... He was buried in Hollenstedt, in his home state of Lower Saxony on Friday. A funeral service in Hamburg is planned. Schmeling, born on 28 September 1905, was a strapping white athlete who once dined with Hitler. An autographed picture of der Fuhrer even hung in his study.

In truth he was not a supporter of the Nazi party. On 9 November 1938, when Nazi gangs destroyed 191 synagogues and murdered 91 Jews, Schmeling sheltered two Jewish youngsters in his Berlin flat and helped them flee. He also employed a Jewish manager, against Hitler's orders.

Schmeling was used by the Nazis as a symbol of Aryan supremacy. The heavyweight had become a reluctant hero two years earlier, when on 19 June 1936, he travelled to New York and knocked out Joe Louis, a black boxer who was considered unbeatable. But it is the rematch for which he is best remembered.

By 22 June 1938, Louis had become world champion. A defence against the only man to have beaten him was a promoter's dream. It was a fight that pitted good (Louis and the US) against evil (Schmeling and Germany), and the European travelled to the US where he was met by a groundswell of hatred.

Hitler had consistently hailed Schmeling after that 1936 victory and, as the public's awareness of the Nazis grew, so they vented their anger against the German in this rematch. At stake was the most prestigious title in the sport - and personal revenge.

The fight was brutal and brief. Louis knocked his opponent down three times in the opening round and hit him with such force that Schmeling screamed. His cornermen rushed into the ring to spare him further punishment. Louis threw more than 40 punches and each one landed with a sickening thud. The ending on German radio was silenced and the boxer was carried away on a stretcher.

Returning home after their first contest, Schmeling had been met at the airport by Nazi members; now he cut a lone, battered figure. It was nearly a year before he recovered from his injuries to box on, but his moment in the ring had come and gone....