Hans Woellke

Hans Woellke

Woellke at the 1936 Olympics
Personal information
Born	18 February 1911 Bischofsburg, German Empire
Died	22 March 1943 (aged 32) near Khatyn, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union
Height	178 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	105 kg (231 lb)
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event	Shot put
Club	PSV Berlin
Achievements and titles
Personal best	16.60 m (1936)[1]
Medal record Representing Germany Olympic Games 1936 Berlin Shot put European Championships 1938 Paris Shot put

Hans-Otto Woellke (18 February 1911 – 22 March 1943) was a Nazi German shot putter, who won a gold medal at the 1936 Summer Olympics.[2]

Biography

Woellke won the British AAA Championships title in the shot put event at the 1937 AAA Championships.[3][4][5]

He won a bronze medal at the 1938 European Championships.[6]

Woellke served with the Order Police. During World War II, he was a captain in the Schutzmannschaft Battalion 118 attached to a regiment in the Waffen-SS. He was killed by partisans on 22 March 1943 near Khatyn village, after which a retaliatory mass killing of civilians took place by Schutzmannschaft and Waffen-SS soldiers.[7][8]

References

1. Hans Woellke. trackfield.brinkster.net
2. "Hans Woellke". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
3. "The Athletic Championships". Liverpool Daily Post. 17 July 1937. Retrieved 18 January 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
4. "Six records go by the board at White City". Evening Despatch. 19 July 1937. Retrieved 18 January 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
5. "AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists". National Union of Track Statisticians. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
6. "Biographical Information". Olympedia. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
7. Genocide Policy, khatyn.by
8. "Olympians Who Were Killed or Missing in Action or Died as a Result of War". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2018.