” Small Acts of Resistance”

It is a photograph that has gone down in infamy. England, fresh from the Home International tournament, travelled to Nazi Germany in 1938 for a friendly. Amid increasing tensions between the two countries, and with the policy of appeasement desperately seeking to avoid conflict at all costs, the England players were warned that the slightest spark could tip the entire continent into an unimaginably destructive war. With that in mind, both British and German officials put pressure on the players to show their respect to the Führer and give the Hitler salute. To the disappointment of all involved, including some among the greatest players of their generation, they acquiesced and performed the salute. The photograph is a monument of shame to English football, but what cannot be seen is that, outside of the eleven on the pitch, one player refused.

That one principled man was Stan Cullis. The Wolves legend was at the peak of his powers in the late 1930s, a regular in the national side and, before long, he would take over the captaincy. The man he would take the armband from was Eddie Hapgood, the Arsenal left back who had just pipped Cullis’ Wolves to the title. In the dressing room before the match, so Stanley Matthews recalled in his autobiography, there was a heated debate among the players about the appropriateness of the gesture. Hapgood, as leader, took the final decision. With the threat of war hanging over them, he decided that his players would make the salute. While most went along with their captain’s decision, Cullis famously replied “count me out”.

Rumours persist that this refusal saw him thrown out of the team. In reality, if it played a part at all, it was simply the final straw after a poor final game against Scotland in the Home Nations. Having already won the competition, and with Scotland having fallen to successive defeats, England took it easy against the Auld Enemy. Preston forward Frank O’Donnell led the Scottish line as they ran out 1-0 winners, Cullis taking the blame. It would have been no surprise for him to have been dropped in the next game, but his refusal to salute under any circumstances has, rightly, taken precedence in his story.

You can see the shame in the body language of some of the England players in that infamous photograph. Slumped bodies, eyes down, none of the respectful strength that the salute was supposed to convey. It is difficult to imagine that, as they submitted to their captain’s orders, one of two didn’t wish they were back in the dressing room with Cullis

While it is the most famous example, that England game in Berlin in 1938 was not the only example of pressure being put on British players to abandon any principles and misgivings to show implicit support to the Nazi leader.

Four years earlier, a precedent had been set when Derby County travelled across North West Germany on a preseason tour. Initially, things were friendly between the visitors and their hosts, and Derby lost three and drew one of their games as they got fit, ready for the season. Defender Dave Holford recalled the tense atmosphere of the new Nazi regime though, with Swastikas emblazoned across each town, and ‘Heil Hitler’ ringing out at the beginning of ever conversation. ‘Even then, you could see this was a country preparing for war’, he would later say.

Amid this strange atmosphere, the British ambassador informed the club that it would be prudent to give the salute for the German crowd in their final game. The players protested but were informed that it was an instruction from on high, and that it was necessary to avoid causing offence. Derby’s players, just as England four years later, acquiesced and gave the salute. All except Jack Kirby.

The Derby goalkeeper had been adamant that he wouldn’t give the salute, but was selected, nonetheless. In photographs, his teammates have their arms raised, while he stands there, looking down the line, arms by his side, clearly uncomfortable.

The Nazi regime controlled everything in Germany after 1933, including sports. One need only look at the badge of Bayern Munich in this period to see how pervasive their influence was.

It is easy to hold our high morals with 85 years of hindsight, but with the most catastrophic war of all time, up to that point, still in living memory, a few seconds of shame to avoid another must have seemed a fair exchange.

Shamefully, and honestly, had I been in their position I may have done the same. Which makes the courage and resistance of Stan Cullis and Jack Kirby all the more important. Before long, both would see the horrors of what they had resisted firsthand.

Enjoy the game!

Martyn Green

The Untold Game

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