Everything about Alfred Schwarzmann totally explained
Alfred Schwarzmann (born
22 March 1912; died
11 March 2000) was a
German Olympic Gymnast and
Fallschirmjäger during
World War II.
He won three
Gold medals and two
Bronze medals in the
Gymnastics at the 1936 Summer Olympics in
Berlin and another
Silver medal in the
Gymnastics at the 1952 Summer Olympics in
Helsinki. 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
April1,
1935 after signing up for a twelve year period of service. He was promoted to
Unteroffizier on
May 1,
1935 and was a member of the
Gymnastics team preparing for the
1936 Olympic Games in
Berlin, where he won three
Gold medals 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
January 1,
1939 and later to
Braunschweig. On
March 11,
1940 he was promoted to
Oberleutnant and on
April 1 became commander of a machine gun platoon in the 8th Company of the 1st Parachute Regiment.
On
May 10,
1940 Schwarzmann and his company parachuted into
Holland and took a key enemy position on the coast. This they held until relief forces arrived. In the course of the fighting Schwarzmann was badly wounded when a bullet pierced a lung. Near
Dordrecht he was discovered by a Dutch soldier,
speedskater Siem Heiden, who recognized his fellow Olympian and brought him to safety.
Alfred Schwarzmann received both
Iron Crosses on
May 25,
1940 and four days later the
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
In the
Battle of Crete Schwarzmann saw action in the
Heraklion area. Promoted to
Hauptmann on
June 27,
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
March 15,
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
March 4,
1944 because of his old wound. On
April 20,
1945 he was promoted to
Major. Schwarzmann was held prisoner of war by the British from
May 9 to
October 29,
1945.
Schwarzmann participated in the
1952 Olympic Games in
Helsinki as a forty year old and won a
Silver medal.
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 world wide, 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
Iron Cross
- 2nd Class (25 May 1940)
- 1st Class (25 May 1940)
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (29 May 1940)Further Information
Get more info on 'Alfred Schwarzmann'.
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