Adolf Urban (9 January 1914 – 23 May 1943) was a German footballer. Urban, a forward, played for

Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine ...

, among others, and made 21 appearances for

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

between 1935 and 1941, scoring 11 goals. He was also part of Germany's squad at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

. Urban was the son of

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

immigrants (see '' Ruhrpolen''), who came to the

Ruhr The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km ...

area from

Olsztyn Olsztyn ( , ; german: Allenstein ; Old Prussian: ''Alnāsteini'' * Latin: ''Allenstenium'', ''Holstin'') is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with county rights. ...

, which was located within the

Prussian Partition The Prussian Partition ( pl, Zabór pruski), or Prussian Poland, is the former territories of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth acquired during the Partitions of Poland, in the late 18th century by the Kingdom of Prussia. The Prussian acquis ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

since the First Partition of Poland. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Urban was mobilised with the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

in which he served in the 422nd Infantry Regiment on the Eastern Front in Russia, fighting at the

battle of Demyansk The Demyansk Pocket (german: Kessel von Demjansk; russian: Демя́нский котёл) was the name given to the pocket of German troops encircled by the Red Army around Demyansk, south of Leningrad, during World War II's Eastern Front. Th ...

. He later died in 1943 in Staraya Russa, from wounds received in further fighting. He was the only member of the

Breslau Eleven The Breslau Eleven (german: Breslau-Elf) was the name given to the Germany national football team who defeated Denmark 8–0 at Hermann-Göring-Sportfeld in Breslau, Nazi Germany (now Wrocław, Poland) on 16 May 1937. Coached by Sepp Herberger, t ...

to die in combat. His body was buried in the Karpovo Military Cemetery but was later repatriated and reburied in November 2013 in Schalke cemetery in Gelsenkirchen.

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* 1914 births 1943 deaths German footballers Germany international footballers German people of Polish descent Olympic footballers of Germany Footballers at the 1936 Summer Olympics Association football forwards FC Schalke 04 players German military personnel killed in World War II German Army personnel of World War II Sportspeople from Gelsenkirchen Footballers from North Rhine-Westphalia {{Germany-footy-forward-1910s-stub