Despite always being curious about her roots, Pamela knew very little about her biological family history until she began digging deeper during the pandemic.
The Canadian adoptee and former journalist, who prefers to be identified only by her first name, approached her search like a puzzle, analyzing documents, photographs and DNA matches.
It was in a newspaper clipping from 1940 that he made a shocking and unexpected discovery about his grandfather.
Stefan “Steve” Zakall was a Hungarian-born weightlifter, but to his disbelief, he was also the man who, during a fateful confrontation, whipped Adolf Hitler with a belt.
He had been part of a local guard that traveled from city to city to act against the rising wave of fascism in Europe.
And on January 30, 1927, Steve found himself in the middle of a violent fight between Nazis and Socialists in the small town of Schattendorf, Austria.
Despite it being the only weapon available at the time, Steve said he hit Hitler so hard with his belt that he ran away begging for mercy and hid in a wheat field.
It was a skirmish the future Führer would not forget and Steve was forced to flee to Canada two years later when a price was put on his head.
An article published in The Vancouver Sun on January 20, 1940
Steve (Stefan) Zakall, third from right, on his way to Schattendorf on January 30, 1927
Adolf Hitler photographed in Munich in the spring of 1932
Steve was born in an area of Hungary that later became Austria in 1904 and quickly developed a passion for weightlifting.
As an athlete, he became a member of the Schutzbund, a paramilitary wing of the leftist Social Workers’ Democratic Party (SDAP).
The group was formed in 1923 as a response to rising political violence and as a counterweight to well-funded far-right military groups.
Pamela, a former journalist, described how her grandfather was directly involved in the fighting on January 30, 1927.
“He hit Hitler with a belt,” Pamela explained.
“It was a chaotic moment, but he made direct contact.”
This incident, later known as the “Schattendorf Shots”, became a decisive moment in Austrian history.
Two people, including a small child, were killed during the clash, and those responsible for their deaths were later acquitted in a controversial trial.
This verdict enraged the socialist movement and led directly to the July Uprising in Vienna later that year.
Violence broke out throughout the city and the political fabric of Austria was irrevocably altered.
The incident is remembered as a turning point that paved the way for the eventual rise of fascism in the country.
Hitler (pictured) became Germany’s leader in 1933 and remained in office until his death by suicide in 1945.
Steve Zakall in the center of the front row wearing dark trousers, white shirt and white jacket on July 15, 1927
Steve’s involvement with the Schutzbund made him a target, and as soon as the fighting was over, news of his confrontation with Hitler spread quickly.
“He had to flee,” Pamela explained. “There was a price on his head for that fight and he had no choice but to leave the country.”
With the help of two Allied war veterans, Steve smuggled himself out of Austria and eventually reached Canada in 1929.
His family followed soon after and settled in British Columbia, where Steve began a new life as a horticulturist in the heart of Canada’s Okanagan Valley.
But despite leaving Europe behind, the memory of the struggle never left him and years later, while applying for Canadian citizenship, Steve’s story resurfaced.
During the trial, a judge asked him if he would be willing to defend his new adopted country.
Without hesitation, Steve replied, “I’d love the chance to do it again,” referring to his previous fight against the Nazis.
Pamela explained: “That bold statement caught the attention of a court reporter and the story spread quickly.”
It was picked up by newspapers across Canada, including The Montreal Gazette and The Vancouver Sun.
A report in the Tacoma Times, January 18, 1940, said: ‘A man who claims to have whipped Adolf Hitler with a belt until he bled and begged for mercy has become a Canadian citizen here, it was learned today.
‘This is Stephen Zakall, a Hungarian-born rancher.’
A clipping from an article published in The Tacoma Times on January 18, 1940
The article also contained the following quote: ‘I took off my belt, caught up with Hitler and believe me I soaked that guy until he bled and ran away with the rest of the gang and hid in a wheat field.’
Another story published in The Vancouver Sun on January 20 included a photo of Steve lifting weights.
He claimed that Stephen Zakall had gained an “international reputation as the man who whipped Hitler”.
It was through these reports, which were accessed through the My Heritage OldNews Collection, where Pamela discovered the shocking story of her grandfather.
“It was surreal to read that and think that was my grandfather,” she said.
Pamela was also surprised by how few of her family members knew about Steve’s incredible story and explained how it has brought them closer together.
“They knew he had been a strong man and a weightlifter, some family members did know he had been involved in some kind of resistance, but they did not know with whom, to what extent or the magnitude of it,” he revealed.
Steve was married three times and had 12 children, eight daughters and four sons.
While continuing to pursue his love of weightlifting, he became an avid horticulturist and worked hard at his craft until he died on January 19, 1986 of a heart attack at the age of 81.