About this objectMounted newspaper cutting showing Bert Trautmann. Bert Trautmann was a fascinating figure in both football and wider life.
Bert was a Luftwaffe paratrooper who won medals, including the Iron Cross, on the Eastern Front. He was captured by British forces near the end of the war and interned in a Prisoner of War Camp in North West England. Following the war he stayed in England and eventually became a successful professional footballer and goalkeeper for Manchester City. He won over initially hostile supporters and became widely admired.
In one of his most famous moments, In the FA Cup final of 1956, he hurt his neck whilst diving to make a save. He continued playing to the end of the game and helped his team Manchester City to the victory. it was only afterwards that Bert realised he had broken his neck. Our museum holds the neck brace he wore in this process.
Bert helped to rebuild Anglo-German relations following the Second World War (Object 11402). His neck brace is still looked on as an important representation of Trautmann and has travelled to other museums on loan. In 2019 the neck brace travelled to feature in an exhibition at the museum of modern German history (Haus der Geschichte) in Bonn. The exhibition looked at Britain from the German perspective.
