Alfred Schwarzmann

Alfred Schwarzmann
Alfred Schwarzmann
Born	(1912-03-22)22 March 1912 Fürth, Kingdom of Bavaria
Died	Goslar, Germany
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Luftwaffe
Rank	Major of the Reserves
Unit	8./Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1
Battles/wars	World War II Battle of the Netherlands Battle of Crete Eastern Front
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Other work	Gymnast Teacher

Alfred Schwarzmann
— Gymnast —
Schwarzmann at the 1936 Olympics
Personal information
Country represented	West Germany
Former countries represented	German Empire Nazi Germany
Discipline	Men's artistic gymnastics
Club	Heeressportschule Wünsdorf, Zossen; TV 1860 Fürth, Fürth
Medal record Olympic Games Berlin 1936 Individual all-around Berlin 1936 Team all-around Berlin 1936 Vault Berlin 1936 Horizontal bar Berlin 1936 Parallel bars Helsinki 1952 Horizontal bar

Karl Alfred Markus Schwarzmann (22 March 1912 – 11 March 2000) was a German Olympic gymnast and Fallschirmjäger 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 he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

Biography

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.

Schwarzmann served as an army sports instructor at the Army Sport School in Wünsdorf. From there he went to II. Battalion, 1st Parachute Regiment in Stendal on 1 January 1939 and later to Braunschweig. On 11 March 1940 he was promoted to Oberleutnant and on 1 April became commander of a machine gun platoon in the 8th Company of the 1st Parachute Regiment.

On 10 May 1940 Schwarzmann and his company parachuted into the Netherlands and took a key bridge at Moerdijk. This his unit held until relief forces arrived. 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.

In the Battle of Crete Schwarzmann saw action in the Heraklion area. Promoted to Hauptmann on 27 June 1942, he led the 3rd Parachute Regiment's 8th Company and was later made company commander. From 1941 to 1942 he fought in Russia on the Eastern Front.

On 15 March 1943 he became commander of the headquarters of the 7th Air Division. Afterwards he held the same position with the 1st Parachute Division.

Schwarzmann was forced to enter the Luftwaffe hospital in Munich on 4 March 1944 because of his old wound. On 20 April 1945 he was promoted to Major. Schwarzmann was held prisoner of war by the British from 9 May to 29 October 1945.

Schwarzmann (middle) in 1951

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

His daughter is the former and first Bundestrainerin (national head coach) in Equestrian vaulting, international referee and renowned coach Helma Schwarzmann. She is one of the most successful coaches worldwide, having won more than 30 World Championship titles in her career.

Quotes

The Swiss gymnast, Jack Günthard, winner of the Gold medal Horizontal bar at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics about Alfred Schwarzmann: "The victory should have belonged to Alfred – but he was a German" (Der Sieg hätte eigentlich Alfred gebührt – aber er war eben Deutscher.)

Awards

• Luftwaffe Parachutist Badge
• Iron Cross
  • 2nd Class (25 May 1940)
  • 1st Class (25 May 1940)
• Wound Badge (1939) in Black (29 May 1940)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 24 May 1940 as Oberleutnant and Zugführer (platoon leader) in the 8./Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1

External links

• Alfred Schwarzmann
• Alfred Schwarzmann @ the Hall of Fame des deutschen Sports