# The FA Cup & The Broken Neck | Bert Trautmann The Nazi POW & Man City Legend

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/it-was-what-it-was-the-football-history-podcast-6903590/the-fa-cup-the-broken-neck-bert-trautmann-the-nazi-pow-man-city-legend
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/it-was-what-it-was-the-football-history-podcast-6903590/the-fa-cup-the-broken-neck-bert-trautmann-the-nazi-pow-man-city-legend.md
Podcast: [It Was What It Was : The Football History Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/it-was-what-it-was-the-football-history-podcast-6903590)
Published: 2026-05-12T04:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://shows.acast.com/it-was-what-it-was/episodes/the-fa-cup-the-broken-neck-bert-trautmann-the-nazi-pow-man-c
Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/6633aa7d28201200122f5638/e/6a01a9a992e9663a6f69684a/media.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/it-was-what-it-was-the-football-history-podcast-6903590/episodes/the-fa-cup-the-broken-neck-bert-trautmann-the-nazi-pow-man-city-legend
Duration seconds: 3172

## Resource

Welcome back to It Was What It Was, the football history podcast. In this week's episode, co-hosts Jonathan Wilson and Rob Draper tell the remarkable story of Bert Trautmann — the former Nazi paratrooper who became Manchester City's beloved goalkeeper and an unlikely symbol of Anglo-German reconciliation. 70 years on from the legendary 1956 FA Cup final, Wilson and Draper trace Trautmann's extraordinary journey: from Hitler Youth member and fighting on the Eastern Front, to prisoner of war in England, to the man who played on with a broken neck at Wembley. They examine his teenage indoctrination, the atrocity he witnessed, that shattered his faith in Nazism and the 25,000 protesters at Maine Road. Along the way, they explore the brutal treatment of goalkeepers in this era and how three successive cup final incidents began to change the game's laws. Finally, they reflect on how a flawed, charismatic man became the perfect bridge between two nations. 00:00 Jimmy Ashcroft and the Goalkeeper's Lot 06:30 Hitler Youth — Trautmann's Indoctrination 12:45 The Eastern Front 19:20 Witnessing the SS Massacre 25:00 Captured Three Times — Soviets, Americans, and a Cup of Tea 27:10 Prisoner of War and the Accidental Goalkeeper 34:50 Staying in England 42:15 25,000 Protesters 48:00 Winning Over Manchester 53:40 The 1956 FA Cup Final — Playing On with a Broken Neck 58:10 The Dangerous Life of the Goalkeeper 01:03:20 Footballer of the Year and Personal Tragedy 01:09:00 Burma, Women's Football, and an OBE 01:14:30 The Perfect Symbol of Reconciliation Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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