The son of Meta (Bradtke) and Max Rittberger, Werner Hans Carl Rittberger was born on July 13, 1891, in Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany. His father was an engineer by trade, who co-founded the Union Flugzeugwerke Gesellschaft and Schmidthässler Film companies.
Werner's skill for skating was discovered when he won a school speed skating race in his youth. He learned to figure skate on natural ice and soon moved indoors to train at the Admiralspalast, later training at the artificial ice rink at the College of Physical Culture in Berlin. He represented the Berliner Schlittschuhclub when he practically came out of nowhere to win the silver medal at both the 1910 European and World Championships behind Sweden's Ulrich Salchow. At the latter competition in Davos, the two Austrian judges on the panel placed him first, ahead of Salchow.
It was the beginning of a competitive career that lasted over a decade, ending in embarrassment at the 1928 Winter Olympic Games in St. Moritz, when he placed outside of the top ten in the school figures and withdrew from the event in disgust. Along the way, he won ten German titles, the Hugo Ehrentraut Memorial in Berlin, four medals at the European Championships and three medals at the World Championships. While he was still competing, he served as the German Federation's Secretary for two years.
Photos courtesy State Archives of Freiburg
Photo courtesy Julia C. Schulze
At only 5'5", Werner was a compact but striking skater of considerable power. Swedish skating historian Gunnar Bang recalled, "He had an undeniable talent and natural ability to skate on the rapid and oily 'indoor ice' and also to skate [outdoors] smoothly, untroubled by the weather... His strength is in the figure tracing. His [free skating] leaves something to be desired." His competitor Per Thorén was less complimentary. "He was a master skater, but completely copied Salchow's programs," Thorén remarked. "With the exception of a few special figures, such as the jump from the pirouette, it is precisely Salchow's admirable combinations that he copied. He is not an artist, but merely a craftsman."
Werner's grandson Michael Rittberger claimed that a story his grandfather always told implied that the invention of the loop - or Rittberger - jump was nothing more than a happy accident. While skating to the music of German operetta composer Walter Kollo at the Berlin Eispalast, Werner claimed to have encountered a bump on the ice which caught him off guard and frightened him so much that he jumped in the air, rotated and landed on his backward outside edge. It went over well enough that he chose to keep the element in his free skating program... and the rest, as they say, is history. But that's the thing... there's a lot more to this man's story than just that one (accidental) jump.
Any account of Werner's story that didn't touch upon his role in the World Wars would be quite remiss. For starters, he wasn't allowed to compete at the 1920 and 1924 Winter Olympics because the International Olympic Committee instituted a ban on German athletes after the first World War. During the War, Werner served as a pilot in the German Air Force. The Union Flugzeugwerke Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, which was co-founded by his father, was responsible for the design of German bomber aircrafts flown by the Axis during the War.
Werner Rittberger, Artur Vieregg and Paul Franke
Werner's grandson Michael Rittberger claimed that a story his grandfather always told implied that the invention of the loop - or Rittberger - jump was nothing more than a happy accident. While skating to the music of German operetta composer Walter Kollo at the Berlin Eispalast, Werner claimed to have encountered a bump on the ice which caught him off guard and frightened him so much that he jumped in the air, rotated and landed on his backward outside edge. It went over well enough that he chose to keep the element in his free skating program... and the rest, as they say, is history. But that's the thing... there's a lot more to this man's story than just that one (accidental) jump.
Letter from Werner Rittberger to Veronica Clarke. Photo courtesy Hilary Bonnycastle.
In between the two Wars, he made frequent trips via steamship between Europe and North America, teaching skating in London, Lake Placid and Toronto. He returned to Germany in the mid-1930s and co-founded the Düsseldorfer EG skating club. When World War II broke out, Werner served as a Major with the Luftwaffe. During the War, he was the commander responsible for overseeing the operations at Nazi airfields in both Germany and Africa.
Werner Rittberger working with students in Krefeld. Photo courtesy Westdeutsche Zeitung.
After World War II, Werner, his wife Babette and four children settled in Krefeld, where he took a permanent job as a figure skating coach. Among his many students were Ria Baran and Paul Falk, Ulrich Kuhn, Ruth Hütter and Ina Bauer. Bauer described him as "a man of uncanny energy." He also managed the rink at Brehmstraße and worked with the Düsseldorfer EG hockey team.
Photo courtesy Matthias Hampe
Werner passed away on August 12, 1975, in Krefeld at the age of eighty-four, after suffering from dementia for several years.
So there you have it folks... the man who invented the loop jump was a Nazi Major who served in both World Wars and allegedly copied Ulrich Salchow's programs. I don't know about you... but when I started researching this blog several years ago, I did not see that coming. Yikes.
Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Bluesky, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering one of five fascinating books highlighting the history of figure skating: https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.
