Arno Breitmeyer (19 April 1903, in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

– 20 April 1944) was a German sport official. He began his sports career as a successful competition

rower Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is ...

. In 1933 he became editor of the sports section of the ''

Völkischer Beobachter The ''Völkischer Beobachter'' (; "'' Völkisch'' Observer") was the newspaper of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) from 25 December 1920. It first appeared weekly, then daily from 8 February 1923. For twenty-four years it formed part of the official pub ...

'', the Nazi Party's official newspaper.

Biography

Arno Breitmeyer joined the

NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

in May 1933. He then rose to become an important sports official of the

Third Reich 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 ...

. Breitmeyer was first adviser and vice president of the Reich Sports Office (DRL/NSRL,

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 ...

) during

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 ...

's tenure as Reichs Sports Leader. Arno Breitmeyer was commissioned by von Tschammer to write an extensive illustrated report on the organized sports activities in the Third Reich. Breitmeyer was assisted by

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

's personal photographer Heinrich Hoffmann in the venture. The first volume was printed in 1934 by the publishing house of the German Sports Aid Funds. Only volume one and two of a planned series of heavily illustrated four volumes were published. The purpose of this book was to advertise the importance of physical exercise among the Nazis. This propaganda work has many pictures and information about the various Nazi organizations, i.e. SA, NSKK,

Bund Deutscher Mädel The League of German Girls or the Band of German Maidens (german: Bund Deutscher Mädel, abbreviated as BDM) was the girls' wing of the Nazi Party youth movement, the Hitler Youth. It was the only legal female youth organization in Nazi Germany ...

Hitler Jugend The Hitler Youth (german: Hitlerjugend , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926 ...

, etc. At von Tschammer's death in 1943 Arno Breitmeyer became the leader ''(Reichssportführer)''. There is some controversy regarding Arno Breitmeyer's attitude towards the Nazi regime. Some sources claim that he belonged to the SS and that he was known for his anti-Semitic views. Other sources, however, state that he joined the Nazi party relatively early, displaying Nazi zeal, in order to protect his wife who was of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

origin. Breitmeyer was an ''Oberregierungsrat'' candidate to be a member of the Reichstag (MdR, Mitglied des Reichstags) in 1938. At the time of his death in 1944 he was an SA ( Sturmabteilung) ''Brigadeführer'', ranked as ''Generalmajor'' (the equivalent of major-general in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

or a Brigadier-general in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

). Breitmeyer was succeeded as ''Reichssportführer'' 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 ...

Works

*Arno Breitmeyer & P. G. Hoffmann, ''Sport und Staat. Im Auftrage des Reichssportführers'', Selbstverlag des Hilfsfonds für den Deutschen Sport, 1934. (2 vols).Sport und Staat
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References & External links

German Jewish Sport 1898–1938 and the Anti-Semitic Discourse
{{DEFAULTSORT:Breitmeyer, Arno 1903 births 1944 deaths Sturmabteilung personnel Nazi Party officials German male rowers German referees and umpires