60 people. Today you would have to make 30 phone calls to drum ten people together – that hurts something. »
The decline in participation has several causes: Many Jewish members moved away, and Tennis has also lost popularity as a whole. But Guttmann is particularly noticeable that many non -Jewish members identify less with the club. “You just come, play and go again.” This was particularly clear at the General Assembly for the anniversary: apart from two board members, not a single non -Jewish member took part. The lower bond can also be felt in terms of sport: there are only a few Jewish players left in the Interclub teams, and often you no longer know each other personally. In order to strengthen the sense of community, Guttmann introduced uniform club t-shirts with Hakoah logo: “So that you can see who belongs to us and know the players for whom they compete for.”
Francis Anner, who recently took over the Presidium from Guttmann, emphasizes: “We are very happy about these members, but the club’s Jewish identity should be preserved.” He also started playing tennis in Hakoah at the age of six. For him, the preservation of this identity primarily means keeping the club’s historical legacy visible and maintaining the connection to the Jewish community. «We are completely secular, as the club was always. The members decide whether they play on public holidays or not. But it is important to us that the history and roots of the club are not lost. »
modernization
The preservation of the club’s Jewish identity goes hand in hand with a clear view of the future. Under Guttmann’s management, the floodlight systems were converted to LED technology and the second place was converted into an all-weather court-a project worth around 90,000 francs that could be fully financed thanks to contributions from the Swisslos Fund and Jewish foundations. “In the future, we will save on maintenance and the season can be extended,” says Guttmann. In the long term, a second all -weather court could follow. The renewal of the clubhouse is also on the agenda; An architecture firm offers the planning work Pro Bono. “As soon as the financial means are there, we also want to tackle this modernization,” said Anner.
At the same time, the new president wants to put the club more aware of the Basel population, both in the district and within the Jewish community. The aim is to win young players in particular for tennis, fill open vacancies on the board and to generate additional income through sponsors. In addition, the exchange with other Jewish sports clubs, such as the Hakoah TC Zurich, is to be intensified. His goal is to lead the Hakoah TC as a sporty, open, open and at the same time firmly rooted in its history into the future.
The anniversary is now celebrated on August 24th with aperitif, klezmer music and a greetings from Guttmann. The highlights are the presentation of Elia Gilgen’s Matura on the club’s history, which he researched as a long-time member with great care and which was also a valuable basis for this review, as well as a tennis match with Davis Cup winner Marco Chiudinelli. For President Anner, the celebration is not only a review, but above all a prelude to the coming decades: the Hakoah TC should remain attractive in terms of sport, strengthen the community and preserve its Jewish character- as a permanently anchored part of the Basel city and Jewish sports history, emerged from the will for self-assertion and supported by openness and commitment.
Invitation to the 100th anniversary with a rich program. Registration: support@tchakoahbs.ch. In the brick yards 145, Basel. From 10.30 a.m.
date: 2025-08-15 08:04:00