Rosemarie Springer
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Rosemarie Springer (previously Alsen,
née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
Lorenz; July 5, 1920 – April 2, 2019) was a German
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 ...
, and the third wife (1953–1961) of
Axel Springer Axel Cäsar Springer (2 May 1912 – 22 September 1985) was a German publisher and founder of what is now Axel Springer SE, the largest media publishing firm in Europe. By the early 1960s his print titles dominated the West German daily press m ...
, who was founder of what was in 2021 the largest media publishing firm in Europe.


Early life

Born in Danzig, she was the daughter of
Werner Lorenz Werner Lorenz (2 October 1891 – 13 March 1974) was an SS functionary during the Nazi era. He was head of the ''Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle'' (VOMI) (Main Office for Ethnic Germans), an organization charged with resettling ethnic Germans in t ...
, who would later become an SS member and head of the
Hauptamt Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle In Nazi Germany the or (Coordination Center for Ethnic Germans) was a Nazi Party agency founded to manage the interests of the —the population of ethnic Germans living outside the Third Reich. Ultimately coming under '' Allgemeine-SS'' admin ...
in
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
.


Equestrian career

She first rode a horse at the age of two, sitting on her father's lap and took up equestrianism at a young age. Her career was interrupted by
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 ...
, however and she served as a nurse during the conflict. She did not resume riding until 1950 but, soon after, her talents were spotted at a Berlin horse show. Among other international appearances, she participated in the individual dressage event at the
1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as Rome 1960 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 25 August to 11 September 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had previously been awar ...
in Rome, where she finished seventh in a field of seventeen competitors. She retired from active competition in the late 1970s, having been the German national champion in women's dressage seven times. Following her competitive career, Springer took up judging and training, the latter of which occupied her time until at least 2012. In her late 80s she continued to ski twice a year and occasionally ride in informal tournaments in Germany.


Marriages

She married cement manufacturer Horst-Herbert Alsen in 1941 and divorced him in 1953 to marry Alsen's friend, journalist
Axel Springer Axel Cäsar Springer (2 May 1912 – 22 September 1985) was a German publisher and founder of what is now Axel Springer SE, the largest media publishing firm in Europe. By the early 1960s his print titles dominated the West German daily press m ...
. This union lasted until 1961 when Springer left her to marry Helga Ludewig. On her 75th birthday, Springer was honored by the German Equestrian Federation (FN) for her contributions to the sport. She died on April 2, 2019, at the age of 98.


References

1920 births 2019 deaths German female equestrians German nurses Olympic equestrians for the United Team of Germany Equestrians at the 1960 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Gdańsk People from West Prussia Rosemarie 20th-century German sportswomen {{Germany-equestrian-bio-stub