It was the boxing match of the decade, perhaps even the century. In the summer of 1938, it was a symbol of freedom versus dictatorship. The heavyweight championship of boxing was held at Yankee stadium and was the second meeting for the two pugilists. African American Joe Louis and Caucasian German Max Schmeling faced off in front of a crowd of 70,000 with many more listening on the radio. In fact, the famous fight drew the largest radio audience in history at that time.

By 1938, Adolph Hitler had held power in Germany for five years and Nazi propaganda was rampant. Labeled as German socialism, the Nazi party had brought the country out of economic depression, organized the workers, created numerous social and civic organizations and even begun the indoctrination of Germany’s children through the Hitler Youth program. For the majority of German nationals, Hitler and his social programs actually improved their standards of living.

But of course, it was far from wonderful in Nazi Germany for a large minority population. Since Hitler’s rise to power German Jews had felt the full weight of economic discrimination and social isolation. In the five years before the famous match in New York, and just one year before the outbreak of World War II, ghettos, restrictive laws, concentration camps, secret arrests and disappearances was commonplace in the German Jewish community. American Jews were well aware of the racism that was spreading like a virus across Europe.

In America, racism between blacks and whites was still very much the order of the day. Black tenant farmers and white land owners were still locked in the age old cycle of dependency and hate and in the north, blacks fought hard against ingrained social formats and condescending deference. Life in the 1930s was full of depression, anxiety, economic woes and contrasting cultures. But despite all this, Joe Louis, a young black man from a small town just outside of La Fayette, Alabama had managed to snag the title of America’s champion and he was determined to seek his revenge against German great Max Schmeling.

70 million tuned in to hear the blow by blow account of the short match consisting of a single round that lasted only two minutes and four seconds. Because Joe Louis had wanted revenge and he got it. The pounding began almost immediately after the starting bell rang. Perhaps Joe was remembering everything Schmeling had said about him after that first meeting. Calling him amateur in his style and mocking his inexperience, Schmeling was unprepared for the man he met in the ring on June 22, 1938.

The fight was quick because Louis didn’t give Schmeling the chance. Americans both black and white, Jewish and non Jewish cheered Louis on as he struck the German with blow after powerful blow. Each time Schmeling tried to get back up, Louis knocked him down again and the crowd cheered for an American hero as they booed and hissed at the German. The fight was a distraction from the heavy burden of the depression and a focus for the growing resentment against Nazi Germany. And Joe Louis did his job well, forcing Schmeling into a knock out count situation he couldn’t return from. The referee reached “10,” the fight was over and the crowd roared in the stadium and across the land.

Joe Louis’ victory didn’t end the racial violence in America nor did it quell the ambitions of Nazi Germany. What it did do was unite Americans across cultural divides for one night for a few minutes so they could forget about the misery that surrounded them. He gave a country hope where none seemed available and he proved that the American dream can come true regardless of the color of your skin.

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Tags: 1938, Adolf HItler, Boxing, Boxing History, concentration camps, Depression, disappearances, Great Depression, Hitler, Hitler Youth, jewish ghettos, Joe Louis, June 22, Max Schmeling, Nazi Party, Nazi propaganda, Racism in America, racism in Germany, restrictive laws, secret arrests, Socialism, World War II