![Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1973-058-04, Berlin, WHW in Deutschlandhalle, Ehrengäste](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1973-058-04%2C_Berlin%2C_WHW_in_Deutschlandhalle%2C_Ehreng%C3%A4ste.jpg)
Dr Karl Ritter von Halt, born Karl Ferdinand Halt (2 June 1891 – 5 August 1964) was a sport official in
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
and in the
German Federal Republic
BRD (german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland ; English: FRG/Federal Republic of Germany) is an unofficial abbreviation for the Federal Republic of Germany, informally known in English as West Germany until 1990, and just Germany since reunification. It ...
. He was born and died in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
.
Biography
Karl Ritter von Halt was a
track and field athlete
Track and field is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of ...
who competed in the
1912 Summer Olympics
The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...
. He finished 22nd in the
javelin throw competition and 14th in the
shot put event. He also participated in the
pentathlon competition. There he was eliminated in the third event because he did not finish his 200 m run. He also participated as a member of the German team in the first round of the
4x100 metre relay competition. Halt finished ninth in the
decathlon
The decathlon is a combined event in Athletics (sport), athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek language, Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ...
.
He nearly won the decathlon at the 1914 Baltic Games in
Malmö
Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...
, losing to Finland's Johan Svanström by a fraction of a point after a calculation error had been fixed.
In 1921 he became Karl Ritter von Halt after he received the
Military Order of Max Joseph
The Military Order of Max Joseph (german: Militär-Max-Joseph-Orden) was the highest military order of the Kingdom of Bavaria. It was founded on 1 January 1806 by Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, the first king of Bavaria. The order came in t ...
.
In 1932 Less than three days before the
10,000 m
The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The race ...
, a special commission of the IAAF, consisting of the same seven members that had suspended Nurmi, rejected the Finn's entries and barred him from competing in Los Angeles.
Sigfrid Edström
Johannes Sigfrid Edström (11 November 1870 – 18 March 1964) was a Swedish industrialist, chairman of the Sweden-America Foundation, and 4th President of the International Olympic Committee.
Early life
Edström was born in the tiny vill ...
, president of the IAAF and chairman of its executive council, stated that the full congress of the IAAF, which was scheduled to start the next day, could not reinstate Nurmi for the Olympics but merely review the phases and political angles related to the case.
The AP called this "one of the slickest political maneuvers in international athletic history", and wrote that the Games would now be "like Hamlet without the celebrated Dane in the cast."
Thousands protested against the action in Helsinki.
Details of the case were not released to the press, but the evidence against Nurmi was believed be the sworn statements from German race promoters that Nurmi had received $250–500 per race when running in Germany in autumn 1931.
The statements were produced by
Karl Ritter von Halt
Dr Karl Ritter von Halt, born Karl Ferdinand Halt (2 June 1891 – 5 August 1964) was a sport official in Nazi Germany and in the German Federal Republic. He was born and died in Munich.
Biography
Karl Ritter von Halt was a track and field a ...
, after Edström had sent him increasingly threatening letters warning that if evidence against Nurmi were not provided he would be "unfortunately obliged to take stringent action against the
German Athletics Association
The German Athletics Association (German language, German: ''Deutscher Leichtathletik-Verband'', DLV) is the governing body for the sport of Athletics (sport), athletics in Germany.
Since 2010, Germany's kits are supplied by Nike, Inc., Nike.
Se ...
."
In 1936 he was named President of the Committee for the organization of the
Fourth Winter Olympics in
Garmisch
Garmisch-Partenkirchen (; Bavarian: ''Garmasch-Partakurch''), nicknamed Ga-Pa, is an Alpine ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of government of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (abbreviated ''GAP''), in the O ...
by ''Reichssportführer''
Hans von Tschammer und Osten
Hans von Tschammer und Osten (25 October 1887 – 25 March 1943) was a German sport official, SA leader and a member of the Reichstag for the Nazi Party of Nazi Germany. He was married to Sophie Margarethe von Carlowitz.
Hans von Tschammer un ...
. Karl Ritter von Halt was elected as member of the Executive Committee of the
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
(IOC) in 1937, a post he held until 1945.
In 1944 Karl Ritter von Halt led the Sports Office of the Third Reich,
Nationalsozialistischer Reichsbund für Leibesübungen
The National Socialist League of the Reich for Physical Exercise (german: Nationalsozialistischer Reichsbund für Leibesübungen, abbreviated NSRL) was the umbrella organization for sports and physical education in Nazi Germany. The NSRL was kn ...
(NSRL), taking over from
Arno Breitmeyer as ''Reichssportführer''. He remained the NSRL leader until the office and the organization were disbanded in 1945 following
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
's defeat in
World War II
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 ...
.
Karl Ritter von Halt was successful in clearing his past as Nazi leader in the post-war years, although tourists to Garmisch protested in 2006 that the town's football stadium was still named after him. It was quietly renamed Stadion am Gröben. Ritter von Halt led the
National Olympic Committee of Germany between 1951 and 1961, succeeding
Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg
Duke Adolf Friedrich Albrecht Heinrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (German: ''Adolf Friedrich Albrecht Heinrich, Herzog zu Mecklenburg-Schwerin''; 10 October 1873 – 5 August 1969), was a German explorer in Africa, a colonial politician, the elect ...
.
References
External links
list of German athletes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Halt, Karl
1891 births
1964 deaths
Sportspeople from Munich
German male sprinters
German male javelin throwers
German male shot putters
German decathletes
Olympic athletes of Germany
Athletes (track and field) at the 1912 Summer Olympics
Nazi Party officials
International Olympic Committee members
Presidents of the Organising Committees for the Olympic Games
Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Knights of the Military Order of Max Joseph
Olympic decathletes