Carl Friedrich Freiherr von Langen (25 July 1887 – 2 August 1934) was a German landowner, cavalry officer, and

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...

who was a gold medalist at the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the IX Olympiad (), was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from 28 July to 12 August 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The city of Amsterdam had previously bid for ...

Early life

Langen was born in

Klein Belitz Klein Belitz () is a municipality in the Rostock district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the nor ...

in the

Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin The Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin () was a territory in Northern Germany held by the House of Mecklenburg residing at Schwerin. It was a sovereign member state of the German Confederation and became a federated state of the North German C ...

, the son of an aristocratic estate owner and horse breeder. He became a landowner in Parow. He entered the 1st Guards Uhlans of the

Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the leadership of Kingdom o ...

and fought in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

on the eastern front. He attained the rank of ''

Rittmeister Rittmaster () is usually a commissioned officer military rank used in a few armies, usually equivalent to Captain. Historically it has been used in Germany, Austria-Hungary, Scandinavia, and some other countries. A is typically in charge of a s ...

'' but fell seriously ill in 1914, temporarily resulting in significant paralysis of both legs. He gradually recovered and resumed riding by 1917.Langen, Carl-Friedrich Freiherr von entry
in th
''Deutsche Biographie''
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Equestrian career

Langen began a sporting career in horsemanship in 1920. In 1921, he won 26 show jumping competitions, came in second 20 times, and third 44 times. In 1922, Langen competed abroad for the first time in

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

, Sweden but was unsuccessful. The following year, he won five times in Malmö. In 1924, he competed in Italy, winning a show jumping competition against 102 competitors. At the

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, the first post-war Olympic games in which Germany participated, Langen and his horse ''Draufgänger'' won the gold medal in the individual

dressage Dressage ( or ; , most commonly translated as "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrianism, equestrian sport defined by th ...

event as well as in the team dressage competition. He also participated with his horse ''Falkner'' in the individual jumping competition and finished 28th. As member of the German jumping team they finished seventh in the team jumping event.Erik Eggers, Michael Wulzinger: ''Brauner Herrenreiter.'' Der Spiegel, no. 10/2013,2013-3-4, p. 119

SA involvement, death and memorialization

In the autumn of 1930, Langen became a member of the ''

Sturmabteilung The (; SA; or 'Storm Troopers') was the original paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party of Germany. It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power, Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and early 1930s. I ...

'' (SA), the

paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

organization of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

, attaining the rank of SA-''

Sturmbannführer __NOTOC__ ''Sturmbannführer'' (; ) was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank equivalent to Major (rank), major that was used in several Nazi organizations, such as the Sturmabteilung, SA, Schutzstaffel, SS, and the National Socialist Flyers Corps, NSFK ...

''. After the

Nazi seizure of power The rise to power of Adolf Hitler, dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919, when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He quickly rose t ...

, he campaigned vigorously for the transfer of rural riding and driving clubs to the SA's jurisdiction. He died in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

as a result of internal injuries sustained in a fall on 15 July 1934, during a competition at the

Döberitz military training area The Döberitz military training area (German: ''Truppenübungsplatz Döberitz'' or ''Heeresschule Döberitz''), was a major military training area near Dallgow-Döberitz, in Brandenburg to the west of Berlin. Döberitz was one of the largest tra ...

. After his death, he was lauded by

Nazi propaganda Propaganda was a tool of the Nazi Party in Germany from its earliest days to the end of the regime in May 1945 at the end of World War II. As the party gained power, the scope and efficacy of its propaganda grew and permeated an increasing amou ...

as a symbol of the mythical German hero. In 1941, the Nazi government under Reich Propaganda Minister

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and philologist who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief Propaganda in Nazi Germany, propagandist for the Nazi Party, and ...

, produced a film based on Langen's life with the title ''

Riding for Germany ''Riding for Germany'' () is a 1941 German drama film directed by Arthur Maria Rabenalt and starring Willy Birgel, Gertrud Eysoldt and Gerhild Weber. A German cavalry officer, badly injured during the First World War, emerges as a leading compet ...

'', which contained

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

and

antisemitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

content.

References

Sources

* Carl-Friedrich Freiherr von Langen: ''Reiten über Hindernisse'', Olms Verlag, (Nachdr. d. Ausg. Kiel, Hannover 1931 u. 1933), reprint 1983, , (German, autobiography) * Nele Maya Fahnenbruck: ''"...reitet für Deutschland": Pferdesport und Politik im Nationalsozialismus''. Die Werkstatt, 15. März 2013, (German, dissertation University of Hamburg)
''Langen, Carl-Friedrich Freiherr von''
– entry at

Neue Deutsche Biographie (''NDB''; Literal translation, literally ''New German Biography'') is a Biography, biographical reference work. It is the successor to the ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, Universal German Biography). The 27 volumes published thus far co ...

* Joachim Puttkamer: ''Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: 100 berühmte Köpfe''. Sutton Verlag 2011, , S. 102 ()

External links

* * * * * 1887 births 1934 deaths 20th-century German sportsmen Equestrians at the 1928 Summer Olympics German Army personnel of World War I German barons German dressage riders German male equestrians German show jumping riders Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics Olympic equestrians for Germany Olympic gold medalists for Germany Olympic medalists in equestrian People from Rostock (district) People from the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin SA-Sturmbannführer {{Germany-equestrian-bio-stub