Leni's Infamous Photograph

During the mid-1930s, the world’s best sculler in the single was without doubt Gustav ‘Gummi’ Schäfer of Germany, being the winner of both the European title in 1934 and the Olympic title in 1936 - see entry on 6 October, 'The German Champion Gustav Schäfer'. As he was representing Nazi-Germany, I think that many interested in rowing and Olympic history still today look upon Schäfer in disbelief and with a critical eye.

One of Reichkanzler Adolf Hitler’s favorites was film director Leni Riefenstahl, who, in 1934, had made Triumph of the Will about the Nazi Party’s congress in Nuremberg. For the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Hitler asked her to shoot a propaganda film about the Games, which Riefenstahl did. The result, Olympia (1938), is remarkable for its technical innovations. She has to be regarded as a pioneer in the film business, and the 20th century’s most prominent female filmmaker, despite her association with the Third Reich.

In my earlier entry about Schäfer there is a short video clip from the Olympic final in the single sculls showing the German winning easily. What we do not see in this video clip is when Gustav Schäfer, after having received the laurel wreath for champions, giving the so called ‘Hitler salute’ with his right arm raised. This image, from Riefenstahl’s Olympia, has become famous, if not villainous. Does this make Schäfer evil? The thing is that many of the German champion oarsmen gave the ‘salute’ already when they crossed the finish line, as did the whole entire German contingent of athletes when they walked in at the opening ceremonies. But in Schäfer’s case, now being an infamous photograph, the picture still causes grief and pain. See the photograph here.

One example is that when the rowing exhibit Let Her Run at the National Rowing Hall of Fame at Mystic Seaport opened in March, 2008, the photograph of Schäfer was in one of the display cases. Sadly, the photograph had to be removed later due to complaints from some Museum staff and visitors.

It is tricky to balance what is showing a historical event and what might cause too much pain doing so. I do not have an answer.

The German Champion Gustav Schäfer

Before Gustav Schäfer (1906-1991) began rowing, he played water polo, hockey, and football. But above all, he was interested in swimming, being a member of the swimming club in Dresden. It was also as a swimmer he got his nickname, “Gummi” [rubber], when he overran a favorite swimmer on a 1,500-metre course with the length of his hand, his opponent said: “Der Hund war zäh wie Gummi.” [“The dog was tough as rubber.” – alluding to Gustav’s family name, Schäfer, ‘shepard’.]

In 1929, ‘Gummi’ Schäfer was approached by the coach at Dresden Ruder-Verein and began thereafter successfully to row in fours and eights. However, by 1934, he was concentrating on the single scull, having joined another rowing club in Berlin, Skuller-Zelle, Berlin-Grünau, which had an English professional coach, Dan Cordery. With Cordery, Schäfer found the perfect trainer. In 1934, a little surprisingly, Schäfer became the German Champion in the single sculls, beating the favourite sculler, Herbert Buhtz. The same year, Schäfer also went to the European Championships in Lucerne and took the championship title in the single sculls.

The following year, ‘Gummi’, failed to defend his German title against Buhtz, but beat Buhtz at the 1936 German Championships and was selected to represent Germany in the single at the Olympic rowing event in Berlin. In the final, Schäfer did not have any problems winning the Olympic championship title with a couple of lengths ahead of Josef Hasenöhrl, Austria, and Daniel Barrow, USA. The favourite before the race, Ernst Rufli of Switzerland, Diamond Challenge Sculls winner both in 1935 and 1936, finished fifth. Here is a short clip from the single scull final (please, turn off the sound to get rid of the very annoying music):



After the Olympic gold medal, ‘Gummi’ Schäfer decided to quit rowing. Later that year, he and his rowing friend Georg von Opel founded the German Olympic Society. Schäfer’s old coach, Dan Cordery, tried to interest him to go back to sculling for the upcoming Olympic Games in 1940. But ‘Gummi’ was not game, and after the political climate grew worse in Nazi-Germany, Cordery left the country in 1938.

In a 1989 interview by Gisa Jacobus in Rudersport, the 80-year-old Schäfer, who by then was confined to a wheelchair remembers Cordery, “Mein lieber, englischer Trainer”.

Schäfer died in Munich in 1991.