Alfred Schwarzmann

Alfred Schwarzmann
— Gymnast —

Schwarzmann at the 1936 Olympics
Personal information
Country represented West Germany West Germany
Former countries represented German Empire German Empire Nazi Germany Nazi Germany
Discipline Men's artistic gymnastics
Club Heeressportschule Wünsdorf, Zossen;
TV 1860 Fürth, Fürth[1]
Medal record
Olympic Games
Representing Germany
1936 Berlin Individual all-around
1936 Berlin Team all-around
1936 Berlin Vault
1936 Berlin Horizontal bar
1936 Berlin Parallel bars
Representing Germany
1952 Helsinki Horizontal bar
Alfred Schwarzmann
Born (1912-03-22)22 March 1912
Fürth, Kingdom of Bavaria
Died 11 March 2000(2000-03-11) (aged 87)
Goslar, Germany
Allegiance  Nazi Germany
Service/branch  Luftwaffe
Rank Major of the Reserves
Battles/wars

World War II

Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Karl Alfred Markus Schwarzmann (22 March 1912 – 11 March 2000) was a German Olympic gymnast and member of airborne troops during World War II. He won three gold and two bronze medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics and another silver medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics. As a Fallschirmjäger (paratrooper) he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.[1]

Career

Alfred Schwarzmann joined the 13th Company of the Nuremberg Infantry Regiment on 1 April 1935 after signing up for a twelve-year period of service. He was promoted to Unteroffizier on 1 May 1935 and was a member of the Gymnastics team preparing for the 1936 Berlin Olympics, where he won three gold and two bronze medals.[1] Schwarzmann served as an army sports instructor at the Army Sport School in Wünsdorf. He went on to serve in the 1st Parachute Regiment.

On 10 May 1940 Schwarzmann and his company parachuted into the Netherlands and took a key bridge at Moerdijk. In the first hour of the fighting Schwarzmann was badly wounded when a bullet pierced a lung. He was treated for his wounds in Dordrecht after the Dutch capitulation.[1] In the Battle of Crete Schwarzmann saw action in the Heraklion area. From 1941 to 1942 he fought on the Eastern Front. In March 1943 he became commander of the headquarters of the 7th Air Division. Afterwards he held the same position with the 1st Parachute Division. He surrendered on 9 May 1945.

Aged 40, Schwarzmann competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics in all artistic gymnastics events and won a silver medal on the horizontal bar. In 2008 he was inducted into the Germany's Sports Hall of Fame.[1]

Awards

References

Citations

Bibliography

  • Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2. 
  • Thomas, Franz; Wegmann, Günter (1986). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Deutschen Wehrmacht 1939–1945 Teil II: Fallschirmjäger [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the German Wehrmacht 1939–1945 Part II: Paratroopers] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-1461-8. 

External links

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