Richard Herrmann (28 January 1923 – 27 July 1962) was a German

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player. He played for the clubs 1. FC Kattowitz (1934–1945) and

FSV Frankfurt Fußballsportverein Frankfurt 1899 e.V., commonly known as simply FSV Frankfurt and known as simply Frankfurt, is a German association football club based in the Bornheim district of Frankfurt am Main, Hessen and founded in 1899. FSV Frankfurt ...

(1947–1960). He was part of the West Germany team which won the

1954 FIFA World Cup The 1954 FIFA World Cup was the 5th edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football tournament for senior men's national teams of the nations affiliated to FIFA. It was held in Switzerland from 16 June ...

. He scored a goal in the first round 3–8 defeat by

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. However, this was the only match he played in the tournament, and he did not play in the final victory against

. In total he played eight matches for Germany. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Herrmann was a prisoner of war first in

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, then in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

before being sent back to camp 1008 in

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

, England. Football was being played in that camp and the officials of Derby County were told that there was a talented German POW. However Herrmann intended to get back to

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 north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

as soon as possible. When released in 1947, one of his comrades in camp 1008, the pressman Alfred Ludwig attended to Herrmann and took him along to Frankfurt, where he joined

. Gifted with great ball control and a precise shot, Herrmann soon became a starter for FSV as an

outside left In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...

. In 1952 AC Torino offered 60,000 D-Mark to Herrmann, but he declined due to being married with a son. Instead he rented a little smoke shop and an outlet for football beds. In 1958 Herrmann ended his career after a bad injury at the age of 35 and began coaching Seckbach 05 for a while. He died from a liver cirrhosis at the age of 39. This disease stemmed from an acute hepatitis virus that was transmitted during the 1954 World Cup by means of contaminated syringes containing

vitamin C Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits, berries and vegetables. It is also a generic prescription medication and in some countries is sold as a non-prescription di ...

or the

methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug use, recreational or Performance-enhancing substance, performance-enhancing drug and less commonly as a secon ...

Pervitin Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug use, recreational or Performance-enhancing substance, performance-enhancing drug and less commonly as a secon ...

(also known as Hitler's "miracle pill" or “panzer-chocolate"). The injections were given by the team doctor Franz Loogen, which caused long-term liver damage (“hepatitis C”) to hit a large part of the national team.Werner Raupp: Toni Turek – „Fußballgott“. Eine Biographie, Hildesheim: Arete Verlag 2019 (ISBN 978-3-96423-008-9), p. 122-124 (excursus 2: hepatitis C and „panzer-chocolade“).

References

1923 births 1962 deaths Footballers from Katowice People from Silesian Voivodeship (1920–1939) German men's footballers Germany men's international footballers Polish men's footballers Silesian-German people 1954 FIFA World Cup players FIFA World Cup–winning players FSV Frankfurt players Men's association football forwards Deaths from cirrhosis German military personnel of World War II German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United Kingdom German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States West German men's footballers Alcohol-related deaths in Germany 20th-century Polish sportsmen {{germany-footy-forward-1920s-stub