Kurt Poppa

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Kurt Poppa (* 1913 ; † 2000 ) was a German skier and ski builder who became known for the development of skis named after him, including the Aeroblitz jump skis . He is one of the pioneers of GDR skiing.

Life

Poppa, who comes from Klingenthal , served in the German Wehrmacht and was a NCO in 1939 as a ski master at the German and Wehrmacht ski championships in Oberhof . After the end of the Second World War, he supported the revival of skiing and tourism in the Ore Mountains and Vogtland in the health resort of Oberwiesenthal , so he rented skis and gave ski lessons. In 1948 Kurt Poppa developed a touring ski together with Paul Richter in their small workshop in the health resort of Oberwiesenthal, from which the Poppa ski named after him emerged. A further development was the Aeroblitz brand jump ski , a relatively heavy ski with a plastic coating , manufactured in the Poppa ski factory Kurort Oberwiesenthal from 1957 . This jump ski made Kurt Poppa one of the most famous ski builders in the German Democratic Republic , because it was with this ski that Helmut Recknagel won the first World Cup medal for the GDR in 1958. In the years that followed, further skiing titles were won for the GDR.

The Aeroblitz jump ski from the GDR was in tough competition with the West German Gfäller ski with steel edges.

Honors

  • In 1964 Kurt Poppa received a gold medal for his Aeroblitz jump ski at the Leipzig Autumn Fair.

literature

  • Thorald Meisel: With Aeroblitz to Olympic victory. Kurt Poppa from Klingenthal became one of the most successful Saxon ski manufacturers in Oberwiesenthal. His birthday is 100 years old. In: Freie Presse , Upper Vogtland, August 24, 2013.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Heinz Wuschech: GDR witch kitchen? A GDR sports doctor unpacks . Spotless-Verlag, 1998, p. 46.
  2. ↑ Example of Poppa-Ski in the City History Museum Leipzig
  3. ^ Gerd Falkner: 100 Years of the German Ski Association. Chronicle of German skiing in both German states from the end of World War II to reunification (1945-1990) . German Ski Association 2005, p. 406.
  4. ↑ Cold War and Hot Edges
personal data
SURNAME Poppa, Kurt
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German skier and ski manufacturer
DATE OF BIRTH 1913
DATE OF DEATH 2000