One tournament, two championships, and then Katyn. Siegfried Wende was one of many athletes whose lives were interrupted by the war. He is also a fist fighter who made a permanent mark in the history of the discipline. Strong, ambitious, he liked working with children.

Warsaw, early December 1925. In the second Polish boxing championships, the last blows are struck in the lightweight category. A moment later the Silesian Zygfryd Wende becomes national champion, beating Mieczysław Ciężki from the Poznan Warta in the final fight, on points. There is considerable joy in his camp. This is a big success. But Wende's ambitions go further...

The rules of the time allow a fighter to challenge a champion from a higher category to a duel. Siegfried decides to throw down the gauntlet to a Poznanian, Jan Arski. The latter agrees to the proposal. At stake is the welterweight title.

"A match for the welterweight title from Wende's challenge. And it is difficult to determine whose side had the advantage and to whom the victory would have gone if the fight had been completed normally. Due to a forbidden punch and previous warnings, the referee disqualifies Arski. In view of this, Wende wins the welterweight championship in addition to the previously won lightweight championship. Wende's representative lodges a protest and leaves the referee's table," the Przegląd Sportowy later reported (original spelling).

The verdict from the ring was upheld. With the disqualification of the Warta Poznan fighter, Wende won his second world title in one tournament. This case would never be repeated again in the history of Polish boxing, and the provision for challenging a fighter of a higher category would already be removed a year later. Only that Zygfryd will go down in the history of domestic boxing for yet another reason.

In May 1925, the fighter goes to the European championships. In Stockholm, he is the first in history and the only Pole at that time to take part in the continental struggles. However, he quickly drops out of the competition. But he does not leave a stain.

"A sign of improvement in our fisting class can be seen in the honourable result of the same Wende - losing on points to the English champion Vine in Stockholm, while our Olympians in Paris were either knocked out or, what is worse, lost by disqualification shortly after 1-2 rounds," assessed the editor of the weekly "Stadjon" (original spelling).

In only one year did Siegfried Wende become a historical figure, at least from a sporting point of view. In 1943, he made history again. This time, as a victim of the Katyn massacre.

Champion from Upper Silesia
He was born on the first day of the year 1903 in Roździeń, today a district of Katowice. He had a good childhood. Mother Louisa worked as an embroiderer and lace maker. His father, Emil, was employed as a foreman in the Ferdinand mine. The family was doing well, but the parents did not see their son in the mining industry, so they sent him to learn to be a baker right after primary school.

In the early 1920s, Wende went to Wrocław for journeyman apprenticeships. There he became acquainted with boxing. He liked the sport so much that he began regular training. He had a knack for it. In 1921 and 1922, he even won the South-East German championship. A year later, however, he returned to Upper Silesia and knocked on the door of KS Lechia 06 Mysłowice. He offered the activists that, in exchange for a job at the factory, he would fight in the colours of this club. The deal was struck... and the first successes came. First the local ones - two Silesian championships (1923 and 1924).

In 1925, Siegfried was called up to the army. He registered in Lutsk, but his boxing past and great sporting skills meant that he was transferred to the capital, to the Cestes Warsaw club. At that time, his letters were published in "Polonia", in which he pacified the mood of the Silesian youth community escaping conscription to the Weimar Republic. After completing his military service, he returned to his hometown and donned the colours of KS 09 Mysłowice. In 1927, he won another national championship.

Stamm not afraid of him
His life turned upside down in 1929, when the economic crisis caused him to lose his job. He joined the police force and the new responsibilities severely affected his regularity in training. A year later he decided to hang up his gloves. He went into coaching. He became the first Silesian to complete a coaching course at the Central Institute of Physical Education in Warsaw. He became a trainer in the boxing section of the Police Sports Club Katowice. He was an activist. He tried to pass on his sporting passion to the youngest, for example in the "Police Family" association, where he conducted swimming trainings for children. He got married. His bride was Maria Długajczyk, daughter of the owner of a restaurant on Miarki Square.

Wende was a strong fighter. Aleksander Reksza, the legendary sports journalist, wrote about him as follows:

"He represented the so-called Silesian school of boxing founded on efficiency and lacking technical finesse. He was a stocky boy with sloping shoulders, he fought from close range, throwing punches in bursts, most often hooks and sweeps. He hit strongly, groaning amusingly when he hit" .

Between the ropes, he fought 150 fights, of which 131 he won, eight he tied and 11 he lost. Interestingly, his opponent - and twice - was the founder of the powerhouse of Polish boxing, Felis Stamm. Zygfryd first tied with him and then won.

Katyn sacrifice
When the Second World War broke out, Zygfryd Wende, as a foreman of the Silesian Police, was ordered to evacuate to the east. Most probably, thanks to contacts he had acquired earlier, he found himself in Łuck. According to other sources - he was in Tarnopol. It is not known where he was arrested by the Soviets. What is known is that, as a police officer, he did not stand much of a chance of survival.

He was incarcerated in the Ostashkov camp. He was then transported to Kalinin (today's Tver). There he was murdered. The Silesian fighter's body was taken to Mednoye and thrown into a specially prepared pit.

He was not forgotten, although during the communist years it was not allowed to write about the place and circumstances of his death. The Katowice City Council, by resolution no. XVIII/372/12 of 25 January 2012, named the side road from Lwowska Street as 'Zygfryd Wende Street'. This is how they commemorated the fighter who will forever remain the first Polish participant in the European championships....