Ernst Paulus

The 1928 German flagbearer at the Opening Ceremony Ernst Paulus was a discus thrower who failed to qualify for the final in Amsterdam, missing the final by only two centimeters. The same year he earned his only German title. During the 1920s he was Head of the Municipal Office of Physical Education in Wetzlar. He later coached at Stahl Riesa and after World War II was Chief Executive Officer of the Athletics Federation of the Palatinate from 1961-66.

His brother Friedrich Wilhelm Paulus was a well-known German Army officer (as a Field Marshal from 1943), and in World War II commanded the 6th Army during the Battle of Stalingrad. He was in Soviet captivity from 1943-53 and eventually lived until his death in the former GDR. After 20 July 1944 he joined the “League of German Officers” which worked together with the “National Committee of Free Germany” and the organization “Free Germany” at the end of the Nazi regime and the war.

Personal Best: DT – 47.52 (1928).