Paratrooper and knights cross winner: Karl Alfred Schwarzmann

[frankandfrank]

wartime photo with poswar signature from:
Karl Alfred Schwarzmann, 3 gold medals in Berlin 1936:
Fallschirmschützenabzeichen des Heeres Nr. 864
Knights cross on 29.05.1940
regards
ralf

[Óscar G]

On May 10, 1940 he (as Oberleutant and Machine-Gun Platoon-Leader 8. /FJR1) and his company were dropped on Holland (Moerdijk). Schwarzmann was wounded in the fighting when a bullet pierced his lung and received both EK on 25 May 1940; four days later, the KC.

Some state that all these awards were propaganda, because he landed on a secure area without firing a shot. He was about to die, and this was the reason of his "quick" awards. In short, he didn´t deserve to win them...

Olympic Games Winner 1936 ( 3 x gold, 1 x bronce)
Olympic Games Winner 1952 (Hlesinki) ( 1 x silver)

Regards. Óscar.

[Jean-Loup]

Well, if he got shot, the area couldnt have been very secure...

JL

[Jean-Loup]

What olympic sport did this person do to be able to win medals 16 years appart? He must have been pretty good!
JL

[Óscar G]

Hi Jean-Loup:
This may help you. He won gold medals in All-around Individual and Vault; and BRONZE medals in Horizontal Bar and Parallel Bars. All this awards in Berlin 1936. He got another silver one (1952) in Horizontal Bar... 12 years after one of his lungs "became holey". It´s a work of merit.

Óscar

[Chris B]

Any German Para who can survive five years of war and win five Olympic medals to boot impresses the heck out of me! Cheers,CB.

[WalterB]

ChrisB, don't forget that in those five years he saw combat action AND won the KC. This guy is very impressive.

[Chris B]

Walter, absolutely!It's such a shame that men like these don't get the recognition and respect they deserve. Sometimes I think that losing a war also means giving up the battle for History and your place in it. Cheers, CB.

[Eric Queen]

Unfortunately, as a soldier at least, Mr.Schwarzmann wasn't that impressive. This is the resounding consensus of all whom were there. Valor decorations are subjective ( and sometimes political), this is always the case. But Schwarzmann did not deserve to win the RK by even the wildest stretch of the imagination. When he was in the hospital in Dordrecht, they didn't think he was going to make it at first, thus was awarded the RK as a propaganda ploy ( just as Schmeling was awarded the EK 1 & 2 for Kreta ( for not firing a shot, and making zero contribution to the final outcome )), because he was an Olympic Hero. Prager also had a lot to do with the award as it was he who brought Schwarzmann into the FIB ( to help develop techniques in rolling after landing (to avoid injury )), from his instructors position at the sports school at Wundsdorf.

OK, people will say "it wasn't his fault that he was used as a propaganda tool. After all, the man was shot and almost died for Gods sake". Well, if it had ended there, that would probably be the case, and that's how it would be remembered. The real problem is that Schwarzmann put the RK in everyones face, every chance he got. He would actually hold it out from his neck, and point out how much better he was than everyone else ( because of this award ), every chance he got. His men thought he was a pathetic fool. After the war, he would never attend the reunions because he knew he wasn't welcome. Really the only one to stay close to him was Mr.Kuehl ( who was the one who moved him away from the street and into the shopfront that day in Moerdijk)
I was at Mr.Schwarzmanns home once durring one of Mr.Kuehl's visits ( he (Kuehl) actually lives in Canada ). We tried to get him ( Schwarzmann ) to go to the reunion with us, but he could only come up with the usual excusses.

Its a shame that Schwarzmann did not choose to show humility in this situation ( knowing that everyone knew the circumstances behind the awarding of the medal ), and choose to define himself by how he lead and treated his men, rather than by the medal itself. Sometimes you reap what you sow.

EQ

[John Hodgin]

Thanks Eric for the excellent insight that is often missing from history books.

Regards,
John

[Eric Queen]

Me with Schwarzmann at his home in Goslar. 1994

[Jean-Loup]

When I first saw the photo, I though you were Schwarzmans son. You have the same look.
Why are there appare,tly so many ex Fallschirmjager in Canada and the US. Personnaly, I have not spoken to a german vet ones in my life, in Canada, or France...

JL

[Chris B]

Erik, I didn't know that. Arrogance, like jealousy, is probably one of the most corrosive of all human failings. Cheers, CB.