Immi's Jewish Self Defense: Birth of Krav Maga

By Stephen Klein

This is a historical novel based on the real events between the years 1936 and 1940, a period of the rise of fascist populist anti-Semitic party in Bratislava, Slovakia, which serves as the background for an imaginary eye-witness account of the heroism of Immi Litchtenfeld and his friends and associates. It was during this dark period that Immi developed a system of self-defense that is widely practiced throughout the world today, known as "Krav Maga."
Faced by angry anti-Semitic mob attacks on the Jewish Quarter of the city, Immi had to develop a system of self-defense for people who were outnumbered and without experience in physical confrontations. Immi had won national acclaim in boxing, wrestling, and gymnastics, but after he witnessed the violence and the constant threat to the Jewish community, he decided to turn his entire orientation to self-defense and to promote it as a viable answer to the fascist violence.
Using his father's gym as a base for training, Immi's set out to convince his trainees that they could overcome an adversary that would be physically superior both in numbers and in strength. The beauty of his system was its basic simplicity, which made long periods of complicated training unnecessary. Basically, the idea was to learn how to block an attack and then to strike at vital areas of the body. The attacker became the victim. When survival was at stake, all rules of sportsmanship had to be thrown to the wayside.
However, this book is much more than a group's struggle against fascism. It is the day to day life of Immi and his friends who continued to live, laugh, and love, despite the continuous tension they were under.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 12, 2020
• ISBN: 9781984579201

Stephen Klein

Stephen Klein worked for the US Agency for International Development. He is a board member of the Hill Country Project.

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Copyright © 2020 by Stephen Klein.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

This book is a fictional account of a famous Jewish hero, Immi Lichtenfeld, whose personal life between the years 1936 and 1940 little is known, and the book takes the liberty to imagine his personal life with the greatest respect and affection, but it is ultimately the creation of the author’s imagination. The historical events that form the backdrop of the story are, on the other hand, as historically accurate as I was able to make them, and I encourage all readers to research this sometimes-overlooked part of World War II on your own.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 05/12/2020

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Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Epilogue

Introduction

This book is fiction, but the historic events between 1936 and 1940 that served as the background were very real. The story is told through the eyes of Immi Lichtenfeld and his heroic friends and associates who confronted the rise of a Fascist, anti-Semitic political party in 1936 and the Fascist dictatorial regime of 1938, which began to implement the policy of persecutions of Jews and dissidents. A renowned boxer, wrestler, and gymnast, Immi changed his orientation to self-defense techniques that have now become worldwide in popularity. Today Krav Maga training sessions are a part of every Israeli soldier’s combat training.

The origins began with his response to the violent mob attacks on the Jewish Quarter of Bratislava, Slovakia. The seemingly impossible challenge to overcome an adversary, superior both in numbers and strength, in a minimal amount of time was exactly what Immi accomplished. He and his trained group repelled a series of violent mob attacks.

The ascent to power of the Populist Fascist Party in 1938 meant that Immi had become a wanted man. In 1940, he escaped on the last refugee ship from Slovakia. Part of this book is an imaginary, eyewitness account of those interim years and the day-to-day lives of a heroic group of Jews and non-Jews who, despite constant threats and risks, faced their adversary with courage, camaraderie, and a staunch belief in their cause.

Chapter 1

The year was 1936, and it seemed to be an ordinary spring day in the Jewish Quarter of Bratislava, the capital city of Slovakia. The entire area was teeming with life with the sounds, sights, and smells of a vibrant community, the shouts and laughter of children playing, mixed with the voices of men and women at the outdoor market. The vendors shouted the special offers of the day, and the shoppers responded with their orders or haggled now and then over the prices. Inside the coffee shops, the older men played or watched an intense game of chess, while the women discussed their latest shopping exploits while sipping their coffee.

Outside, young mothers pushed their baby carriages along the street on their way to a nearby park. They were joined by the elder members of the community who sat on park benches, discussing the issues of the day amid their aches and pains. A group of Orthodox men was about to enter the small synagogue at the end of the street. Their shoulders and backs were covered by large blue and white prayer shawls and a small rounded skullcap (Kippah or Yarmulke) as a head cover. Their faces were covered by full beards, ranging from deep black to gray-white, depending on their ages. Dangling from their heads were long sidelocks (Payot).

The street itself was lined with a variety of shops, and the unique sounds and smells emanated from chickens hanging in the meat market, freshly cut wood from the carpentry shop, the sweets of the candy shop, the perfumed aroma from the barber shop, and of course, the intoxicating smells from the bakery.

But it was the uniqueness of the people that made this place come alive, the juggler encircled by admiring kids, the bent-over beggar who didn’t miss a single shop but gave a blessing to every donation, the carpenter whose wood sculptures made from leftover wood were displayed in the shop’s window, and the barber who started each day with a glass of beer with a raw egg in it.

Suddenly, without warning, all the residents ran for shelter into their houses and shops. There was no torrential downpour, jolting earthquake, or other natural disaster. It was an attack by a mob armed with wooden clubs and metallic pipes.

This was not a rampage of some foreign army but consisted of their neighbors who they grew up with, went to the same schools, and served in the same army.

Armed with ax handles and metal pipes, they marched into the narrow ghetto street smashing windows, destroying bicycles, overturning a fruit and vegetable stand, and attacking anyone who had not managed to flee. When their hate finally dissipated, they did an about face and headed for home.

Two stragglers had distanced themselves from the mob, slowly walking, their smug faces admiring all the damage they had inflicted. Crouched in an alleyway, waiting for an opportunity to spring into action, was Immi Lichtenfeld, a former boxing and wrestling champion of Slovakia. With the grace and speed of a powerful athlete, he made a catlike lunge, driving his wide shoulder into a pair of kneecaps, knocking his adversary down onto the cobblestone street. In the same motion, he straightened his body and delivered a powerful uppercut knockout blow to the victim’s companion.

Immi left them both sprawled on the street, and slowly continued forward and gazed left to right at the broken windows, the looted shelves, and the overturned fruit stand until he met the dismayed residents who began to gather in groups. The look of sheer despair on each face was harder to bear than the sight of the physical destruction.

Immi felt compelled to speak to them, to reassure them that, as far as he was concerned, this travesty would not be repeated. Immi grabbed a chair to stand on. He waved to the shell-shocked people to gather round. He, too, was in a state of bewilderment. The mob that attacked today were the same people who, only a few years ago, were cheering him and congratulating him on his sporting achievements. Today they were a vicious, rampaging crowd. He had completely underestimated Fascism and anti-Semitism. The insidious lies and continuous incitement of the Fascist Populist Party, blaming the Jews for the world economic depression and any other calamity they could conjure up, had a devastating effect on the relations between the two communities.

The thirty-year-old Immi, small in stature but broad shouldered and muscular with an angular jaw of a skilled boxer and athlete, gave the answer everyone was waiting to hear.

Tonight, we begin planning and training for the next confrontation with our neighbors.

You could see their reactions in their sparkling eyes, the straightening of their shoulders, and a thin smile of satisfaction on their faces.

The news of the mob rampage shocked everyone in the Jewish community, including all his former teammates in boxing, wrestling, and gymnastics. One by one they arrived at his father’s gym, determined to listen to what Immi had in mind when he claimed he could prevent another attack. Nobody wanted revenge. There was no intention of a comparable rampage through their neighborhoods. The group just wanted to block the attackers and give them a bloody nose, or a black eye. Immi knew there would be serious doubts. He decided he would have to make a dramatic, persuasive presentation.

There were countless self-defense systems throughout the world, but in almost each case, long periods of training and complicated moves had to be learned to become effective. He aimed for a system that would be available to everyone, regardless of physical condition. The results had to be immediate and decisive within a few seconds. The essence of Immi’s approach was to block the attacker and at the very same time to explosively strike the adversary in a sensitive area such as the groin, eyes, or throat. The altercation should be over in seconds.

A young eighteen-year-old boy sat in the group that encircled Immi and remained unconvinced. We are going to be outmuscled and outnumbered, he complained.

Here, take this stick and hit me with it, commanded Immi.

He wasn’t sure what was expected of him but shrugged his shoulders and raised the stick and struck down toward Immi’s head, who raised his left hand into a completely vertical position. The stick glanced off the side arm and fell downward. At the same time, he aimed his right elbow for the boy’s head.

Now I am going to take the stick and you are going to defend yourself. That’s it, you’ve got it. The youth blocked the stick, raising his arm and at the same time attacking with his elbow. That is all there is to it. Now practice with a partner and change positions. Now try to increase the speed of your attack. Practice enough times so it will become automatic. You won’t have to think about it, explained Immi. As they practiced over and over, gradually the original skeptical negativity began to fade. Their faces began to radiate eagerness and self-confidence.

Immi then presented them with a different scenario. He asked Gila, a young girl with previous self-defense training,