The German field hockey team won the silver medal at the 1936 Berlin Olympics after losing 8-1 to India in the final. Half-back Erwin Keller played in the 4-1 win over Afghanistan in the group stage, in the 3-0 semi-final against the Netherlands and in the final. At the club level he played for Berliner HC and won the German Championship in 1941 and 1942.
Erwin was the first member of a famous German hockey dynasty: his wife Helga Akermann also played in the national team, as did his son Carsten, his grandchildren Andreas, Natascha and Florian. Andreas’ life partner Anke Wild also was a national player. The Keller family is only the third after the Norwegian Lunde family of sailors, and the Hungarian Bogen/Gerevich fencing dynasty to see three generations win Olympic medals.
Germany