The FA Cup & The Broken Neck | Bert Trautmann The Nazi POW & Man City Legend

About this episode

This episode tells the remarkable story of Bert Trautmann, a former Nazi paratrooper who became a beloved goalkeeper for Manchester City and a symbol of reconciliation between England and Germany.

Welcome back to It Was What It Was, the football history podcast. In this week's episode, co-hosts Jonathan Wilson and Rob Draper tell the remarkable story of Bert Trautmann — the former Nazi paratrooper who became Manchester City's beloved goalkeeper and an unlikely symbol of Anglo-German reconciliation. 70 years on from the legendary 1956 FA Cup final, Wilson and Draper trace Trautmann's extraordinary journey: from Hitler Youth member and fighting on the Eastern Front, to prisoner of war in England, to the man who played on with a broken neck at Wembley. They examine his teenage indoctrination, the atrocity he witnessed, that shattered his faith in Nazism and the 25,000 protesters at Maine Road. Along the way, they explore the brutal treatment of goalkeepers in this era and how three successive cup final incidents began to change the game's laws. Finally, they reflect on how a flawed, charismatic man became the perfect bridge between two nations. 00:00 Jimmy Ashcroft and the Goalkeeper's Lot 06:30 Hitler Youth — Trautmann's Indoctrination 12:45 The Eastern Front 19:20 Witnessing the SS Massacre 25:00 Captured Three Times — Soviets, Americans, and a Cup of Tea 27:10 Prisoner of…

People in this episode

Hosts: Jonathan Wilson, Rob Draper

Topics covered

• Bert Trautmann
• FA Cup
• Anglo-German reconciliation
• football history
• goalkeeping
• World War II

Keywords

• Bert Trautmann
• Manchester City
• FA Cup
• goalkeeper
• World War II
• Anglo-German relations
• football history

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Manchester City

Places: England, Maine Road, Eastern Front

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