Ernst Kuzorra was an acclaimed German footballer. He played for Schalke 04, whom he led to six national championships and one national cup.
Rudolf Hardig was a sensational runner in 1939. Today, Dresden’s sports stadium is known as Rudolf Harbig Stadion and serves as home to the Dynamo Dresden football club, Harbig in 1939 bettered the world record as a runner tor 800 meters. Sergeant Harbig fought as a soldier from the occupation of Poland in 1940 until his death fighting in Ukraine in 1944. He became a member of the SA in 1937.
Rudolf Harbig’s membership information
The records do not explain why athletes joined the Nazi Party or the extent of their involvement. I do not presume to judge their motives. Those answers largely died with them. I consulted the records with a DIE ZEIT search tool,
Information taken from “Kurt Vonnegut: The Man in the Hole. A Life of Reinvention.” In-progress biography of Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. by Hank Nuwer