ELECTED MEMBERS
   
Last NameSportCountryYear Inducted
ARTHUR HANAK

Sport: Archivist/Administrator
Inducted:
1994
Country:
Israel
Born: July 1, 1912, in Olomuc, Moravia
Died: July 28, 1993

Arthur Hanak was a founder of Israel’s Pierre Gildesgame Sports Museum and Archives in 1981 and its first curator. The museum exhibits the history of the Maccabi Movement and provides a chronicle of Jews in sports from the end of the nineteenth century to modern times.

As the longtime archivist of the Maccabi World Union (MWU), Hanak recorded the history of the organization, authored numerous MWU historical publications, and collected artifacts and memorabilia that would one day find their home in the Gildesgame Museum. He also served on the directorate of the MWU and helped organize many World Maccabiah Games.

Hanak immigrated twice to the Holy Land. In 1939, he arrived on an illegal immigrant ship and was intercepted and interned by the British. A former Czech army officer, he re-enlisted, and for bravery on the Russian front, he earned medals from both the French and Czech governments. Near the end of World War II, he located his younger sister at the Theresiendstatt concentration camp, the only survivor of his family. In 1949, he successfully immigrated to Israel and enlisted in the Israeli Army. After serving 13 years in the IDF, he retired with the rank of major.

 
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