As Ireland prepares to face Israel in football in the months ahead, emotions and protests sadly are likely to surround the matches. In times like these, it is important to remember that behind modern politics are also human stories; stories of courage, survival and ordinary people who chose humanity over hatred.
One such story is that of Mr Georges Loinger, a remarkable Jewish member of the French Resistance who saved hundreds of children from the Holocaust during the Second World War. His life reminds us that compassion and bravery can exist even in humanity’s darkest moments.
Born in Strasbourg in 1910, Mr Loinger grew up in a Jewish family and became an outstanding athlete. During the Nazi occupation of France, he used not weapons, but intelligence, sport and daring imagination to rescue Jewish children from deportation and almost certain death.
One of his most extraordinary methods involved football and ball games near the Swiss border. Loinger trained frightened children to run fast and fearlessly. Then, close to the frontier, he would throw a football or ball across the border and encourage the children to chase after it. By the time guards realised what was happening, the children had already crossed into neutral Switzerland and escaped Nazi persecution.
As the war intensified and German troops tightened border security, Loinger developed other creative escape plans. Sometimes children were disguised as mourners attending funerals near cemeteries beside the Swiss frontier. Hidden routes, ladders and false papers became tools of survival. Through these dangerous missions, Loinger personally helped rescue at least 350 Jewish children.
Loinger himself had earlier escaped from a German prisoner-of-war camp. Because he had blond hair and blue eyes, Nazi guards did not realise he was Jewish. After escaping, he joined the Jewish aid organisation OSE, which worked secretly with the French Resistance to protect children whose parents had been murdered or deported to concentration camps.
Those who knew him said he carried himself with calm confidence rather than fear. He later explained that sport helped him appear natural and composed at checkpoints, something that often saved lives. His courage earned him some of France’s highest honours, including the Legion of Honour and the Resistance Medal.
When Ireland and Israel meet on the football field, demonstrations and political disagreements may dominate news headlines. Yet stories like Georges Loinger’s show another side of history; one where the game of football itself became an instrument of rescue, hope and survival for vulnerable children fleeing real genocide.
Mr Loinger died in 2018 at the age of 108, but his legacy continues to inspire people across the world. In remembering him, we remember not Irish politics, but humanity.
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