Football in occupied Poland (1939–1945)
Encyclopedia
On September 1, 1939, the armed forces of Nazi Germany
invaded Poland from the west initiating World War II. Two weeks later, on September 17, Soviet Union
joined Germany in their attack on the Second Polish Republic
. By early October, Poland was defeated. The occupied Poland was the only country in Europe where the Nazis had introduced a total ban on regional sports club
s. Football was allowed to be practised only by the Germans in the annexed areas of Upper Silesia
. Polish activists and players risked their lives by organizing clandestine football competitions in Kraków
, Warsaw
and Poznań
.
Following Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, Poland was split between the two occupiers. Eastern regions were annexed by Soviet Union’s republics of Ukraine and Belarus, while western part was either directly annexed into Germany, or became General Government
– a separate region of the Greater German Reich
. The region of Wilno was annexed by Lithuania
. Because of the war, ongoing games of the 1939 season of Ekstraklasa were cancelled (if not outright abandoned), with Ruch Chorzów
being the top team (see 1939 Ekstraklasa). Furthermore, friendly games of Poland national football team
with Yugoslavia
and Romania
, planned for September 1939, were also cancelled.
, but in the city of Lwów itself (which is the birthplace of Polish football), there was a number of other teams, such as Czarni Lwów
, Lechia Lwów
, Hasmonea Lwów
, and Ukraina Lwów
. Other well-known teams from Soviet-occupied Eastern Poland
were Junak Drohobycz
, Rewera Stanisławów, Kresy Tarnopol
, Ognisko Pińsk
, Strzelec Janowa Dolina
and WKS Grodno
. Little is known about the fate of teams and players from other locations of Soviet occupied Poland, except from the city of Lwów itself.
Unlike German occupiers in Western Poland, the Soviets allowed selected Poles to play football. At the same time, however, all Polish teams were closed, and replaced with Soviet ones, which used the facilities of former Polish teams. Legendary coach Kazimierz Górski
, who spent his youth in Lwów and before 1939 had played for RKS Lwów, in the years 1940 - 1941 and 1944, put on the jersey of Soviet teams Spartak Lvov and Dynamo Lvov, before moving to Warsaw
in 1945. Other famous players from Lwów, who were allowed to compete in Soviet-sponsored teams, were popular goalkeeper Spirydion Albański
and Wacław Kuchar, who was coach of Dynamo Lvov (1939–1941, 1944–1945). Furthermore, Michał Matyas (top scorer of 1935 Ekstraklasa), played for Dynamo Kyiv, and Adam Wolanin
, after one year at Dynamo Lvov, moved to play shortly for Spartak Moscow
, together with Bolesław Habowski, who played both for Dynamo Moscow
and Spartak Moscow. Jan Wasiewicz
ended up in Polish Armed Forces in the West
, and Adolf Zimmer Pogoń Lwów was murdered in the Katyń Massacre
. Wacław Jerzewski, who was Pogoń's player and coach in 1938 - 1939, was after September 1939 interned in Romania
, then fought in general Władysław Anders Corps, and returned to Poland after the war.
Little is known about wartime matches of Polish teams from Eastern Poland. Bohdan Tuszyński in his book Za cenę życia (For the price of life) wrote that on July 2, 1944 in German-occupied Lwów, a game between Polish team of the city and German team KONA took place. The Poles won 4-2.
Currently, the memory of the teams from Lwów (now: Lviv, Ukraine
) is still vivid in Poland. Among teams which are regarded as successors of Pogoń, there are Polonia Bytom
, Odra Opole
, and Pogoń Szczecin
, while Lechia Gdańsk
, with its white-green hues, is a successor to Lechia Lwów
. Also, in autumn of 1946 in Lwówek Śląski
, sports club Czarni Lwówek was founded, which owes its name to Czarni Lwów. There were several other teams named Czarni in former German province Lower Silesia
, where inhabitants of former southeastern Poland moved after the war - Czarni Jelcz-Laskowice
, Czarni Żagań
and Czarni Otmuchów
.
Very interesting is the story of players and officials of Junak Drohobycz, who became actively involved in Polish resistance movement
. Before the war, Junak was a team sponsored by the Polish Army, and in late 1939, members of the club created the White Couriers
- a boyscouting organization, which smuggled hundreds of persons from the area of Lwow to Hungary
, across the newly created Soviet-Hungarian border in the Carpathians. One of the couriers was Stanisław Gerula, goalkeeper of Junak. Most of players of Junak, who at the same time were soldiers, left Drohobycz in the night of September 11/12, 1939. A few days later later they reached Hungary, where Colonel Mieczysław Mlotek, manager of Junak, decided to recreate the team. Junak played several games both in Hungary
, and Jugoslavia, among top players there were Antoni Komendo-Borowski (previously of Jagiellonia Białystok and Pogoń Lwów) and Henryk Kidacki. In the second half of 1940, all players together with management moved to Tel Aviv
, where several games were organized. In 1942, Junak, known as The Team of Polish Army in the East, was in Iraq
. Among others, it beat Iraq 6-1 (January 29, 1943), and Iran
3-1 (March 12, 1942, with General Władysław Anders watching the game). The Poles also faced the team of the British Army
(with Harry Goslin
, Stan Hanson
, Don Howe and Ernie Forrest
). The game took place in Baghdad
.
In late stages of the war, Junak, together with the army, moved to Italy
. In 1944 in Naples, the Polish team, under the new name The Carpathians faced the team of Naples, with 35000 in attendance. Besides players from former clubs from Eastern Poland, the Carpathians also capped stars of Polish football from Upper Silesia
, who had been drafted into the Wehrmacht
, and were caught by the Allies or deserted in Western Europe - Edmund Giemsa
, Ewald Cebula
, Henryk Janduda of AKS Chorzów
, Zygmunt Kulawik of Śląsk Świętochłowice.,
In mid-October 1939, a little known game took place in Starosielce in the suburbs of Białystok. Soviet troops, which had entered the area a few weeks before, decided that there would be a football match between Polish team of Starosielce and a Red Army
team from a unit stationed in nearby Choroszcz
. After first half, despite several brutal fauls of Soviet players and partisan refereeing, the Poles were winning 2-0. During the break, an NKVD
officer approached the manager of the Poles, telling him that Poles had to lose. Thus, the match ended in a 3-2 Soviet win.
. The Soviets returned in June 1940.
Little is known about history of Polish football in Wilno during the war. The Lithuanians created their own teams, and players of Śmigły joined them. Defender Bolesław Zawieja played for LFLS Vilnius, forward Józef Tumasz for LGSF Vilnius, goalkeeper Ludwik Łoś and and defender Konstanty Paszkiewicz for JSO Vilnius. On June 16, 1940, as Gazeta Codzienna Polish langugage daily announced, a match between teams of Kaunas
and Vilnius took place. Vilnius’ team was almost exclusively made of Polish players of pre-1939 Śmigły, and Kaunas won 6-1. Longin Korwin-Pawłowski, the only player of Śmigły who capped for Poland in 1937, ended up in a German POW camp, and after the war settled in Canada
, where in 1968 - 1969 he was leader of Polish scouting.
, Kraków
, Poznań
, Łódź, and Polish part of Upper Silesia
. German occupiers immediately banned all ethnic Poles from playing football, allowing only those who signed the Volksliste
. As a result, all Polish clubs were closed, except for those from Upper Silesia, which were allowed to operate under new, German-sounding names.
, and Warszawianka Warszawa
. Immediately after capture of the city, the Germans closed all Polish clubs, and players were forced to go underground. In spring of 1940, first games were organized in Mokotów Field by Józef Ciszewski
, former player of Cracovia and Legia Warsaw. Soon afterwards, in summer of 1940, regular games started, with prewar teams participating under changed names - e.g., players of Polonia Warszawa created teams of Pochodnia, Czarni, and Bimber. Before German authorities seized Polonia’s stadium on Konwiktorska Street, in September 1940, a tournament with thirteen teams took place there. In the final game (Sept. 13, 1940), Czarni beat Bimber 3-1.
On December 24, 1941, Alfred Nowakowski created underground Warsaw District of Association Football, and in 1942 games of Warsaw Championship began, with teams not only from Warsaw, but from suburbs, such as Wołomin, Góra Kalwaria
, Brwinów
, and Piaseczno
. Both in 1942 and 1943 champions were re-created Polonia Warszawa. Since matches attracted thousands of fans, and Warsaw was too dangerous because of presence of numerous German soldiers, most of them took place in the suburbs, in such towns, as Piaseczno
, Konstancin-Jeziorna
, Błonie, and Mirków. In Piaseczno, on Easter Boxing Day 1943, a game between the teams of Warsaw and Krakow took place, ending in a 1-1 draw, with hundreds of spectators watching. Also, in mid-1942, an unusual game took place in Legionowo
. Hurgan Wolomin faced a team made of German and Bulgarian soldiers, stationed in the town. Poles won 3-2, after a very heated match. Among most active football teams of occupied Warsaw was Okęcie Warszawa, which played over 100 matches. During the war, Okęcie kept four teams, including two of junior players. In 1942, Okęcie was second in Championship of Warsaw, after Polonia.
Last wartime championship took place in 1944, but due to Warsaw Uprising
, it was not finished. With some fifty teams, Warsaw was one of main centers of Polish football in those years, which was confirmed in the first postwar Polish Championship (1946), won by Polonia.
, and Garbarnia Kraków
) were from that city. It took only a few weeks of occupation for local football officials and players to organize first underground wartime game. On October 22, 1939 in Bronowice, Wisła beat Krowodrza 3-1.
On August 7, 1940, first wartime Championship of Kraków began in Sports Park Juvenia. A few days earlier, on July 23, Hans Frank
had issued a decree, which officially dissolved Polish associations, including sports clubs on the territory of General Government
. However, Juvenia official Aleksander Wódka was allowed to use the grounds of the Sports Park in any way he liked, so football pitch there for two years was the arena of a number of matches, with German authorities giving unofficial permission. Eight teams participated in the 1940 Championship: Bloki, Cracovia, Garbarnia, Groble, Juvenia, Sparta, Wisła and Zwierzyniecki, and the champion was Wisła, winning all games, with goal difference 52-8. Second was Cracovia, third Garbarnia. The tournament was popular among local fans, attracting up to 3000 people for top games.
Second Championship took place in summer and early fall of 1941 (between June 14, and October 19, with 79 games played). Poles were banned from practising organized sports, but at the same time, they were allowed to use Juvenia Parks’ facilities, which gave them a chance to keep playing. There were no qualifiers for the Championship, and thirteen teams took place in it: AKS, Bloki, Cracovia, Dębnicki, Garbarnia, Groble, Juvenia, Kazimierz, Prądniczanka, Sparta, Wawel, Wisła and Zwierzyniecki. After all rounds, it turned out that both Wisła and Cracovia had equal number of points, so additional game was necessary, which was won by Wisła 3-2. As organizers of the tournament later wrote, German soldiers and officers were frequent guests at games, but they did not disturb them.
In 1942, after closing of Juvenia Sports Park, no championship took place, due to increased terror. The Championships of Kraków returned in 1943, but this time they took place on several fields both in the city, and in the suburbs. Several new teams were created, and German authorities did not seem to be interested in these activities. After a July 6, 1943 meeting of officials, 22 teams applied for participation, and three groups were created. Games took place in suburban districts of Borek, Łagiewniki, Rakowice
and Wieczysta. The 1943 Championship of Krakow was remembered for years because of events which took place during and after most games. Players, officials and supporters of teams would fight each other - on August 1, 1943, during a game between Łagiewianka and Wisła, a group of Łagiewianka officials and fans entered the pitch to beat up the referee and Wisła players. The game was ended eight minutes before time. A week later, there were disturbances during games Groble - Nadwiślan (in Borek Fałęcki), and Dąbski - Czarni (in Rakowice), and Blue Police
had to intervene. Due to those disturbances, on August 10, 1943, all games were cancelled. The decision was changed after the August 15 meeting, but it did not help, as soon afterwards, during the game Rakowiczanka - Cracovia, further riots took place.
On Sunday, October 17, 1943, at 3 p.m., final game of the 1943 Kraków Championship took place at Garbarnia Stadium, with some 10,000 spectators. The game between Wisła and Cracovia ended with a gigantic fight between supporters of both teams, after referee Tadeusz Milusiński awarded a penalty kick to Cracovia, after Wisła’s player touched the ball with a hand in the box. In response, Wisła’s Mieczysław Gracz kicked the referee, and Wisła’s players left the pitch, urged by their officials. Fights between angry fans moved on to the streets of Krakow’s district of Podgórze
. German authorities did not intervene, as the military commandant of the district, Hans Mitschke, stated that "football fans were the same everywhere". As a result, the game was settled as 3-0 for Cracovia.
The matches of the 1944 Championship of Krakow were not fully completed, due to increasing terror of the occupation.
became Fussball Verein Germania Königshütte, Ruch Chorzów
- Bismarckhütter SV 99, Naprzód Lipiny
- TuS Lipine, and Śląsk Świętochłowice - TuS Schwientochlowitz (for more information see Gauliga Schlesien
).
In the late 1930s, bulk of players of National Team of Poland were from Upper Silesia; in some games there were eight Silesians in the starting lineup. Most popular football star of interwar Poland, Ernest Wilimowski
, capped several times for Germany in early 1940s, and other top players, from the region such as Gerard Wodarz
, Jerzy Wostal
, Teodor Peterek
, Wilhelm Góra
, Leonard Piątek
, Ewald Dytko
, Erwin Nyc
, after signing the Volksliste
, were allowed to continue playing. Eventually, most of them were drafted to the Wehrmacht
. Some time in early stages of the war, Leonard Piątek went to Kraków, to ask Józef Kałuża if he would let him and his collegaues play for German teams. Kałuża answered in the affirmative.
s organized in occupied territories. For more information, see Gauliga Danzig-Westpreußen
, Gauliga Generalgouvernement
, Gauliga Wartheland
, Gauliga Schlesien
.
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
invaded Poland from the west initiating World War II. Two weeks later, on September 17, Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
joined Germany in their attack on the Second Polish Republic
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
. By early October, Poland was defeated. The occupied Poland was the only country in Europe where the Nazis had introduced a total ban on regional sports club
Sports club
A sports club or sport club, sometimes athletics club or sports association is a club for the purpose of playing one or more sports...
s. Football was allowed to be practised only by the Germans in the annexed areas of Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia. Since the 9th century, Upper Silesia has been part of Greater Moravia, the Duchy of Bohemia, the Piast Kingdom of Poland, again of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown and the Holy Roman Empire, as well as of...
. Polish activists and players risked their lives by organizing clandestine football competitions in Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
, Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
and Poznań
Poznan
Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
.
Following Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, Poland was split between the two occupiers. Eastern regions were annexed by Soviet Union’s republics of Ukraine and Belarus, while western part was either directly annexed into Germany, or became General Government
General Government
The General Government was an area of Second Republic of Poland under Nazi German rule during World War II; designated as a separate region of the Third Reich between 1939–1945...
– a separate region of the Greater German Reich
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. The region of Wilno was annexed by Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
. Because of the war, ongoing games of the 1939 season of Ekstraklasa were cancelled (if not outright abandoned), with Ruch Chorzów
Ruch Chorzów
Ruch Chorzów is a Polish association football club based in Chorzów, Upper Silesia. It is one of the most successful football teams in Poland: 14 time national champion, and 3 time winner of the Polish Cup. Currently the team plays in the top Polish league, the Ekstraklasa. Their stadium capacity...
being the top team (see 1939 Ekstraklasa). Furthermore, friendly games of Poland national football team
Poland national football team
The Poland national football team represents Poland in association football and is controlled by the Polish Football Association, the governing body for football in Poland...
with Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
and Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, planned for September 1939, were also cancelled.
Football in Soviet-occupied Poland (1939 - 1941)
In 1939, only one of Ekstraklasa’s ten teams was from the region which was later annexed by the Soviets. It was Pogoń LwówPogon Lwów
LKS Pogoń Lwów is a former Polish professional sports club which was located in Lwów , and existed from 1904 until the outbreak of World War II in 1939. It was the second oldest Polish football club behind other teams from Lwów - Czarni and Lechia...
, but in the city of Lwów itself (which is the birthplace of Polish football), there was a number of other teams, such as Czarni Lwów
Czarni Lwów
Czarni Lwów was one of the first Polish professional sports clubs with the well developed football section as well as hockey among the several other sports. The football club was started in the late 19th century in Lwów as a school football section Sława Lwów...
, Lechia Lwów
Lechia Lwów
Lechia Lwów was the first Polish professional football club, founded on summer 1903 in Lwów....
, Hasmonea Lwów
Hasmonea Lwów
Hasmonea Lwów was a Polish-Jewish sports club based in the city of Lwów . Created in 1908, it was the first sports club exclusively for Jewish members. It was named after the Hasmonean royal dynasty...
, and Ukraina Lwów
Ukraina Lwów
Ukraina Lwów was an ethnic Ukrainian sports club, located in the city of Lwów, which in the interbellum period belonged to the Second Polish Republic ....
. Other well-known teams from Soviet-occupied Eastern Poland
Kresy
The Polish term Kresy refers to a land considered by Poles as historical eastern provinces of their country. Today, it makes western Ukraine, western Belarus, as well as eastern Lithuania, with such major cities, as Lviv, Vilnius, and Hrodna. This territory belonged to the Polish-Lithuanian...
were Junak Drohobycz
Junak Drohobycz
Junak Drohobycz was a Polish soccer team, located in Drohobycz , on the historic territory of Kresy Wschodnie . It was disbanded by the Soviet occupying authorities in the fall of 1939, following Soviet attack on Eastern Poland...
, Rewera Stanisławów, Kresy Tarnopol
Kresy Tarnopol
Kresy Tarnopol is a defunct Polish sports club, which was located in Tarnopol, southeastern Poland . Little is known about club’s history, it had a soccer department which participated in regional games of the Polish Football Association branch in either Lviv or Ivano-Frankivsk...
, Ognisko Pińsk
Ognisko Pinsk
Ognisko Pińsk was a Polish football team, located in Pińsk, Poland , on the historic territory of Kresy Wschodnie .The club was founded in an unknown year and most of its history remains unknown either...
, Strzelec Janowa Dolina
Strzelec Janowa Dolina
Strzelec Janowa Dolina - a defunct Polish sports club, located in the settlement of Janowa Dolina in the Volhynian Voivodeship of the Second Polish Republic. It had numerous departments, including the most popular - soccer...
and WKS Grodno
WKS Grodno
Wojskowy Klub Sportowy Grodno was a Polish football team, located in Grodno, Poland , on the historic territory of Kresy Wschodnie ....
. Little is known about the fate of teams and players from other locations of Soviet occupied Poland, except from the city of Lwów itself.
Unlike German occupiers in Western Poland, the Soviets allowed selected Poles to play football. At the same time, however, all Polish teams were closed, and replaced with Soviet ones, which used the facilities of former Polish teams. Legendary coach Kazimierz Górski
Kazimierz Górski
Kazimierz Klaudiusz Górski was a coach of Poland national football team and honorary president of Polish Football Union . He was also a football player, capped once for Poland....
, who spent his youth in Lwów and before 1939 had played for RKS Lwów, in the years 1940 - 1941 and 1944, put on the jersey of Soviet teams Spartak Lvov and Dynamo Lvov, before moving to Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
in 1945. Other famous players from Lwów, who were allowed to compete in Soviet-sponsored teams, were popular goalkeeper Spirydion Albański
Spirydion Albanski
Spirydion Jan Albański , nicknamed "Spirytus" and "Romek", was a Polish football goalkeeper in the 1930s. He played for Pogoń Lwów and the Polish National Team.Albański was born in Lwów...
and Wacław Kuchar, who was coach of Dynamo Lvov (1939–1941, 1944–1945). Furthermore, Michał Matyas (top scorer of 1935 Ekstraklasa), played for Dynamo Kyiv, and Adam Wolanin
Adam Wolanin
Adam Wolanin was a Polish American soccer forward who was a member of the U.S. national team at the 1950 FIFA World Cup. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame....
, after one year at Dynamo Lvov, moved to play shortly for Spartak Moscow
FC Spartak Moscow
FC Spartak Moscow is a Russian football club from Moscow. Having won 12 Soviet championships and 9 of 19 Russian championships they are one of the country's most successful clubs. They have also won the Soviet Cup 10 times and the Russian Cup 3 times...
, together with Bolesław Habowski, who played both for Dynamo Moscow
FC Dynamo Moscow
Dynamo Moscow is a Russian football club based in Moscow, currently playing in the Russian Premier League. Dynamo's traditional kit colours are blue and white...
and Spartak Moscow. Jan Wasiewicz
Jan Wasiewicz
Jan Karol Wasiewicz was an interwar Polish soccer player. Wasiewicz was a midfielder both in Pogoń Lwów , and the Polish National Team.His career started in 1926 in another Lwów team - RKS. Then he moved to Lechia Lwów and in 1933 to Pogoń...
ended up in Polish Armed Forces in the West
Polish Armed Forces in the West
Polish Armed Forces in the West refers to the Polish military formations formed to fight alongside the Western Allies against Nazi Germany and its allies...
, and Adolf Zimmer Pogoń Lwów was murdered in the Katyń Massacre
Katyn massacre
The Katyn massacre, also known as the Katyn Forest massacre , was a mass execution of Polish nationals carried out by the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs , the Soviet secret police, in April and May 1940. The massacre was prompted by Lavrentiy Beria's proposal to execute all members of...
. Wacław Jerzewski, who was Pogoń's player and coach in 1938 - 1939, was after September 1939 interned in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, then fought in general Władysław Anders Corps, and returned to Poland after the war.
Little is known about wartime matches of Polish teams from Eastern Poland. Bohdan Tuszyński in his book Za cenę życia (For the price of life) wrote that on July 2, 1944 in German-occupied Lwów, a game between Polish team of the city and German team KONA took place. The Poles won 4-2.
Currently, the memory of the teams from Lwów (now: Lviv, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
) is still vivid in Poland. Among teams which are regarded as successors of Pogoń, there are Polonia Bytom
Polonia Bytom
Polonia Bytom is a Polish football club founded on 4 January 1920 in the Upper Silesian city of Bytom, during the hectic months of the Silesian Uprisings...
, Odra Opole
Odra Opole
Odra Opole is a football club based in Opole, Poland, currently playing in the Polish First League...
, and Pogoń Szczecin
Pogon Szczecin
MKS Pogoń Szczecin is a Polish professional football club, based in Szczecin, Poland. The club was founded by Poles from Lwów , who had been transferred west after the Soviet annexation of Poland's eastern territories in 1945. The founders of Pogoń Szczecin had previously been supporters of Pogoń...
, while Lechia Gdańsk
Lechia Gdansk
Lechia Gdańsk is a Polish football club based in Gdańsk, Poland. The club's name comes from Lechia, a poetic name for Poland. The club was founded by people expelled from Lwów, who were supporters of Lechia Lwów. Founded in 1945, Lechia was a powerhouse in Polish football during the mid-1950s...
, with its white-green hues, is a successor to Lechia Lwów
Lechia Lwów
Lechia Lwów was the first Polish professional football club, founded on summer 1903 in Lwów....
. Also, in autumn of 1946 in Lwówek Śląski
Lwówek Slaski
Lwówek Śląski is a town in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship in Poland. Situated on the Bóbr River, Lwówek Śląski is about 30 km NNW of Jelenia Góra and has a population of about 10,300 inhabitants...
, sports club Czarni Lwówek was founded, which owes its name to Czarni Lwów. There were several other teams named Czarni in former German province Lower Silesia
Lower Silesia
Lower Silesia ; is the northwestern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia; Upper Silesia is to the southeast.Throughout its history Lower Silesia has been under the control of the medieval Kingdom of Poland, the Kingdom of Bohemia and the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy from 1526...
, where inhabitants of former southeastern Poland moved after the war - Czarni Jelcz-Laskowice
Jelcz-Laskowice
Jelcz-Laskowice is a town in Oława County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district called Gmina Jelcz-Laskowice. It lies on the Odra river, approximately north of Oława, and south-east of the regional capital Wrocław...
, Czarni Żagań
Zagan
Zagan may refer to:*Zagan - a demon in the Ars Goetia*Żagań - a town in west Poland...
and Czarni Otmuchów
Otmuchów
Otmuchów is a town in Nysa County, Opole Voivodeship, Poland, with 5,317 inhabitants ....
.
Very interesting is the story of players and officials of Junak Drohobycz, who became actively involved in Polish resistance movement
Polish resistance movement in World War II
The Polish resistance movement in World War II, with the Home Army at its forefront, was the largest underground resistance in all of Nazi-occupied Europe, covering both German and Soviet zones of occupation. The Polish defence against the Nazi occupation was an important part of the European...
. Before the war, Junak was a team sponsored by the Polish Army, and in late 1939, members of the club created the White Couriers
White Couriers
White Couriers was a group of around 20-30 Polish boyscouts and former soldiers of the Polish Army, most of whom had been associated with the interbellum sports club Junak Drohobycz. It existed between October 1939 and July 1940, when it was broken by the Soviet NKVD...
- a boyscouting organization, which smuggled hundreds of persons from the area of Lwow to Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, across the newly created Soviet-Hungarian border in the Carpathians. One of the couriers was Stanisław Gerula, goalkeeper of Junak. Most of players of Junak, who at the same time were soldiers, left Drohobycz in the night of September 11/12, 1939. A few days later later they reached Hungary, where Colonel Mieczysław Mlotek, manager of Junak, decided to recreate the team. Junak played several games both in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, and Jugoslavia, among top players there were Antoni Komendo-Borowski (previously of Jagiellonia Białystok and Pogoń Lwów) and Henryk Kidacki. In the second half of 1940, all players together with management moved to Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, where several games were organized. In 1942, Junak, known as The Team of Polish Army in the East, was in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. Among others, it beat Iraq 6-1 (January 29, 1943), and Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
3-1 (March 12, 1942, with General Władysław Anders watching the game). The Poles also faced the team of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
(with Harry Goslin
Harry Goslin
Henry Goslin MC, , better known as Harry Goslin, was an English footballer who played for Bolton Wanderers for the whole of his professional career. He played in defence....
, Stan Hanson
Stan Hanson
Stan Hanson was an English footballer who played for Bolton Wanderers for his whole professional career....
, Don Howe and Ernie Forrest
Ernie Forrest
Ernest Forrest , is an English footballer who played as a right half in the Football League.Rupert Grint plays him in Wartime Wanderers-External links:*...
). The game took place in Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
.
In late stages of the war, Junak, together with the army, moved to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. In 1944 in Naples, the Polish team, under the new name The Carpathians faced the team of Naples, with 35000 in attendance. Besides players from former clubs from Eastern Poland, the Carpathians also capped stars of Polish football from Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia. Since the 9th century, Upper Silesia has been part of Greater Moravia, the Duchy of Bohemia, the Piast Kingdom of Poland, again of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown and the Holy Roman Empire, as well as of...
, who had been drafted into the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
, and were caught by the Allies or deserted in Western Europe - Edmund Giemsa
Edmund Giemsa
Edmund Giemza was a Polish interwar soccer player, started career as a forward, then moved to midfield, regarded as an expert on free kicks. Born on October 16, 1912 in Upper Silesian city of Ruda Śląska, died on September 30, 1994 in Chinnor, England.Giemsa played for Ruch Chorzów as well as...
, Ewald Cebula
Ewald Cebula
Edward Cebula was a Polish football player and defender...
, Henryk Janduda of AKS Chorzów
AKS Chorzów
AKS Chorzów is a sports club in based in Chorzów, Poland. It is one of the earliest sports organizations in Upper Silesia and is still well-known nationally for its football and handball teams...
, Zygmunt Kulawik of Śląsk Świętochłowice.,
In mid-October 1939, a little known game took place in Starosielce in the suburbs of Białystok. Soviet troops, which had entered the area a few weeks before, decided that there would be a football match between Polish team of Starosielce and a Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
team from a unit stationed in nearby Choroszcz
Choroszcz
Choroszcz is a town in north-eastern Poland.It is situated in the Podlaskie Voivodeship , having previously been in Białystok Voivodeship ....
. After first half, despite several brutal fauls of Soviet players and partisan refereeing, the Poles were winning 2-0. During the break, an NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
officer approached the manager of the Poles, telling him that Poles had to lose. Thus, the match ended in a 3-2 Soviet win.
Football in Lithuanian-occupied city of Wilno (Vilnius) (1939 - 1940)
The city of Wilno was home to several teams, but only one, Śmigły Wilno played one season in the Ekstraklasa (see: 1938 Ekstraklasa). On September 19, 1939, Wilno was captured by the Soviets, who on October 26 handed it over to LithuaniaLithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
. The Soviets returned in June 1940.
Little is known about history of Polish football in Wilno during the war. The Lithuanians created their own teams, and players of Śmigły joined them. Defender Bolesław Zawieja played for LFLS Vilnius, forward Józef Tumasz for LGSF Vilnius, goalkeeper Ludwik Łoś and and defender Konstanty Paszkiewicz for JSO Vilnius. On June 16, 1940, as Gazeta Codzienna Polish langugage daily announced, a match between teams of Kaunas
Kaunas
Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
and Vilnius took place. Vilnius’ team was almost exclusively made of Polish players of pre-1939 Śmigły, and Kaunas won 6-1. Longin Korwin-Pawłowski, the only player of Śmigły who capped for Poland in 1937, ended up in a German POW camp, and after the war settled in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, where in 1968 - 1969 he was leader of Polish scouting.
Football in German-occupied Poland (1939 - 1945)
Following Polish September Campaign, the Germans occupied western and central Poland, the area where football was much better developed. Out of ten teams of the 1939 Ekstraklasa, only one came from Eastern Poland (Pogoń Lwów), and main centers of interbellum Polish football were located in WarsawWarsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
, Poznań
Poznan
Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
, Łódź, and Polish part of Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia. Since the 9th century, Upper Silesia has been part of Greater Moravia, the Duchy of Bohemia, the Piast Kingdom of Poland, again of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown and the Holy Roman Empire, as well as of...
. German occupiers immediately banned all ethnic Poles from playing football, allowing only those who signed the Volksliste
Volksliste
The Deutsche Volksliste was a Nazi institution whose purpose was the classification of inhabitants of German occupied territories into categories of desirability according to criteria systematized by Heinrich Himmler. The institution was first established in occupied western Poland...
. As a result, all Polish clubs were closed, except for those from Upper Silesia, which were allowed to operate under new, German-sounding names.
Football in German-occupied Warsaw
In 1939, Warsaw had two teams in Ekstraklasa - Polonia WarszawaPolonia Warszawa
Polonia Warsaw is a Polish sports club with football and basketball teams, founded in 1911, and is the oldest such club in Warsaw, where it is based.- History :...
, and Warszawianka Warszawa
Warszawianka Warszawa
Klub Sportowy Warszawianka is a former Polish multi-sport club from Warsaw. Founded in 1921 by the famous Warsaw families of Luxemburgs and Loths . Hues - black-white, the logo consisted of a black capital letter W.-History:At first, the club's main effort was concentrated on football...
. Immediately after capture of the city, the Germans closed all Polish clubs, and players were forced to go underground. In spring of 1940, first games were organized in Mokotów Field by Józef Ciszewski
Józef Ciszewski
Born January 12, 1904 in Kraków, died 1987 in Warsaw. A soccer forward, played in several Polish clubs, also 14 games in the Polish National Team, scoring 3 goals....
, former player of Cracovia and Legia Warsaw. Soon afterwards, in summer of 1940, regular games started, with prewar teams participating under changed names - e.g., players of Polonia Warszawa created teams of Pochodnia, Czarni, and Bimber. Before German authorities seized Polonia’s stadium on Konwiktorska Street, in September 1940, a tournament with thirteen teams took place there. In the final game (Sept. 13, 1940), Czarni beat Bimber 3-1.
On December 24, 1941, Alfred Nowakowski created underground Warsaw District of Association Football, and in 1942 games of Warsaw Championship began, with teams not only from Warsaw, but from suburbs, such as Wołomin, Góra Kalwaria
Góra Kalwaria
Góra Kalwaria is a town on the Vistula River in the Mazovian Voivodship, Poland, about 25 km southeast of Warsaw. It has a population of about 11,000 . The town has significance for both Catholic Christians and Hasidic Jews...
, Brwinów
Brwinów
Brwinów is a town in Pruszków County, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland, about 25 km from the centre of Warsaw; according to the 2008 records Brwinów has 12131 inhabitants....
, and Piaseczno
Piaseczno
Piaseczno is a town in central Poland with 32,610 inhabitants .It is situated in the Masovian Voivodeship, approximately 16 kilometers south of Warsaw. It is a popular residential area and a suburb of Warsaw and is strongly linked to the capital, both economically and culturally...
. Both in 1942 and 1943 champions were re-created Polonia Warszawa. Since matches attracted thousands of fans, and Warsaw was too dangerous because of presence of numerous German soldiers, most of them took place in the suburbs, in such towns, as Piaseczno
Piaseczno
Piaseczno is a town in central Poland with 32,610 inhabitants .It is situated in the Masovian Voivodeship, approximately 16 kilometers south of Warsaw. It is a popular residential area and a suburb of Warsaw and is strongly linked to the capital, both economically and culturally...
, Konstancin-Jeziorna
Konstancin-Jeziorna
Konstancin-Jeziorna is a town in Piaseczno County, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland, with 16,963 inhabitants . It is located about 20 km south of downtown Warsaw and is a part of the metropolitan area of that city....
, Błonie, and Mirków. In Piaseczno, on Easter Boxing Day 1943, a game between the teams of Warsaw and Krakow took place, ending in a 1-1 draw, with hundreds of spectators watching. Also, in mid-1942, an unusual game took place in Legionowo
Legionowo
Legionowo is a town in Masovia . According to the 2004 Census estimate the town has a total population of 50,759.Legionowo is located ca. 23 km to the north-east of the center of Warsaw and only 7 km to the south of Zegrze Reservoir , near the Warsaw-Gdańsk railroad and Warsaw-Suwałki...
. Hurgan Wolomin faced a team made of German and Bulgarian soldiers, stationed in the town. Poles won 3-2, after a very heated match. Among most active football teams of occupied Warsaw was Okęcie Warszawa, which played over 100 matches. During the war, Okęcie kept four teams, including two of junior players. In 1942, Okęcie was second in Championship of Warsaw, after Polonia.
Last wartime championship took place in 1944, but due to Warsaw Uprising
Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army , to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The rebellion was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces...
, it was not finished. With some fifty teams, Warsaw was one of main centers of Polish football in those years, which was confirmed in the first postwar Polish Championship (1946), won by Polonia.
Football in German-occupied Kraków
Kraków was another center of Polish football - in 1939 Ekstraklasa, out of ten teams, as many as three (Wisła Kraków, Cracovia KrakówCracovia Kraków
Cracovia is a professional multisports club based in Kraków, Poland. Cracovia is the oldest Polish football club still in existence , and has continually participated in competition since its founding on 13 June 1906...
, and Garbarnia Kraków
Garbarnia Kraków
RKS Garbarnia Kraków is a Polish football and sports club from Ludwinow - a historical district of the city of Kraków. The club’s unusual name comes from the nearby tannery of the Dluzynski brothers, which was the original club sponsor...
) were from that city. It took only a few weeks of occupation for local football officials and players to organize first underground wartime game. On October 22, 1939 in Bronowice, Wisła beat Krowodrza 3-1.
On August 7, 1940, first wartime Championship of Kraków began in Sports Park Juvenia. A few days earlier, on July 23, Hans Frank
Hans Frank
Hans Michael Frank was a German lawyer who worked for the Nazi party during the 1920s and 1930s and later became a high-ranking official in Nazi Germany...
had issued a decree, which officially dissolved Polish associations, including sports clubs on the territory of General Government
General Government
The General Government was an area of Second Republic of Poland under Nazi German rule during World War II; designated as a separate region of the Third Reich between 1939–1945...
. However, Juvenia official Aleksander Wódka was allowed to use the grounds of the Sports Park in any way he liked, so football pitch there for two years was the arena of a number of matches, with German authorities giving unofficial permission. Eight teams participated in the 1940 Championship: Bloki, Cracovia, Garbarnia, Groble, Juvenia, Sparta, Wisła and Zwierzyniecki, and the champion was Wisła, winning all games, with goal difference 52-8. Second was Cracovia, third Garbarnia. The tournament was popular among local fans, attracting up to 3000 people for top games.
Second Championship took place in summer and early fall of 1941 (between June 14, and October 19, with 79 games played). Poles were banned from practising organized sports, but at the same time, they were allowed to use Juvenia Parks’ facilities, which gave them a chance to keep playing. There were no qualifiers for the Championship, and thirteen teams took place in it: AKS, Bloki, Cracovia, Dębnicki, Garbarnia, Groble, Juvenia, Kazimierz, Prądniczanka, Sparta, Wawel, Wisła and Zwierzyniecki. After all rounds, it turned out that both Wisła and Cracovia had equal number of points, so additional game was necessary, which was won by Wisła 3-2. As organizers of the tournament later wrote, German soldiers and officers were frequent guests at games, but they did not disturb them.
In 1942, after closing of Juvenia Sports Park, no championship took place, due to increased terror. The Championships of Kraków returned in 1943, but this time they took place on several fields both in the city, and in the suburbs. Several new teams were created, and German authorities did not seem to be interested in these activities. After a July 6, 1943 meeting of officials, 22 teams applied for participation, and three groups were created. Games took place in suburban districts of Borek, Łagiewniki, Rakowice
Rakowice, Kraków
Rakowice, formerly a village – is an urban area in Kraków, Poland, part of both: District III Prądnik Czerwony and District XIV Czyżyny. Currently, the neighborhood is heavily urbanized, with a small amount of parks. The predominant structures are apartment buildings and detached houses...
and Wieczysta. The 1943 Championship of Krakow was remembered for years because of events which took place during and after most games. Players, officials and supporters of teams would fight each other - on August 1, 1943, during a game between Łagiewianka and Wisła, a group of Łagiewianka officials and fans entered the pitch to beat up the referee and Wisła players. The game was ended eight minutes before time. A week later, there were disturbances during games Groble - Nadwiślan (in Borek Fałęcki), and Dąbski - Czarni (in Rakowice), and Blue Police
Blue Police
The Blue Police, more correctly translated as The Navy-Blue Police was the popular name of the collaborationist police in the German occupied area of the Second Polish Republic, known as General Government during the Second World War...
had to intervene. Due to those disturbances, on August 10, 1943, all games were cancelled. The decision was changed after the August 15 meeting, but it did not help, as soon afterwards, during the game Rakowiczanka - Cracovia, further riots took place.
On Sunday, October 17, 1943, at 3 p.m., final game of the 1943 Kraków Championship took place at Garbarnia Stadium, with some 10,000 spectators. The game between Wisła and Cracovia ended with a gigantic fight between supporters of both teams, after referee Tadeusz Milusiński awarded a penalty kick to Cracovia, after Wisła’s player touched the ball with a hand in the box. In response, Wisła’s Mieczysław Gracz kicked the referee, and Wisła’s players left the pitch, urged by their officials. Fights between angry fans moved on to the streets of Krakow’s district of Podgórze
Podgórze
Podgórze is a district of Kraków, Poland, situated on the right bank of the Vistula River. Initially a village at the foot of Lasota Hill was granted city status by the Austrian Emperor Joseph II in 1784 and has become Royal Free City of Podgorze...
. German authorities did not intervene, as the military commandant of the district, Hans Mitschke, stated that "football fans were the same everywhere". As a result, the game was settled as 3-0 for Cracovia.
The matches of the 1944 Championship of Krakow were not fully completed, due to increasing terror of the occupation.
Football in German-occupied Upper Silesia
Unlike in other parts of Poland, German authorities in Upper Silesia allowed all teams to continue their activities, but they were ordered to change their names. Thus AKS ChorzówAKS Chorzów
AKS Chorzów is a sports club in based in Chorzów, Poland. It is one of the earliest sports organizations in Upper Silesia and is still well-known nationally for its football and handball teams...
became Fussball Verein Germania Königshütte, Ruch Chorzów
Ruch Chorzów
Ruch Chorzów is a Polish association football club based in Chorzów, Upper Silesia. It is one of the most successful football teams in Poland: 14 time national champion, and 3 time winner of the Polish Cup. Currently the team plays in the top Polish league, the Ekstraklasa. Their stadium capacity...
- Bismarckhütter SV 99, Naprzód Lipiny
Naprzód Lipiny
GKS Naprzód Świętochłowice Lipiny - a sports club from Swietochlowice’s district of Lipiny , founded in 1920 by Alfons Maniura, who became Naprzód first chairman. Throughout the years, the club for many times changed name. In 1920-1939 and then in 1945-1965 it was Naprzód Lipiny, in 1939-1945 -...
- TuS Lipine, and Śląsk Świętochłowice - TuS Schwientochlowitz (for more information see Gauliga Schlesien
Gauliga Schlesien
The Gauliga Schlesien was the highest football league in the region of Silesia , which consisted of the Prussian provinces of Lower Silesia and Upper Silesia from 1933 to 1945...
).
In the late 1930s, bulk of players of National Team of Poland were from Upper Silesia; in some games there were eight Silesians in the starting lineup. Most popular football star of interwar Poland, Ernest Wilimowski
Ernest Wilimowski
Ernst Willimowski was a football player who played for both the Polish and German national teams....
, capped several times for Germany in early 1940s, and other top players, from the region such as Gerard Wodarz
Gerard Wodarz
Gerard Wodarz was one of the best soccer players of interwar Poland. He was a multiple champion of the country and also played 28 games on the Polish national football team, scoring 9 goals.He was born in 1913 in Wielkie Hajduki Gerard Wodarz (August 10, 1913 – November 8, 1982) was one of...
, Jerzy Wostal
Jerzy Wostal
Jerzy Adolf Wostal was a Polish soccer player, one of best forwards of interwar Poland. He was born in 1914 in Königshütte .In the late 1930s Wostal played for AKS Chorzów. The best year in his career was 1937...
, Teodor Peterek
Teodor Peterek
Teodor Peterek , a Polish soccer player from interwar period, forward, represented Ruch Chorzów and Polish National Team...
, Wilhelm Góra
Wilhelm Góra
Wilhelm Antoni Góra was a Polish midfield soccer player.His career started in...
, Leonard Piątek
Leonard Piatek
Leonard Franciszek Piątek was a Polish football player of Upper Silesian origin who played in the interwar period....
, Ewald Dytko
Ewald Dytko
Edward Jan Dytko was a German-born Upper Silesian soccer player, who, when his home country became Poland by Treaty of Versailles represented the no longer existing team of Dąb Katowice, also in 1935-39 he played in the Polish National Team.He was born in Zalenze and since early childhood played...
, Erwin Nyc
Erwin Nyc
Erwin Peter Nytz or Edward Piotr Nyc was an interwar Polish soccer midfield player of Upper Silesian origin. Born Erwin Nytz his Silesian homeland became Poland after Treaty of Versailles and he changed his last name to its Polonized version in 1934...
, after signing the Volksliste
Volksliste
The Deutsche Volksliste was a Nazi institution whose purpose was the classification of inhabitants of German occupied territories into categories of desirability according to criteria systematized by Heinrich Himmler. The institution was first established in occupied western Poland...
, were allowed to continue playing. Eventually, most of them were drafted to the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
. Some time in early stages of the war, Leonard Piątek went to Kraków, to ask Józef Kałuża if he would let him and his collegaues play for German teams. Kałuża answered in the affirmative.
Football in other locations
Underground football games also took place in other locations of occupied Poland.- during the war, there were games of Championship of Łódź. First underground Polish teams there were created in late 1939 and early 1940, among youth of districts of Widzew, Karolew, Ruda Pabianicka and Retkinia, also in towns of ZgierzZgierzZgierz is a town in central Poland, located just to the north of Łódź and part of the metropolitan area centered on that city. As of 2007, it had a population of 58,164....
and PabianicePabianicePabianice is a town in central Poland with 69 648 inhabitants . Situated in the Łódź Voivodeship, it is the capital of Pabianice County...
. It has been established that in 1942, the final match between Cytadela and Wólka, was ended 10 minutes before time. Several Polish teams were active in the city during the occupation. According to the webpage of Łódź Office of Polish Football Association, these were: Wólka, Wola, Wicher (which was made of players of ŁKS Łódź), Cytadela, Widzew, Zdrowie, Ruda, Chojny, Retkinia, Harcerze, Klapitka, Pabianice and Zgierz. Most active football team of wartime Łódź was WidzewWidzew LódzRTS Widzew Łódź , is a professional Polish football club based in Łódź, Poland.The club was founded in 1910 and named after the "Widzew" district of the city where it is based; its home is the Stadion im. Ludwika Sobolewskiego at 138 Pilsudski street. Widzew has won four Polish league championships...
, which played several games in that period, but the best team of wartime Łódź was Wólka. On October 24, 1943, the game between Wólka and Wicher was interrupted by German police. Many players and fans were arrested, and taken to a police station, but all were released after paying the ticket in the amount of 10 reichsmarks. - in Piotrków TrybunalskiPiotrków TrybunalskiPiotrków Trybunalski is a city in central Poland with 80,738 inhabitants . It is situated in the Łódź Voivodeship , and previously was the capital of Piotrków Voivodeship...
, there were five teams: Huta (former Concordia), Bugaj - Zryw, Pekin - Ruch, Arba (former Zakład Skórzany). Since 1940, they played regular games, with lookouts scanning the area, as Germans tried to catch players. - in RzeszówRzeszówRzeszów is a city in southeastern Poland with a population of 179,455 in 2010. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River, in the heartland of the Sandomierska Valley...
, games of Resovia RzeszówResovia RzeszówResovia Rzeszow is a Polish sports club, based in Rzeszów, Poland.-Club names:* Cywilno Wojskowy Klub Sportowy Resovia* Fusion with KS Wisłok Rzeszów to Ogniwo Rzeszów* CWKS Resovia...
were organized since 1942 in neighboring town of StrzyzówStrzyzówStrzyżów is a town in Strzyżów County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland with 8,709 inhabitants . Strzyżów is one of the towns within the Strzyżowsko-Dynowskie Foothill, located 160 km south-east of Kraków. Its building arrangement extends in the river of Wisłok valley, chained together with...
, regarded as a safer location. Like in other places of the occupied country, players risked arrest, but their love of the game was more important. Among those who took part in those games were Edmund Białas of Lech PoznańLech PoznanLech Poznań is a Polish football club based in Poznań, Poland. The club is named after Lech, the legendary founder of Polish nation.The club was established in 1922 as Lutnia Dębiec, later changing its name several times. From 1933 until 1994, the club was closely linked to Polish State Railways...
, who lived in Rzeszów during the war, and Tadeusz Hogendorf, legendary player of Resovia and Warszawianka WarszawaWarszawianka WarszawaKlub Sportowy Warszawianka is a former Polish multi-sport club from Warsaw. Founded in 1921 by the famous Warsaw families of Luxemburgs and Loths . Hues - black-white, the logo consisted of a black capital letter W.-History:At first, the club's main effort was concentrated on football...
. Hogendorf recalled later that Germans asked Poles to play against them. Matches took place somewhere near DębicaDebicaDębica is a town in southeastern Poland with 46,693 inhabitants, as of 2 June 2009. It is the capital of Dębica County. Since 1999 it has been situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship; it had previously been in the Tarnów Voivodeship .-Area:...
, and Germans provided transportation for Polish players. - in ProszowiceProszowiceProszowice is a town in southern Poland, situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship , previously in Kraków Voivodeship . Its population numbers 6,206 inhabitants . It is the capital of Proszowice County....
, on August 15, 1942, a game between local team Proszowianka and a team of players from Kraków took place. Also, there was a game between Proszowianka and a team of German soldiers, stationed in the town. The match took place some time in fall of 1943, the Germans won 4-1. - in Słomniki near Kraków, local team Słomniczanka continued its activity, with German commandant of the town unofficially allowing matches. During the war, there were several games vs. teams from Kraków, also vs. a team of Wehrmacht soldiers. Furthermore, Słomniczanka hosted teams from local towns - WolbromWolbromWolbrom is a town in Olkusz County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland, with 9,568 inhabitants .-External Links:* an online exhibition by Yad Vashem...
, Kazimierza WielkaKazimierza WielkaKazimierza Wielka is a town in Poland, in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, about 45 km northeast of Kraków. It is the administrative seat of Kazimierza County . Population is 5,848 .-Education:* * *...
, Skała, Proszowice, MiechówMiechówMiechów is a town in Poland, in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, about 40 km north of Kraków. It is the capital of Miechów County. Population is 11,852 ....
, Nowe BrzeskoNowe BrzeskoNowe Brzesko is a town in Proszowice County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Nowe Brzesko. It lies approximately south-east of Proszowice and east of the regional capital Kraków.The town has an approximate population of 1,700...
, PilicaPilica, Silesian VoivodeshipPilica is a town in Zawiercie County, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland, with 1,948 inhabitants .-History:Since the beginning of its existence, Pilica was part of Lesser Poland. In the 1115-1118 testament of Bolesław III Krzywousty, Pilica became part of the district of Kraków. The probable date of its...
. - football games also took place in the region of Zagłębie Dąbrowskie. Several teams were active there - from SosnowiecSosnowiecSosnowiec is a city in Zagłębie Dąbrowskie in southern Poland, near Katowice. It is one of the central districts of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union - a metropolis with a combined population of over two million people located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Brynica river .It is situated in...
(Unia SosnowiecZaglebie SosnowiecZagłębie Sosnowiec is a football club based in Sosnowiec, Poland. The club was established in 1906.-Honours:*Polish championship runner-up: 4*Polish Cup winner: 4-Current squad:-External links:*...
), CzeladźCzeladzCzeladź is a town in Zagłębie Dąbrowskie in southern Poland, near Katowice. Borders on the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union - metropolis with a population of 2 million. Located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Brynica river ....
, Dąbrowa GórniczaDabrowa GórniczaDąbrowa Górnicza is a city in Zagłębie Dąbrowskie in southern Poland, nearby Katowice. The north-east district of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union - metropolis with the population of almost 3 millions...
, BędzinBedzinBędzin is a city in Zagłębie Dąbrowskie in southern Poland. Located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Czarna Przemsza river , the city borders the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union - a metro area with a population of about 2 million.It has been situated in the Silesian Voivodeship since its...
, districts of Niwka, Zagórze, and Piaski. Some time in early 1940s, underground championship of the region took place, won by AKS Niwka. - in SiedlceSiedlceSiedlce ) is a city in eastern Poland with 77,392 inhabitants . Situated in the Masovian Voivodeship , previously the city was the capital of a separate Siedlce Voivodeship ....
, where several unofficial teams were active during the war (Mydlarze, Goryle, Kolejarze, Czarni), a game between Polish side of the city and a team of Wehrmacht took place in 1940. The game was won by the Poles, and several Polish players had to hide for some time, fearing arrest by angry Germans. - in JędrzejówJedrzejówJędrzejów is a town in Poland, located in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, about 35 km southwest of Kielce. It is the capital of Jędrzejów County. It has 18,069 inhabitants ....
, in the years 1941 - 1942, there were games between local team and teams of KielceKielceKielce ) is a city in central Poland with 204,891 inhabitants . It is also the capital city of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship since 1999, previously in Kielce Voivodeship...
and WolbromWolbromWolbrom is a town in Olkusz County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland, with 9,568 inhabitants .-External Links:* an online exhibition by Yad Vashem...
. For fear of Germans, these matches took place on a meadow in the neighboring village of Piaski. - games also took place in SandomierzSandomierzSandomierz is a city in south-eastern Poland with 25,714 inhabitants . Situated in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship , previously in Tarnobrzeg Voivodeship . It is the capital of Sandomierz County . Sandomierz is known for its Old Town, a major tourist attraction...
. According to the webpage of Town Center of Sports and Recreation, during a break in a secret game, partisans of JędrusieJedrusieJędrusie was a Polish underground group during World War II, created in 1941.-History:Its origins go back to October 1939 in Tarnobrzeg, when a group of Polish Boy Scouts and gymnasium students joined the Polish resistance. Initially a small sub-group of Szare Szeregi, since 1940 it was named Odwet...
executed a local Nazi official. - even though German authorities expelled thousands of Polish inhabitants of GdyniaGdyniaGdynia is a city in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland and an important seaport of Gdańsk Bay on the south coast of the Baltic Sea.Located in Kashubia in Eastern Pomerania, Gdynia is part of a conurbation with the spa town of Sopot, the city of Gdańsk and suburban communities, which together...
, and named the city Gotenhafen (see Expulsion of Poles by Nazi GermanyExpulsion of Poles by Nazi GermanyThe Expulsions of Poles by Nazi Germany during World War II was a massive Nazi German operation consisting of the forced resettlement of over 1.7 million ethnic Poles from all territories of occupied Poland between 1939–1944 with the aim of their geopolitical Germanization .Adolf Hitler had plans...
), remaining officials and players of Bałtyk Gdynia organized games, which took place in RumiaRumiaRumia is a city in the Eastern Pomerania region of north-western Poland, with some 45,000 inhabitants. It is a part of the Kashubian Tricity and a suburb part of the metropolitan area of the Tricity...
- Zagórze, with a number of people watching. - in GrójecGrójecGrójec is a town in Poland. Located in the Masovian Voivodeship, about 40 km south of Warsaw, it is the capital of Grójec County. It has about 14,875 inhabitants . Grójec surroundings are considered to be the biggest apple-growing area of Poland. It is said, that the region makes up also for...
, two games were organized in 1941. During the second match, the Germans organized a roundup, arresting nine people. After that incident, no more games took place in the town. - games for the championship of the city were organized in LublinLublinLublin is the ninth largest city in Poland. It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 350,392 . Lublin is also the largest Polish city east of the Vistula river...
, with such teams, as Promień, Kolejarz, Bronowiczanka, Unia, Garbarnia, Rurowianka, Wrotkowia, Lublinianka and Starówka. Lublin players twice went on bicycles to DęblinDeblinDęblin is a town, population 19,500 , at the confluence of Vistula and Wieprz rivers, in Lublin Voivodeship, Poland. Dęblin is the part of the agglomeration with adjacent towns of Ryki and Puławy, which altogether has over 100 000 inhabitants....
, to play a local team. Last wartime championship of the city was won by Unia. In August 1944, when the Wehrmacht had already been pushed behind the VistulaVistulaThe Vistula is the longest and the most important river in Poland, at 1,047 km in length. The watershed area of the Vistula is , of which lies within Poland ....
, a game between team of Lublin and team of Italian POW's, released from camps, took place. With thousands of fans and Red ArmyRed ArmyThe Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
officers watching, the Poles won 2-1. - since TarnówTarnówTarnów is a city in southeastern Poland with 115,341 inhabitants as of June 2009. The city has been situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999, but from 1975 to 1998 it was the capital of the Tarnów Voivodeship. It is a major rail junction, located on the strategic east-west connection...
was too dangerous, players of Tarnovia TarnówTarnovia TarnówTarnovia Tarnów is a Polish sports club, founded in 1909 in the southern city of Tarnów. With white and red hues, the club's founders wanted to emphasize their patriotism, during the time when their homeland was divided into three powers .Tarnovia was based on two smaller teams, which had been...
and other local teams organized matches in such towns, as CiężkowiceCiezkowiceCiężkowice is a town in Tarnów County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland, with 2,407 inhabitants ....
, BobowaBobowaBobowa is a town in the Gorlice County, Poland. Administratively attached to the Lesser Polish Voivodeship, it is located 18 kilometres from Gorlice, at Biała Tarnowska River. It was formerly a village, being granted a town status since 1 January 2009...
, LimanowaLimanowaLimanowa is a small town in southern Poland, in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is the capital of Limanowa County....
, and Krzyż. - in Jasło, the Germans seized stadium of Czarni, so local players were forced to play in neighboring villages, such as Męcinka. Also, a game between Jasło and StrzyżówStrzyzówStrzyżów is a town in Strzyżów County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland with 8,709 inhabitants . Strzyżów is one of the towns within the Strzyżowsko-Dynowskie Foothill, located 160 km south-east of Kraków. Its building arrangement extends in the river of Wisłok valley, chained together with...
took place in Strzyżów, with the guests winning 5-3. Underground matches also were organized in the towns of KrosnoKrosnoKrosno is a town and county in Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland with 47,455 inhabitants, as of 2 June 2009.Notably Krosno is the site of the first oil well in the world....
, LeskoLeskoLesko ; is a town in south-eastern Poland with a population of 5,755 . situated in the Bieszczady mountains. It is located in the heartland of the Doły , and its average altitude is above sea level, although there are some hills located within the confines of the city...
, and SanokSanokSanok is a town in south-eastern Poland with 39,110 inhabitants, as of 2 June 2009. It's the capital of Sanok County in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship. Previously, it was in the Krosno Voivodeship and in the Ruthenian Voivodeship , which was part of the Lesser Poland province...
, mostly on meadows. - German occupiers forced a number of inhabitants of Czechowice-DziedziceCzechowice-DziedziceCzechowice-Dziedzice is a town in Bielsko County, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland with 34,867 inhabitants . It lies on the northeastern edge of the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia...
to move to BavariaBavariaBavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, especially to the town of KirchenlamitzKirchenlamitzKirchenlamitz is a town in the district of Wunsiedel, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated in the Fichtelgebirge, 13 km northwest of Wunsiedel and 19 km south of Hof....
, where they worked in local factories. Several illegal games took place in Kirchenlamitz, between players of prewar local rivals RKS Czechowice and SKS Grażyna Dziedzice. In the same town, an unusual game between Polish and French workers was organized, won by Poles 4-2. Among French players there allegedly was Henri Doudin of FC Rennes, and the match referee was a Dutchman named Simon van Aperen from Vlaardingen. - in Chełm, due to efforts of prewar sports official Zygmunt Berezecki, three games took place between Polish players of pre-1939 team Kolejowe Przysposobienie Wojskowe, and Germans from units stationed in the town.
German teams in occupied Poland
Germans held their own regional championships, with GauligaGauliga
A Gauliga was the highest level of play in German football from 1934-45. The leagues were introduced in 1933, after the Nazi takeover of power by the Sports office of the Third Reich.-Name:...
s organized in occupied territories. For more information, see Gauliga Danzig-Westpreußen
Gauliga Danzig-Westpreußen
The Gauliga Danzig-Westpreußen was the highest football league in the former Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia , a Nazi administrative unit established partly from German and partly from annexed territory.-Overview:...
, Gauliga Generalgouvernement
Gauliga Generalgouvernement
The Gauliga Generalgouvernement was the highest football league in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany after 1939, which were not incooperated into any of the Gaue, the so-called General Government . The name Gauliga is somewhat misleading in this case as the region was not part of the Gau system...
, Gauliga Wartheland
Gauliga Wartheland
The Gauliga Wartheland was the highest football league in Gau Wartheland from 1941 to 1945. The Gau was made up from the former Polish Voivodeship of Poznań and parts of Warsaw Voivodeship and Łódź Voivodeship which had been occupied by Nazi Germany in 1939 and incooperated into the Third Reich...
, Gauliga Schlesien
Gauliga Schlesien
The Gauliga Schlesien was the highest football league in the region of Silesia , which consisted of the Prussian provinces of Lower Silesia and Upper Silesia from 1933 to 1945...
.
See also
- History of Poland (1939–1945)History of Poland (1939–1945)The history of Poland from 1939 to 1945 encompasses the German invasion of Poland as well as the Soviet invasion of Poland through to the end of World War II. On 1 September 1939, without a formal declaration of war, Germany invaded Poland...
- Poland national football teamPoland national football teamThe Poland national football team represents Poland in association football and is controlled by the Polish Football Association, the governing body for football in Poland...
- Football in PolandFootball in PolandFootball is the most popular sport in Poland. Over 400,000 Poles play football regularly, with millions more playing occasionally. The first professional clubs were founded in the early 1900s, and the Polish national football team played its first international match in 1921.There are hundreds of...