Dick Seaman: British Motor Racing Driver and Nazi Hero
May 7, 2010 by Diana Horner
Dick Seaman
Dick Seaman, British racing car driver, died during the Belgian Grand Prix, on 25th June 1939, 66 days before Great Britain finally declared war on Germany. Adolf Hitler, a fan of the Mercedes Benz driver who drove with a Swastika on his car, sent a lavish wreath to the funeral.
Seaman was only 26 years old when he died, leaving his widow Erica heartbroken. The young driver had lived life to the full, and was enjoying great success in his sport. He was ambitious to repeat the success he enjoyed in winning the 1938German Grand Prix. Seaman had taken the victory podium at Nurburgring, and delighted the 300,000 crowd by giving a Nazi salute, twice. His pride in the German team that provided him with the opportunity to race, was evident. At that time, there was no British Grand Prix Team, and he perhaps felt that this, in some way, justified his allegiance.
It seems shocking now, with the benefit of hindsight, to imagine a British sportsman enthusiastically colluding with his German employers, who were avid supporters of the Hitler regime. As international relations became more strained in the period before war was officially declared, Seaman is reported to have expressed doubt about his continuing participation in his beloved sport, to his friend Lord Howe.
According to the website Forix.autosport.com (http://forix.autosport.com/8w/seaman.html). Lord Howe was adamant in assuring Seaman that he should continue:
By 1939 he (Seaman) was clearly feeling he was walking on political eggshells with the massive worsening of the European situation following the successive German annexations of Austria, Czechoslovakia and the Baltic states. Seaman decided to stick it out, largely on the advice of Lord Howe, who was a great support to him in those difficult times. He first wrote to Howe, chairman of the British Racing Drivers Club, submitting his doubts. Howe wrote back with a clear message: “Every personal contact in Germany should be kept alive for as long as possible. We are still keeping good relations with the Reich. It is our opinion, without any doubt, that you should stay in Germany driving for Mercedes.” Seaman acknowledged: “I am very glad that your advice takes the form it does, for I have always thought that it would be better for me to remain with Mercedes in spite of political difficulties.”
Seaman was not alone in his predicament, many professional sports men and women finding themselves torn between a desire to achieve their full potential in competition, and the knowledge that they were vulnerable to political manipulation.
A fascinating account of the story of Dick Seaman can be found in an article by The Guardian’s Jonathan Glancey.
See also, Dick and George: The Seaman Monkhouse Letters 1936-39
Two of the best-known names of 1930s British motor racing were Dick Seaman – racing driver – and George Monkhouse – motor racing photographer. As Dick’s racing exploits earned him an unprecedented place in the Third Reich’s Mercedes-Benz racing team, so George Monkhouse elevated motor sports photography into an artform.
Their fascinating private correspondence – plus a similarly unpublished personal narrative by Dick’s formidable mother – provides the backbone of this unique Palawan book.