Gauliga Elsaß
Encyclopedia
| Gauliga Elsaß |
|---|
| Founded |
| 1940 |
| Disbanded |
| 1945 |
| Nation |
 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... |
| Region Region Region is most commonly found as a term used in terrestrial and astrophysics sciences also an area, notably among the different sub-disciplines of geography, studied by regional geographers. Regions consist of subregions that contain clusters of like areas that are distinctive by their uniformity... |
 Alsace Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²... |
| Gau |
| Baden |
| Number of Seasons |
| 5 |
| Replaced by |
| territory returned to France |
| Level on Pyramid |
| Level 1 German football league system The German football league system, or league pyramid, refers to a series of hierarchically interconnected leagues for association football clubs in Germany that consists of over 2,300 men's divisions, in which all leagues are bound together by the principle of promotion and relegation... |
| Domestic Cup |
| Tschammerpokal DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal or DFB Cup is a German knockout football cup competition held annually. 64 teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2nd Bundesliga. It is considered the second most important national title in German football after the Bundesliga... |
| Last Champions 1943-44 |
| FC Mülhausen 93 |
The Gauliga Elsaß was the highest football league in the region of Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
(German: Elsaß, old orthography of Elsass) from 1940 to 1945. The Nazis reorganised the administrative region and the Alsace became part of the Gau Baden.
Overview
The league was introduced in 1940, after the French defeatArmistice with France (Second Compiègne)
The Second Armistice at Compiègne was signed at 18:50 on 22 June 1940 near Compiègne, in the department of Oise, between Nazi Germany and France...
and the German
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...
annexation of the Alsace region. The Alsace region was traditionally disputed between the two countries and had last been part of the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
from 1871 to 1918, with its football clubs playing in the German league system then.
The Gauliga Elsaß was established with sixteen clubs in two groups of eight, all from the Alsace region. The two group winners then played a home-and-away final to determined the Alsace champion and the team entering the German championship.
The league was reduced to one single group of twelve teams in the 1941-42 season with the bottom four teams relegated. The season after, it operated with ten clubs and two relegated teams. This modus remained in place for the 1943-44 season.
In late 1944, the Alsace region became part of the frontline and its doubtful whether the 1944-45 season was even able to get under way. The league was scheduled to have two groups, a northern one with five and a southern one with six clubs.
After the region had been completely reoccupied by allied forces, Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
being retaken on 22 November 1944, the Alsace and its football clubs returned to France with the top club, the RC Strasbourg
RC Strasbourg
Racing Club de Strasbourg is a French association football club founded in 1906 and professional since 1933, based in the city of Strasbourg, in Alsace...
, reentering the French first division in 1945.
French football Division 1 1945–46
Lille OSC won Division 1 season 1945/1946, the first professional football season since the end of World War II, of the French Association Football League with 45 points.-Participating teams:-Final table:...
Founding members of the league
The sixteen founding members in 1940 were split into two groups. All clubs came from the French league system an are still active as of 2008, unless stated otherwise:- Group 1:
- Rasen SC Straßburg, finished 10th in Ligue 1Ligue 1Ligue 1 , is the French professional league for association football clubs. It is the country's primary football competition and serves as the top division of the French football league system. Ligue 1 is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Professionnel, the other being Ligue 2....
as RC Strasbourg, reverted to their original name in 1940 - SC SchiltigheimSC SchiltigheimSporting Club de Schiltigheim is a French association football club from Schiltigheim, Alsace. The team are currently playing in the Championnat de France Amateurs Group A...
, was Sporting Club Schiltigheim, reverted to their original name in 1940 - SG SS StraßburgSG SS StraßburgSS Straßburg was a German association football club from the city of Straßburg, Elsass .The team was founded in 1900 as FC Frankonia 1900 Straßburg when the region was under German control...
, was SC Red-Star Strasbourg, reverted to their original name in 1940 - FC Hagenau, was FC Haguenau, reverted to their original name in 1940
- FK Mars Bischheim, was CS Mars 1905 Bischheim, reverted to their original name in 1940
- SV 06 Schlettstadt, was SC Sélestat, reverted to their original name in 1940
- SV Straßburg, was Association Sportive de Strasbourg, reverted to their original name in 1940
- FC Bischweiler, FC Bischwiller, reverted to their original name in 1940
- Group 2:
- FC Mülhausen 93, finished 7th in Ligue 2Ligue 2Ligue 2 , formerly known as Division 2, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Professionnel , the other being Ligue 1, the country's top football division...
as FC de Mulhouse, reverted to their original name in 1940 - SpVgg Kolmar, finished 5th in Ligue 2 as SR Colmar, reverted to their original name in 1940
- FC Wittenheim, Union Sportive Wittenheim, reverted to their old name in 1940
- FC Kolmar, FC Colmar, reverted to their old name in 1940, renamed FC Colmar in 1945, and Stade de Colmar 77 in 1977 ; club disbanded in June 1986
- ASV Mülhausen, was Cercle Athlétique Mulhousien, reverted to their original name in 1940, renamed Association Sportive Mulhousienne in 1945
- SpVgg Dornach, was FC Dornach, reverted to their old name in 1940
- SV Wittelsheim, was Association Sportive des Colonies Amélie Wittelsheim, reverted to their original name in 1940
- FC St. LudwigFC Saint-Louis NeuwegFootball Club de Saint-Louis Neuweg is a French association football club founded in 1990. They are based in the town of Saint-Louis, Haut-Rhin and their home stadium is the Stade de l'Au. As of the 2009–10 season, they play in the Championnat de France amateur 2 Group C.-External links:*...
, was FC Saint-Louis, reverted to their old name in 1940, renamed FC Saint-Louis in 1945, merged with FC Neuweg in 1990
- All clubs had to either GermaniseGermanisationGermanisation is both the spread of the German language, people and culture either by force or assimilation, and the adaptation of a foreign word to the German language in linguistics, much like the Romanisation of many languages which do not use the Latin alphabet...
their name or, if formed before 1918, revert to their original German name.
Winners and runners-up of the Gauliga Elsaß
| Season | Winner | Runner-Up |
| 1940-41 | FC Mülhausen 93 | Rasen SC Straßburg |
| 1941-42 | SG SS Straßburg | Rasen SC Straßburg |
| 1942-43 | FC Mülhausen 93 | Rasen SC Straßburg |
| 1943-44 | FC Mülhausen 93 | SG SS Straßburg |
Placings in the Gauliga Elsaß 1940-44
| Club | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FC Mühlhausen 93 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| SpVgg Kolmar | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| FC Wittenheim | 3 | 12 | ||
| FC Kolmar | 4 | 8 | 8 | 7 |
| ASV Mühlhausen | 5 | |||
| SpVgg Mühlhausen-Dornach | 6 | 11 | ||
| SV Wittelsheim | 7 | |||
| FC St. Ludwig FC Saint-Louis Neuweg Football Club de Saint-Louis Neuweg is a French association football club founded in 1990. They are based in the town of Saint-Louis, Haut-Rhin and their home stadium is the Stade de l'Au. As of the 2009–10 season, they play in the Championnat de France amateur 2 Group C.-External links:*... |
8 | |||
| Rasen SC Straßburg | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| SC Schiltigheim SC Schiltigheim Sporting Club de Schiltigheim is a French association football club from Schiltigheim, Alsace. The team are currently playing in the Championnat de France Amateurs Group A... |
2 | 5 | 5 | 8 |
| SG SS Straßburg SG SS Straßburg SS Straßburg was a German association football club from the city of Straßburg, Elsass .The team was founded in 1900 as FC Frankonia 1900 Straßburg when the region was under German control... |
3 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| FC Hagenau | 4 | 7 | 6 | 5 |
| Mars Bischheim | 5 | 6 | 10 | |
| SV 06 Schlettstadt | 6 | 7 | 10 | |
| SV Straßburg | 7 | |||
| FC Bischweiler | 8 | |||
| TSV Schweighausen | 9 | 9 | ||
| Stern Mühlhausen | 10 | |||
| FV Walk | 9 | |||
| FC Hüningen | 3 | |||
Source:
Sources
- Die deutschen Gauligen 1933-45 - Heft 1-3 Tables of the Gauligas 1933-45, publisher: DSFS
- Kicker Almanach, The yearbook on German football from Bundesliga to Oberliga, since 1937, published by the Kicker Sports MagazineKicker (sports magazine)kicker Sportmagazin is Germany's leading sports magazine and is focused primarily on football. The magazine was founded in 1920 by German football pioneer Walther Bensemann and is published twice a week, usually Monday and Thursday, in Nuremberg...
- Collectif, 100 ans de football en Alsace (5 vol.), Strasbourg, LAFA, 2002, ISBN 2-911219-13-9
External links
The Gauligas Das Deutsche Fussball Archiv- Germany - Championships 1902-1945 at RSSSF.com
- Where's My Country? - French clubs in the German football structure 1940-1944 Article on cross-border movements of football clubs, at RSSSF.com