What were the Saddest Last Words in History

Did you know that the German athlete giving the Nazi salute behind Jesse Owens during the 1936 Olympics was actually his friend? Yes, that was Luz Long. Despite living in Nazi Germany, where the Aryan race was deemed superior, Luz didn’t buy into that belief at all.

Jesse Owens, a black American athlete, and Luz Long, a German, formed an unlikely friendship during those Olympic Games. They kept in touch through letters even as World War II broke out. Luz was sent to fight in North Africa and Sicily, but their bond remained strong. They wrote to each other about their families, dreams, and fears.

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In 1943, Luz wrote his final letter to Jesse from the desert in North Africa. His words were haunting and deeply moving:

“I am here, Jesse, where there is only dry sand and wet blood. I do not fear so much for myself, my friend Jesse, but for my wife and my young son Karl, who has never really known his father.

My heart tells me this is the last letter I shall ever write. If it is so, I ask you something very important. When this war is over, please go to Germany, find my Karl, and tell him about his father. Tell him about the times when we were not separated by war. Show him how men can live together on this earth.

If you do this for me, I will tell you something you need to hear. When I first spoke to you in Berlin, when you were kneeling in prayer, I knew it was not by chance that we met. I believe now that God will make sure this letter reaches you. This is what I have to tell you, Jesse.

I think I might believe in God. And I pray that these words will be read by you.

Your brother, Lutz.”

Jesse did receive the letter, but by then, Luz had been transferred to Sicily and died during the Allied invasion. More than thirty years later, an elderly Jesse Owens traveled to Germany to find Karl Long, fulfilling his friend’s last wish.

That’s Karl and Jesse Owens in the picture above. Jesse Owens kept his promise to his best friend. To see his son. To tell him about the father he never knew. To tell him of their friendship. To tell him father was a good man. A brave man and honorable man. Jesse Owens, himself, died shortly after meeting Karl.

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