Bernd Rosemeyer, German racing driver, 1909-1938

Bernd Rosemeyer was a German racing driver and a member of the SS. In 1935 he won his first Grand Prix at the Brno Masaryk Circuit in Czechoslovakia. Several sensational Grand Prix motor racing victories in 1936 and 1937 (also in the Vanderbilt Cup in the USA) made him popular not only in Germany. He won the European driving championship in 1936. Rosemeyer's superlative performances cemented him alongside Rudolf Caracciola and Tazio Nuvolari as three of the greatest drivers of 1930's Grand Prix racing. Rosemeyer was killed during a land speed record attempt on a regular traffic route on the Autobahn between Frankfurt and Darmstadt on 28 January 1938.