Isidore Goudeket

For a many years, the exact identity of this Dutch gymnast was unknown, merely being listed as “I. or S. Goudeket”. Isidore Goudeket, was like many other Jewish men in Amsterdam at the time, trained as a diamond cutter. He joined gymnastics club Spartacus, which was not specifically Jewish, but had many Jewish members for which gymnastics was an important part of their lives. Coached by club director Jan de Boer, Goudeket joined the Amsterdam selection of gymnasts in 1905. When De Boer was asked by the Dutch federation to form a team for the 1908 London Olympics, Goudeket was selected, along with fellow Spartacus members Emanuel Brouwer and Jonas Slier.

The Dutch team did not perform as well as they themselves expected, partially because they had prepared much shorter exercises than was required of them under Olympic rules. However, the gymnasts also greatly enjoyed the night life of London, which likely did not help their performances. Two years later, Spartacus, with Goudeket, competed at the Gymnastics competition held in honor of the 1910 World Expo in Brussels and won first prize.

During the First World War, Goudeket had started producing and selling children’s furniture. As he became partially paralysed in 1923, he was no longer an active gymnast, but still remained heavily involved with Spartacus’ finances and administration. By the late 1920s, he returned to diamond cutting, initially in Antwerp, but later again in Amsterdam. Diamond workers were initially exempt from deportation, but Goudeket and his family were among the 5,500 Jews taken from their homes during the great razzia of 20 June 1943. They were transported to transition camp Westerbork, where Goudeket encountered his old teammate Brouwer. Goudeket and his wife left Westerbork on 6 July with destination Sobibor, where they were gassed within 15 minutes of arrival. Many of Goudeket’s family members and former Spartacus club members met a similar fate, although Goudeket’s daughter Elise and gymnast Brouwer survived the war.

Brouwer’s great-grandson Erik published a book about Brouwer’s life, and that of Goudeket in 2009, called “Spartacus” after the club at which both were members.