Gauliga Pommern
Encyclopedia
| Gauliga Pommern |
|---|
| Founded |
| 1933 |
| 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... |
 |
| Province Provinces of Prussia The Provinces of Prussia constituted the main administrative divisions of Prussia. Following the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 and the Congress of Vienna in 1815 the various princely states in Germany gained their nominal sovereignty, but the reunification process that culminated in... |
 |
| Gau (from 1934) |
| Pomerania |
| Number of Seasons |
| 12 |
| Replaced by |
| DDR-Oberliga DDR-Oberliga The DDR-Oberliga was, prior to German reunification in 1990, the elite level of football competition in the DDR , being roughly equivalent to the Oberliga or Bundesliga in West Germany.-Overview:Following World... |
| eastern part of the region became part of Poland Poland Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north... |
| 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 |
| LSV Pütnitz LSV Pütnitz LSV Pütnitz was a short-lived German association football club from the district of Pütnitz in Ribnitz-Damgarten, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.- History :... |
The Gauliga
Gauliga
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:...
Pommern was the highest football league in the Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n province
Provinces of Prussia
The Provinces of Prussia constituted the main administrative divisions of Prussia. Following the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 and the Congress of Vienna in 1815 the various princely states in Germany gained their nominal sovereignty, but the reunification process that culminated in...
of Pomerania (German:Pommern) from 1933 to 1945. Shortly after the formation of the league, the Nazis reorganised the administrative regions in Germany, and the Gau Pomerania replaced the province of Pomerania.
Overview
The league was introduced in 1933, after the Nazi takeover of powerMachtergreifung
Machtergreifung is a German word meaning "seizure of power". It is normally used specifically to refer to the Nazi takeover of power in the democratic Weimar Republic on 30 January 1933, the day Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany, turning it into the Nazi German dictatorship.-Term:The...
in Germany. It replaced the Bezirksligas
Bezirksklasse
The Bezirksliga, Bezirksklasse or Landesklasse is the 8th tier of football in Germany. The Bezirksliga exists in all regions of German football. Below the Bezirksliga usually ranks the Kreisliga...
and Oberligas as the highest level of play in German football competitions.
The Gauliga Pommern was established with fourteen clubs, all from the province of Pomerania.
The clubs from the region had, until the introduction of the Gauliga, no highest, province-wide league. The Pomeranian champion (German: Pommern Meister) played in a finals round with the league winners of the Berlin-Brandenburg region.
In its first season, the league had fourteen clubs in two groups of seven, playing each other within their group once at home and once away. The league winners played a home-and-away final and the Pomeranian champion then qualified for the German championship
German football champions
The German football champions are the annual winners of the highest association football competition in Germany. The history of the German football championship is complex and reflects the turbulent history of the country through the course of the 20th century.Brought to the country by English...
. The bottom team in each group was relegated. The two groups were organised geographically, meaning, there was a western and an eastern group. The league remained unchanged until 1937, when it was reorganised in a single division of ten clubs with the bottom two clubs being relegated. This system was in place for the 1937-38 and the 1938-39 season.
With the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in 1939, league football in Pomerania was severely restricted due to the region bordering Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, then a war zone. Only nine clubs took part in the Gauliga season of 1939-40, which was staged in two groups, one of five and one of four teams. After 1940, the league was mostly dominated by military teams, like LSV Pütnitz
LSV Pütnitz
LSV Pütnitz was a short-lived German association football club from the district of Pütnitz in Ribnitz-Damgarten, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.- History :...
, LSV standing for Luftwaffen Sport Verein (Air Force Sports Club).
After the defeat of Poland, football in Pomerania returned to normal but the Gauliga remained divided in two groups with the western group consisting of eight clubs and the eastern of six. The next three seasons, 1941–44, both groups had a strength of six clubs. In its last completed season, 1943–44, out of twelve clubs in the league, five belonged to the German Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
(Air Force), one to the Kriegsmarine
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
(Navy) and one to the Heer
Heer (1935-1945)
The Heer was the Army land forces component of the German armed forces from 1935 to 1945, the latter also included the Navy and the Air Force...
(Army).
The imminent collapse of Nazi Germany
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...
in 1945 gravely affected all Gauligas and football in Pomerania was split into six regional groups. However, none of them played more than a few games before the arrival of the 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...
ended all competitions.
Aftermath
With the end of the Nazi era, the Gauligas ceased to exist and the province of Pommern found itself in the Soviet occupation zoneAllied Occupation Zones in Germany
The Allied powers who defeated Nazi Germany in World War II divided the country west of the Oder-Neisse line into four occupation zones for administrative purposes during 1945–49. In the closing weeks of fighting in Europe, US forces had pushed beyond the previously agreed boundaries for the...
.
While Western Pomerania became part of the new East Germany, the city of Stettin (now Szczecin) and all of the province east of the river Oder
Oder
The Oder is a river in Central Europe. It rises in the Czech Republic and flows through western Poland, later forming of the border between Poland and Germany, part of the Oder-Neisse line...
were handed to Poland as a compensation for its eastern territories, lost to the 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....
. The German population in the region however, was almost completely expelled.
In the part remaining with Germany, the DDR-Oberliga
DDR-Oberliga
The DDR-Oberliga was, prior to German reunification in 1990, the elite level of football competition in the DDR , being roughly equivalent to the Oberliga or Bundesliga in West Germany.-Overview:Following World...
was formed as the highest level of play, while the Polish areas became part of the Polish football league system. All German clubs in this region were dissolved after the war.
Founding members of the league
The fourteen founding members were:- Western Group:
- Stettiner SC, champion of Pommern in 1932-33
- Polizei SV Stettin
- SC Preußen StettinSC Preußen StettinSC Preußen Stettin was a German association football club from the city of Stettin, Pomerania Province .The club was formed in 1901 as FC Preußen Stettin and later adopted the name Sport-Club Preußen Stettin and became part of the Verbands Stettiner Ballspiel-Vereine .In 1928, the team became...
- VfL StettinVfL StettinVfL Stettin was a German football club from the city of Stettin, Pomerania . The club dissolved at the end of the Second World War....
- VfB Stettin
- Greifswalder SC
- Viktoria Stralsund
- Eastern Group:
- Viktoria StolpViktoria StolpViktoria Stolp was a German association football club formed in 1909, from the city of Stolp, Pomerania which was at the time part of Germany and is today Słupsk, Poland.-History:...
- SV Preußen Köslin
- Heeres SV Hubertus Kolberg
- SV Viktoria Kolberg
- SV Sturm Lauenburg
- SV Germania Stolp
- SV Phönix Köslin
Winners and runners-up of the Gauliga Pommern
| Season | Winner | Runner-Up |
| 1933-34 | Viktoria Stolp Viktoria Stolp Viktoria Stolp was a German association football club formed in 1909, from the city of Stolp, Pomerania which was at the time part of Germany and is today Słupsk, Poland.-History:... |
Stettiner SC |
| 1934-35 | Stettiner SC | Viktoria Stolp |
| 1935-36 | Viktoria Stolp | Stettiner SC |
| 1936-37 | Viktoria Stolp | Polizei SV Stettin |
| 1937-38 | Stettiner SC | MTV Pommerensdorf |
| 1938-39 | Viktoria Stolp | MTV Pommerensdorf |
| 1939-40 | VfL Stettin VfL Stettin VfL Stettin was a German football club from the city of Stettin, Pomerania . The club dissolved at the end of the Second World War.... |
Germania Stolp |
| 1940-41 | LSV Stettin | Germania Stolp |
| 1941-42 | LSV Pütnitz LSV Pütnitz LSV Pütnitz was a short-lived German association football club from the district of Pütnitz in Ribnitz-Damgarten, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.- History :... |
Viktoria Stolp |
| 1942-43 | LSV Pütnitz | LSV Kamp |
| 1943-44 | LSV Pütnitz | HSV Groß-Born |
Placings in the Gauliga Pommern 1933-44
| Club | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Viktoria Stolp Viktoria Stolp Viktoria Stolp was a German association football club formed in 1909, from the city of Stolp, Pomerania which was at the time part of Germany and is today Słupsk, Poland.-History:... |
1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | |
| Preußen Köslin | 2 | 7 | 6 | 6 | |||||||
| Hubertus Kolberg | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 4 | |||||
| Viktoria Kolberg | 4 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ||||
| Sturm Lauenburg | 5 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 5 | ||||||
| Germania Stolp | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| Phönix Köslin | 7 | 5 | 2 | 6 | |||||||
| SC Stettin SC Stettin Stettiner SC was a German association football club from the city of Stettin, Pomerania .The club was formed in 1908 as Athletik Sport-Club Stettin and in 1911 adopted the name Stettiner Sport-Club.... |
1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 |
| PSV Stettin | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 6 | |||||
| SC Preußen Stettin SC Preußen Stettin SC Preußen Stettin was a German association football club from the city of Stettin, Pomerania Province .The club was formed in 1901 as FC Preußen Stettin and later adopted the name Sport-Club Preußen Stettin and became part of the Verbands Stettiner Ballspiel-Vereine .In 1928, the team became... |
3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | |||||||
| VfL Stettin VfL Stettin VfL Stettin was a German football club from the city of Stettin, Pomerania . The club dissolved at the end of the Second World War.... |
4 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 6 | ||||
| VfB Stettin | 5 | 3 | 5 | 7 | |||||||
| Greifswalder SC | 6 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 9 | |||||
| Viktoria Stralsund | 7 | ||||||||||
| Hertha Schneidemühl | 5 | 4 | |||||||||
| Komet Stettin | 7 | ||||||||||
| Pfeil Lauenburg | 6 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 4 | ||||||
| Blücher Gollnow | 6 | 5 | |||||||||
| Mackensen Neustettin | 2 | 10 | |||||||||
| MTV Pommernsdorf | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |||||
| SV Borussia-Preußen Stettin SV Borussia-Preußen Stettin SV Borussia Preußen Stettin was a German association football club from the city of Stettin, Pomerania Province .The club was established in 1937 after a merger of 1... |
6 | 10 | 8 | ||||||||
| Graf Schwerin Greifswald | 9 | ||||||||||
| Nordring Stettin | 5 | 3 | 6 | ||||||||
| LSV Pütnitz LSV Pütnitz LSV Pütnitz was a short-lived German association football club from the district of Pütnitz in Ribnitz-Damgarten, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.- History :... |
7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Stern/Fortuna Stolp | 3 | 4 | 6 | ||||||||
| TSV Swinemünde | 5 | 7 | |||||||||
| LSV Stettin | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |||||||
| LSV Parow | 3 | 5 | 4 | ||||||||
| LSV Kamp | 1 | ||||||||||
| LSV Dievenow | 4 | 6 | |||||||||
| HSV Groß-Born | 1 | ||||||||||
| LSV Stolpmünde | 4 | ||||||||||
| Kriegsmarine Swinemünde | 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...
External links
The Gauligas Das Deutsche Fussball Archiv- Germany - Championships 1902-1945 at RSSSF.com