Gretel Bergmann

Life and work

The story behind the role.

German high jumper.

Gretel Lambert (born Margarethe Bergmann; April 12, 1914 – July 25, 2017) was a German Jewish track and field athlete who competed as a high jumper during the 1930s. Due to her Jewish origins, the Nazis prevented her from taking part in the 1936 Summer Olympics, after which she left Germany and vowed never to return. She however visited Germany in 2004 to meet with her 1930s rival Elfriede Kaun, whom she considered a friend. Bergmann turned 100 in 2014. She died in 2017 at her home in Jamaica Estates, Queens, New York.

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