Wolfgang Fürstner was a German Wehrmacht

Wehrmacht

The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...

 captain. In 1936 Fürstner was the first commander, then vice-commander, of the Olympic village during the Berlin Olympic Games, summer 1936.

Family

Wolfgang Fürstner was married to Leonie von Schlick, daughter of Marie Gräfin von Reventlow and Albert Heinrich Hans Karl von Schlick (1874–1957), last commander of the World War I battleship SMS Derfflinger

SMS Derfflinger

SMS Derfflinger"SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" in German. was a battlecruiser of the German Kaiserliche Marine built just before the outbreak of World War I. She was the lead vessel of her class of three ships; her sister ships were and...

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Hitler Plays Down Regime's Anti-Semitism

To turn the summer Berlin Olympic Games into a showcase for other German achievements, Hitler made efforts to play down his regime’s notorious anti-Semitism. He allowed a few token Jews to represent the Reich, among them the fencer Helene Meyer, the hockey star Rudi Ball

Rudi Ball

Rudi Victor Ball was a champion ice hockey player.Ball was born in Berlin, Germany and died in Johannesburg, South Africa....

, and Captain Wolfgang Fürstner, who built and organized the Olympic Village.

Fürstner Replaced

At the end of June 1936 Fürstner was replaced by Lieutenant Colonel Werner Freiherr von und zu Gilsa

Werner von Gilsa

Werner Albrecht Freiherr von und zu Gilsa was a German officer and General of Infantry, whose last assignment was as Wehrmacht commandant of Dresden...

. Fürstner was demoted to local vice-commander. Officially Fürstner’s demotion was due to the fact that “Fürstner did not act with the necessary energy,” because 370,000 visitors had poured through from the opening on the first of May to the 15th of June and caused damage. Probably this explanation was only a pretext to disparage Fürstner because he was half-Jewish. The non-Jewish Werner von Gilsa was promoted to General der Infanterie, and as last Wehrmacht commandant of Dresden, committed suicide May 8, 1945.

Fürstner's Suicide

Fürstner committed suicide with a pistol shot three days after the end of the Games; he had been awarded the Olympic Medal First Class and had attended a banquet for his successor Gilsa. But Fürstner, a career officer, had learned that according to the Nuremberg Laws he was classified as a Jew and was to be dismissed from the Wehrmacht.

Regime's Cover-up

In order to cover up Fürstner’s suicide and protect the international reputation of Germany, the Nazis said Fürstner’s death was the result of a car accident, and Fürstner was buried in the Invalidenfriedhof, section F, alongside the honored dead of Germany’s wars. The grave was listed in the Official Berlin Invalidenfriedhof Guidebook (Der Invalidenfriedhof in Berlin – Ein Ehrenhain preußisch-deutscher Geschichte), which appeared between 1936 and 1940 in several editions.

Restoration of Fürstner's Grave

A new stone marker for Fürstner's grave was donated by the German Olympic Committee and dedicated in June 2002 by the Committee President, Walther Tröger. The stone lists Fürstner as "Deputy Commandant of the Olympic Village 1936" (stellvertretender Kommandant des Olympischen Dorfes 1936).