German Gymnastics Festival 1928

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pageant to the stadium through the streets of Cologne
Mass free exercises on the Jahnwiese

The 14th German Gymnastics Festival took place in Cologne in 1928 . 300,000 people from 21 countries took part and 200,000 spectators came. The festival is considered the highlight of the sporting events in the Müngersdorfer Stadium before the Second World War .

Preparations

The year before, an office was set up to organize the festival. On April 28, 1927, the city council approved a grant of 150,000 Reichsmarks , against the resistance of the Communists: "We are of the opinion that this organization the German Gymnastics Association is a hidden, a camouflaged militarism, an organization of imperialists who ever from the capitalist society is petted. [...] Even today it is still proud to train the capitalists to develop a willing army of cannon fodder. "

The first discussions about the implementation at a higher level took place in December between Mayor Konrad Adenauer , the chairman of the main committee Barthel Gödde and the alderman Heinrich Billstein . The biggest problem turned out to be the solution to the question of how the expected 200,000 participants could be accommodated. There were mass quarters available for 120,000 people, and there were a further 20,000 places in private quarters. Additional spaces were created in factories and warehouses. Finally, the festival and the pageant were distinguished by their organizational precision.

The party

The "Mammoth Festival" was initiated by a Rheinstrom relay from Basel to Cologne on July 21, 1928, and in the evening a festival of the Rhinelander took place in the stadium. On the occasion of the 150th birthday of “ Turnvater Jahn ” , a 15-meter-high memorial was unveiled in the presence of his great-grandson, who had traveled from Chicago , and the chairman of the German Gymnastics Association, Oskar Berger .

On the following Wednesday the actual festival began with an opening ceremony on Neumarkt . The patron of the event was President Paul von Hindenburg . Among the numerous guests of honor were the Interior Minister Carl Severing , the Prussian Welfare Minister Heinrich Hirtsiefer and the head of the Army Command , General Wilhelm Heye . In his welcoming address, Alderman Billstein affirmed the character of the event, which was a celebration of “the ethnic family of German tribes and landscape”, in “harmony of hearts and in the commitment to Germany”.

“[...] in Cologne, the explosive political situation ensured that the protagonists adopted a combat-oriented attitude. The Rhineland was occupied by the French, the English and the Belgians. Many events were automatically given a demonstrative character and this is the only way to understand some of the statements made by the gymnastics instructors at the time. "

- German gymnastics festivals, p. 181.

All-day competitions were held from Thursday to Sunday, and the event ended with a procession from downtown Cologne to the stadium. The highlight of the gymnastics competitions were calisthenics by 20,000 gymnasts on the Jahnwiesen.

The radio reported on the gymnastics festival and thus for the first time on a major sporting event.

Competitions (selection)

The most important competition, the Turner Twelve Fight , ended with the following result:

space Surname Affiliation total score
1 Reuter TV 1846 pouring 208 P.
1 Price Aurora Illinois 208 P.
2 deer TV 1883 Feuerbach 207 P.
3 Mock TV GutsMuths Berlin 205 p.
4th Pfeiffer Hamburg Gymnastics Association 1816 203 P.
4th Stracke TV 1888 oaks 203 P.
4th Bass TV 1860 Munich 203 P.

literature

Commons : Deutsches Turnfest 1928  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files
  • Gabi Langen, Thomas Deres: Müngersdorfer Stadium Cologne. Emons, Cologne 1998, ISBN 3-89705-126-5 .
  • Herbert Neumann (Hrsg.): German gymnastics festivals: mirror image of the German gymnastics movement. ed. from Dt. Gymnastics Federation. Bad Homburg 1985, ISBN 3-7853-1444-2 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Gabi Langen, Thomas Deres: Müngersdorfer Stadium Cologne. 1998, p. 118.
  2. ↑ a b c Gabi Langen, Thomas Deres: Müngersdorfer Stadium Cologne. 1998, p. 119.
  3. ↑ a b Herbert Neumann (Ed.): German gymnastics festivals. 1985, p. 181.
  4. ^ Deutsches Sport & Olympia Museum - 'Festzeitung Number 2 - 14th German Gymnastics Festival - 1928, Cologne' (museum-digital: rheinland). In: museum-digital.de. Retrieved March 7, 2017 .
  5. ^ Gabi Langen, Thomas Deres: Müngersdorfer Stadium Cologne. 1998, p. 120.
  6. ↑ Jahndenkmal. In: Picture Book Cologne. Retrieved March 7, 2017 .
  7. ↑ Pomeranian Turnzeitung. 14th year. August 1, 1928 (episode 15).