Theo Fitzau

Theodor Fitzau (10 February 1923 - 18 March 1982): German racing driver from East Germany who competed in one Formula One World Championship Grand Prix, the 1953 German Grand Prix, before defecting permanently to West Germany. Born in Köthen, Germany (later part of East Germany after World War II), Fitzau was primarily a Formula Two racer competing in East German national motorsport. By trade, he worked as a soap manufacturer, combining his business activities with his racing passion. Fitzau made his only Formula One World Championship appearance at the 1953 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, driving an AFM (Automobilbau für Maschinen) owned by fellow driver Helmut Niedermayr.

The AFM was fitted with a BMW-modified engine, representing one of the obscure German constructors attempting to compete in Formula One during the early 1950s. Fitzau retired from the race without finishing, scoring no championship points. His single Grand Prix appearance represented the typical experience of drivers campaigning uncompetitive machinery from small, underfunded constructors. At the end of 1952, Fitzau did not return from a trip to Rastatt in West Germany, committing the crime of Republikflucht—escaping from the German Democratic Republic.

Defection from East to West Germany was illegal under GDR law and carried serious consequences for those who attempted it and were caught. Fitzau successfully defected and settled permanently in West Germany, where he continued his life and business activities with greater freedoms than existed in the Communist East. His defection meant he could never return to East Germany while the country remained under Communist control. Fitzau died on 18 March 1982 in Groß-Gerau, West Germany, at age 59.

He represents the numerous East German citizens who risked everything to escape to the West during the Cold War era, and one of the few East German racing drivers to compete in a Formula One World Championship event. His defection highlighted the difficulties faced by East German sportspeople, who had limited opportunities to compete internationally and faced intense political pressure and restrictions on their movements. Known for: Competing in the 1953 German Grand Prix driving an AFM-BMW, defecting from East to West Germany at the end of 1952 by not returning from a trip to Rastatt, being a soap manufacturer by trade, and representing East German drivers who competed in Formula One before the fall of the Berlin Wall.