Horst Hoeck won a gold medal in Los Angeles in the coxed fours, representing the Berlin Rowing Club. Four years earlier, he was eliminated in the semifinals of the double sculls and finished fourth. With his club he was German champion in 1928 in the double sculls, 1926 in the eights, and 1931 in the coxed fours.
From 1956-58 Hoeck was Deputy Chairman of the Berlin Rowing Club. As a merchant, he was on business in South America from 1929-30. After World War II he was to be commissioned by the Soviet headquarters to manage the food and beverage sector in East Berlin, but refused with a politically thoughtless remark. He was imprisoned and threatened with a show trial. During an attempt to escape, he was severely injured and transferred to hospital. From there he was freed by his wife Ingrid with a West Berlin ambulance, and they escaped to the west. Until shortly before his death he managed the liquor factory and wine store Wilhelm Hoeck, which was founded by his father in 1892 in the Berlin district of Charlottenburg and was mostly spared the destructions of war. It still exists under the same name as the oldest pub in the district, and has frequently been the scene of various film and television productions.
Germany