Olympic Park Berlin (© Getty Images)
Plaque name: Sports History Forum, Berlin
Location: Haus des Deutschen Sports, Olympiapark, Hanns-Braun-Straße 14, 14053 Berlin, Germany
Plaque awarded: 30/09/2025
Reason: Plaque Category – Culture
The history of the Sports History Forum, Berlin, began with the founding of the Friends of Athletics, the Willy-Kohlmey-Kreis Circle, in West Berlin in 1954.
The Forum, which incorporates the “AIMS Marathon - Museum of Running”, is based in the “Haus des Deutschen Sports” (House of German Sports) in the Olympic Park Berlin, which houses its collections including an image archive and the late David Martin's extensive marathon library from the USA.
Summary
On 22 June 1924, Erich Mindt invited guests to the opening of an “Exhibition on the history of Physical Exercise” at the Altes Museum in Berlin's Lustgarten, which became the “Museum für Leibesübungen” (Museum of Physical Exercise) in 1925.
After some of Berlin's great athletes from the German Empire and Weimar Republic era had resettled in Berlin in the 1940s, they began meeting regularly in 1949 on the initiative of Willy Kohlmey and Hans Senftleben to exchange memories and correct errors in athletics tradition.
After Kohlmey's death, these numerous informal meetings gave rise to a formal organisation. With the approval of Kohlmey's widow, who had emigrated to Australia, Senftleben founded the Willy Kohlmey Circle (WKK) on 2 February 1954. The WKK met regularly and collected athletics memorabilia, photos, books and programmes.
At the same time, this society took care not only of the runners, but also of the throwers, jumpers and, of course, the referees, without whom no competition would be possible. This finally provided an institution to which the association and clubs could always turn for historical advice or information.
The WKK also collected documents, photographs, souvenirs and books on the history of athletics and formed an archive and honorary album commission, which was tasked with compiling all historical material on athletics.
Senftleben led the WKK as its founder from 1954 until his death in 1998, after which Christoph Kopp took over the leadership of the traditional association, meeting several times a year at various locations and often inviting speakers to give lectures. Sadly, Kopp passed away in April 2023.
Most of the track and field athletes who had joined forces in the WKK also became members of the Sports History Forum after it was founded in 1976, with the aim of promoting the establishment of a general sports museum in Berlin.
The WKK, which has been intensively dedicated to sports history since its inception, made its collections available to the Sports History Forum in 1991.
In April 1995, a cooperation agreement between the Berlin Sports Museum and the Sports History Forum, provided premises in the Haus des Deutschen Sports to the Sports History Forum to house the collection of the AIMS Marathon Museum of Running, which was also registered under the title ‘Marathoneum’.
After the end of the agreement with the Berlin Sports Museum in 2021, and the completion of construction work in spring 2023, the Sports History Forum rented part of its former exhibition space as a library and office for the Marathoneum - AIMS Marathon - Museum of Running.
The extensive library of David Martin and the estates of other personalities in marathon running are now located there. The office is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays until further notice.