Gustav Felix Flatow (7 January 1875 – 29 January 1945) was a German

gymnast Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

. He competed at the

1896 Summer Olympics The 1896 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad () and commonly known as Athens 1896 (), were the first international Olympic Games held in modern history. Organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), wh ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

and at the

1900 Summer Olympics The 1900 Summer Olympics (), today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad () and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from 14 May to 28 October 1900. No opening or closin ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Flatow was

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, and was born in Berent,

West Prussia The Province of West Prussia (; ; ) was a province of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and from 1878 to 1919. West Prussia was established as a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1773, formed from Royal Prussia of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonweal ...

. In 1892, he moved to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Biography

Flatow competed in the

parallel bars Parallel bars are floor apparatus consisting of two wooden bars approximately long and positioned at above the floor. Parallel bars are used in artistic gymnastics and also for physical therapy and home exercise. Gymnasts may optionally wear ...

horizontal bar The horizontal bar, also known as the high bar, is an apparatus used by male gymnasts in artistic gymnastics. It traditionally consists of a cylindrical metal (typically steel) bar that is rigidly held above and parallel to the floor by a syst ...

, vault,

pommel horse The pommel horse, also known as vaulting horse, is an artistic gymnastics apparatus. Traditionally, it is used by only male gymnasts. Originally made of a metal frame with a wooden body and a leather cover, the modern pommel horse has a metal bo ...

, and rings individual events. He won no medals, unlike his cousin and teammate

Alfred Flatow Alfred Flatow (3 October 1869 – 28 December 1942) was a Jews, Jewish Germany, German gymnastics, gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. He was murdered in the Holocaust. Biography Flatow was a successful competitor in 18 ...

. However, both were members of the German team that competed in the two team events, for parallel bars and the horizontal bar. As Germany won both those events (the horizontal bar unchallenged), Gustav earned two

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

s. He also competed at the

, but without winning medals. He retired from gymnastics to manage his textile company, which he founded in 1899. Gfflatow

After the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

takeover in Germany in 1933, he fled to the Netherlands to find refuge, but he was taken into custody ten years later. On New Year's Eve 1943, he was jailed for fleeing and in February 1944 he was deported to Theresienstadt concentration camp, a combination of concentration camp and ghetto. This was the same camp to which his cousin who was in the Olympics had previously been sent. His cousin had already died there in 1942. Less than one year after his arrival, Gustav starved to death. He was 70 years old when he died on 29 January 1945, months before the Soviet army liberated the camp. In 1986, journalists discovered his urn, which is now entombed in

Terezín Terezín (; ) is a town in Litoměřice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,900 inhabitants. It is a former military fortress composed of the citadel and adjacent walled garrison town. The town centre i ...

near the site of the concentration camp. In 1989, he was inducted into the

International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame (IJSHOF) () is the international hall of fame for Jewish athletes and special contributors to the world of sport. The purpose of the IJSHOF is to honor Jewish individuals, worldwide, who have accompli ...

. In 1997,

honoured Alfred and Gustav Flatow by renaming the ''Reichssportfeldstraße'' (a lane) near the

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports ...

to Flatowallee (Flatow-avenue). There is also the Flatow-Sporthalle (sports hall) at

Kreuzberg Kreuzberg () is a district of Berlin, Germany. It is part of the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough located south of Berlin-Mitte, Mitte. During the Cold War era, it was one of the poorest areas of West Berlin, but since German reunification in ...

with a commemorative plaque for both. The

Deutsche Post (, ) is a brand of the DHL Group (listed as ), used for its domestic mail services in Germany. The services offered under the brand are those of a traditional mail service, making the brand the successor of the former state-owned mail monopoly ...

issued a set of four stamps to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the modern Olympic games. One of the stamps honors the Flatows.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Flatow, Gustav 1875 births 1945 deaths German male artistic gymnasts People from Kościerzyna People from the Province of Prussia Sportspeople from Pomeranian Voivodeship Gymnasts at the 1896 Summer Olympics 19th-century German sportsmen Gymnasts at the 1900 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Germany Olympic gymnasts for Germany Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the Netherlands German people who died in the Theresienstadt Ghetto Olympic medalists in gymnastics Medalists at the 1896 Summer Olympics Deaths by starvation International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame inductees

Biography

See also

References

External links