Germany was represented at the 1956 Summer Olympics by a United Team of Germany of athletes from the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) (West Germany) and, for the first time at Summer Games, also from the German Democratic Republic (GDR) (East Germany) which had not joined in 1952. Also, the Saarland athletes who had to enter as a separate team in 1952 could now join in even though the accession of their state was not yet in effect. Thus, this was the only Olympic team ever to comprise athletes from three German states.
Most of the Games were held in Melbourne, Australia, but due to Australian quarantine regulations the equestrian events were held five months earlier in Stockholm, Sweden. 158 competitors, 134 men and 24 women, took part in 95 events in 15 sports.
The greatest German heroes of the Games were the miracle horse Halla, carrying injured rider Hans Günter Winkler to two Gold medals, and one more in 1960 for an all-time record.
Heinz Fütterer, who had tied the 100m world record and set some European records, had been a favorite for medals, but was injured before the games in an event held in the GDR.
Compared to 1952, where no Gold had been won, the Germans improved significantly, but still won more than twice as many Silver than Gold, being ranked joint 4th in Total medals.
Wolfgang Behrendt — Boxing, Men's Bantamweight
Michael Scheuer and Meinrad Miltenberger — Canoeing, Men's K2 1.000m Kayak Pairs
Hans-Günter Winkler — Equestrian, Jumping Individual
Hans-Günter Winkler, Fritz Thiedemann, and Alfons Lütke-Westhues — Equestrian, Jumping Team
Helmut Bantz — Gymnastics, Men's Long Horse Vault
Ursula Happe — Swimming, Women's 200m Breaststroke
Karl-Friedrich Haas — Athletics, Men's 400 metres
Klaus Richtzenhain — Athletics, Men's 1.500 metres
Christa Stubnick — Athletics, Women's 100 metres
Christa Stubnick — Athletics, Women's 200 metres
Gisela Köhler — Athletics, Women's 80m Hurdles
Harry Kurschat — Boxing, Men's Lightweight
Fritz Briel and Theo Kleine — Canoeing, Men's K2 10.000m Kayak Pairs
Therese Zenz — Canoeing, Women's K1 500m Kayak Singles
August Lütke-Westhues — Equestrian, Three-Day Event Individual
August Lütke-Westhues, Otto Rothe, and Klaus Wagner — Equestrian, Three-Day Event Team
Liselott Linsenhoff, Anneliese Küppers, and Hannelore Weygand — Equestrian, Dressage Team
Karl-Heinrich von Groddeck, Horst Arndt, and Rainer Borkowsky — Rowing, Men's Coxed Pairs
Wilfried Dietrich — Wrestling, Men's Greco-Roman Heavyweight
Heinz Fütterer, Leonhard Pohl, Lothar Knörzer, and Manfred Germar — Athletics, Men's 4 × 100 m Relay
Marianne Werner — Athletics, Women's Shot Put
Michael Scheuer — Canoeing, Men's K1 10.000m Kayak Singles
Reinhold Pommer, Horst Tüller and Gustav-Adolf Schur — Cycling, Men's Team Road Race
Liselott Linsenhoff — Equestrian, Dressage Individual
Günther Brennecke Hugo Budinger, Werner Delmes, Hugo Dollheiser, Eberhard Ferstl, Alfred Lücker, Helmut Nonn, Wolfgang Nonn, Heinz Radzikowski, Werner Rosenbaum, and Günther Ullerich — Field Hockey, Men's Team Competition
Eva-Maria ten Elsen — Swimming, Women's 200m Breaststroke
Men's 110m Hurdles
Martin Lauer
Heat — 14.2s
Semifinals — 14.4s
Final — 14.5s (→ 4th place)
Berthold Steines
Heat — 14.3s
Semifinals — 14.5s (→ did not advance)
Men's Marathon
Lothar Beckert — 2:42:10 (→ 19th place)
Kurt Hartung — 2:52:14 (→ 28th place)
Klaus Portadnik — did not finish (→ no ranking)
Tandem
Friedrich Neuser
Günther Ziegler — 10th place
Team pursuit
Kurt Gieseler
Rolf Nitzsche
Siegfried Köhler
Werner Malitz — 12th place
Team road race
Horst Tüller
Gustav-Adolf Schur
Reinhold Pommer — 27 points (→ Bronze Medal)
Individual road race
Horst Tüller — 5:23:16 (→ 4th place)
Gustav-Adolf Schur — 5:23:16 (→ 5th place)
Reinhold Pommer — 5:24:38 (→ 18th place)
Erich Hagen — 5:26:38 (→ 22nd place)
One fencer represented Germany in 1956.
Men's foil
Günter Stratmann
Men's épée
Günter Stratmann
Men's sabre
Günter Stratmann
Two shooters represented Germany in 1956.
50 m rifle, three positions
Rudi Sigl
Albert Sigl
50 m rifle, prone
Rudi Sigl
Albert Sigl
