Fritz Erb

Fritz Erb (born April 12, 1894 in Innertkirchen , † November 9, 1970 in Zurich ) was a Swiss journalist, author, regimental commander and sports official.

biography

Fritz Erb grew up in simple circumstances in the Bernese Oberland . After the untimely death of both parents, he worked as a contracting boy and completed his training as a primary school teacher in 1914. Until 1928 he served as a teacher and headmaster at various schools in the canton of Bern. He also worked as a sports journalist, including as a reporter at the First Olympic Winter Games in Chamonix in 1924. In 1928 he was appointed editor-in-chief of “Sport” in Zurich. In this role, he managed and shaped the most important Swiss sports newspaper until his retirement in 1963.

From 1925 Fritz Erb became known as an organizer of international military sports events and as a trainer and head of delegation at various Winter Olympic Games. He founded summer and winter mountain training in the Swiss Army and commanded numerous central courses on a voluntary basis. When the Second World War broke out , General Henri Guisan appointed him head of mountain training for the Swiss Army. At the same time he commanded the Bernese Oberland Mountain Infantry Regiment 17 from 1941 onwards. Fritz Erb (known as "Pickel-Fritz") was a central figure in Switzerland's reduit strategy during World War II.

In the post-war years, he worked as a sports journalist, speaker and initiator of film projects. As a leading member of government commissions and association functionary, Fritz Erb also played a key role in promoting national and international winter sports.

Fritz Erb died in Zurich in 1970 after a long illness. He left a wife and three sons, the eldest being the sports journalist Karl Erb .

Functions and honorary positions

• 1924 Head of delegation and trainer of the successful Swiss military patrol at the 1st Olympic Winter Games in Chamonix
• 1928 coach of the Swiss Olympic ski team
• 1948 responsible for military patrols and press service at the Olympic Winter Games in St. Moritz
• 1950–1960 coach and head of delegation for the Swiss army teams
• 1945–1970 member of the Executive Council of the Swiss Olympic Committee
• 1945–1957 President of the Military Commission of the Federal Military Department
• Press officer and honorary member of the Swiss Ski Association
• Founding member and technical director of the Swiss Ski School Association
• Honorary member of the Swiss Wrestling Association
• Honorary member of the Swiss Alpine Club

Works (selection)

• Skiing. In: Hans Richard Müller (Hrsg.): Stadium Switzerland: gymnastics, sport and games. Metz, Zurich 1945.
• Jacques Burlet 70th commemorative publication. Burlet film Zurich, Zurich 1965.
• The history of the creation of the Schilthornbahn. Interlaken 1970.

Web links

• Christoph Zürcher: Fritz Erb. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .