Wartime Service and Postwar Career
After the outbreak of World War II, Cramm was drafted into military service in May 1940 as a member of the Hermann Goering Division. He saw action on the Eastern Front and was awarded the Iron Cross. Because of his previous conviction he was dismissed from military service in 1942. Despite his noble background, Cramm was enlisted as a private until he was given a small company under his command. His company faced the harsh conditions of the Eastern front and Cramm was flown out because of frostbite with much of his company dead.
While war robbed Cramm of some of his best years for tennis, he still won another German national championship in 1948 and was already forty years old when he won it for the last time in 1949. He played Davis Cup tennis until retiring after the 1953 season and still holds the record for most wins by any German team member.
Following his retirement from active competition, Cramm served as an administrator for the German tennis federation and became successful in business as a cotton importer. In addition, he managed the farm property he had inherited from his father at Wispenstein in Lower Saxony.
Read more about this topic: Gottfried Von Cramm
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