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Triumph to tragedy for Germany’s Roland Garros champions
Here is a look at the dramatic and tragic lives of Gottfried von Cramm and Henner Henkel
Paris — Only two German men have ever won in Paris — Gottfried von Cramm and Henner Henkel. Here is a look at the dramatic and tragic lives of the two men. Born the son of a baron in 1909, Von Cramm won Roland Garros in 1934 and 1936, beating Australia’s Jack Crawford and Fred Perry of Britain, respectively. He was runner-up in 1935, losing to Perry. Tall, blond, handsome and athletic, Von Cramm was the picture-perfect Aryan sportsman as far as the Nazis were concerned, however he refused to be exploited as a poster-boy for Hitler. In 1938, he was jailed for homosexuality. He went on to be wounded while fighting on the Eastern Front in the Second World War, receiving the Iron Cross. His personal life continued to be colourful, becoming the sixth husband of Barbara Hutton, the Woolworth heiress, a marriage that ended in divorce in 1959 after four years. Von Cramm was killed in a car crash in Cairo in 1976 at the age of 67. Born in 1915, Henkel claimed the Roland Garros title in 1937,...
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