Arbeiter-Turn- und Sportbund
Encyclopedia
The Arbeiter-Turn- und Sportbund (ATSB or Workers' Gymnastics and Sports Federation) was a national German sports organization active between 1893-1933. The organization actively promoted leftist political views built around class struggle
and nationalism
.
Sport in late 19th century Germany
was centered around the development of gymnastics
and was highly politicized with strong nationalist overtones. A clear class divide developed and oftentimes workers
were not accepted within the ranks of established sports clubs. In response, separate worker's clubs emerged and in 1893 the Workers' Gymnastics Federation (ATB or Arbeiter Turnerbund) was formed in Gera
. In June 1919, following World War I
, the federation was renamed Arbeiter-Turn- und Sportbund to reflect the rise of sports other than gymnastics including athletics, handball
, and especially football
.
In the late 1920s the federation had a membership of 770,000 and fielded over 8,000 football teams throughout Germany. Between 1920-32, the ATSB staged its own national football championship separate from that of the DFB
(Deutscher Fußball Bund, en:German Football Association). It also held German Workers' Gymnastics and Sports Festival and hosted or took part in international events including the Workers' Olympiad.
By 1930, the federation had a membership of 1.2 million, however, it splintered when the communist-oriented Kampfgemeinschaft für Rote Sporteinheit (KG, en:Fighting Community for Red Sport, commonly Rotsport) was formed. Despite its popularity, the ATSB never managed to break the dominance of bourgeois clubs within the working class.
After the rise to power of the Nazis in 1933, all sports associations with left-leaning or faith-based affiliations were disbanded. The memberships of these clubs were dispersed or forced into mergers with sides more ideologically palatable to the regime and the clubs' assets were expropriated. The KG was broken up in February 1933, followed by the ATSB in May.
Class struggle
Class struggle is the active expression of a class conflict looked at from any kind of socialist perspective. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote "The [written] history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggle"....
and nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
.
Sport in late 19th century Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
was centered around the development of gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
and was highly politicized with strong nationalist overtones. A clear class divide developed and oftentimes workers
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
were not accepted within the ranks of established sports clubs. In response, separate worker's clubs emerged and in 1893 the Workers' Gymnastics Federation (ATB or Arbeiter Turnerbund) was formed in Gera
Gera
Gera, the third-largest city in the German state of Thuringia , lies in east Thuringia on the river Weiße Elster, approximately 60 kilometres to the south of the city of Leipzig and 80 kilometres to the east of Erfurt...
. In June 1919, following World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the federation was renamed Arbeiter-Turn- und Sportbund to reflect the rise of sports other than gymnastics including athletics, handball
Team handball
Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...
, and especially football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
.
In the late 1920s the federation had a membership of 770,000 and fielded over 8,000 football teams throughout Germany. Between 1920-32, the ATSB staged its own national football championship separate from that of the DFB
German Football Association
The German Football Association is the governing body of football in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB organises the German football leagues, including the national league, the Bundesliga, and the men's and women's national teams. The DFB is based in Frankfurt and is...
(Deutscher Fußball Bund, en:German Football Association). It also held German Workers' Gymnastics and Sports Festival and hosted or took part in international events including the Workers' Olympiad.
By 1930, the federation had a membership of 1.2 million, however, it splintered when the communist-oriented Kampfgemeinschaft für Rote Sporteinheit (KG, en:Fighting Community for Red Sport, commonly Rotsport) was formed. Despite its popularity, the ATSB never managed to break the dominance of bourgeois clubs within the working class.
After the rise to power of the Nazis in 1933, all sports associations with left-leaning or faith-based affiliations were disbanded. The memberships of these clubs were dispersed or forced into mergers with sides more ideologically palatable to the regime and the clubs' assets were expropriated. The KG was broken up in February 1933, followed by the ATSB in May.
See also
- Nationalsozialistischer Reichsbund für LeibesübungenNationalsozialistischer Reichsbund für LeibesübungenThe Nationalsozialistischer Reichsbund für Leibesübungen , more rarely "NSRBL", , known as Deutscher Reichsbund für Leibesübungen until 1938, was the umbrella organization for sports during the Third Reich.The NSRL was led by the Reichssportführer, who after 1934 was...