Gauliga Württemberg
Encyclopedia
| Gauliga Württemberg |
|---|
| 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... |
 |
| State States of Germany Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries... & 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... |
 Württemberg Württemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg or Wurtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia.... |
| Province of Hohenzollern Province of Hohenzollern Hohenzollern was a de facto province of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was created in 1850 by joining the principalities of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen and Hohenzollern-Hechingen after both formerly independently ruling Catholic princely lines of the House of Hohenzollern had handed over their... |
| Gau (from 1934) |
| Württemberg-Hohenzollern |
| Number of Seasons |
| 12 |
| Replaced by |
| Oberliga Süd Oberliga Süd (1945-63) The Oberliga Süd was the highest level of the German football league system in the south of Germany from 1945 until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963.It covered the three states of Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Hessen.-Overview:... |
| 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 |
| SV Göppingen SV Göppingen SV Göppingen is a German association football club from the city of Göppingen, Baden-Württemberg. The team was established on 13 October 1905 as 1. Göppingener Fuβballverein and lays claim to being the oldest football club in the city. On 24 April 1920, soon after World War I the club merged with... |
The Gauliga Württemberg was the highest football league in 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...
state of Württemberg
Württemberg
Württemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg or Wurtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....
and the Prussian
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...
province of Hohenzollern
Province of Hohenzollern
Hohenzollern was a de facto province of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was created in 1850 by joining the principalities of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen and Hohenzollern-Hechingen after both formerly independently ruling Catholic princely lines of the House of Hohenzollern had handed over their...
from 1933 to 1945. Shortly after the formation of the league, the Nazis reorganised the administrative regions in Germany, and the Gau Württemberg-Hohenzollern replaced the Prussian province and state of Württemberg.
Overview
The league was introduced in 1933, after the Nazi take over 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 Bezirksliga
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...
as the highest level of play in German football competitions.
The Gauliga Württemberg was established with nine clubs, all from the state of Württemberg, but the league also covered the area of the small Prussian province of Hohenzollern.
The Gauliga replaced as such the Bezirksliga Württemberg-Baden
Bezirksliga Württemberg-Baden
The Bezirksliga Württemberg-Baden was the highest association football league in the German states of Württemberg and Baden and the Prussian Province of Hohenzollern from 1923 to 1933. The league was disbanded with the rise of the Nazis to power in 1933....
, the highest league in the region until then, but also included two clubs from Württemberg which had been playing in the Bezirksliga Südbayern until then. In turn, two clubs which had been playing in the Württemberg division of the Bezirksliga Württemberg-Baden joined the new Gauliga Baden
Gauliga Baden
The Gauliga Baden was the highest football league in the German state of Baden from 1933 to 1945. Shortly after the formation of the league, the Nazis reorganised the administrative regions in Germany, and the Gau Baden replaced the state Baden....
.
In its first season, the league had nine clubs, playing each other once at home and once away. The league winner 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...
while the bottom team was relegated. The league expanded to ten clubs the season after with the bottom two teams relegated, a system which remained in place until 1939.
The only success coming to Gauliga Württemberg in the years from 1933 to 1944 was a lost championship final for the VfB Stuttgart
VfB Stuttgart
Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart, is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club is best known for its football team, which has participated in all but two Bundesliga seasons...
in 1935.
In 1939-40, the league played in two regional groups of six with a four-team finals round at the end. The year after, it returned to its single-division system, but now with twelve clubs and the bottom four relegated.
From the 1941-42 to 1943-44 season the league reverted to ten clubs with two relegation spots. In its last season, 1944-45, the league had 17 clubs, split into three groups.
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 Württemberg ceased in March 1945 with none of the groups having absolved their full program.
With the end of the Nazi era, the Gauligas ceased to exist and the state of Württemberg found itself predominantly in the US occupation zone
Allied 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...
. Only the very south of the state was part of the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
zone.
In the US zone, football soon resumed and the Oberliga Süd
Oberliga Süd (1945-63)
The Oberliga Süd was the highest level of the German football league system in the south of Germany from 1945 until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963.It covered the three states of Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Hessen.-Overview:...
was formed in late 1945 as a replacement for the Gauligas in the south of Germany.
Founding members of the league
The ten founding members and their positions in the 1932-33 Bezirksliga Württemberg/Baden and Bezirksliga Südbayern season were:- Union BöckingenUnion BöckingenUnion Böckingen is a German sports club from the district of Böckingen in the city of Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg. Founded in 1908 out of the merger of Fussball Klub Germania 08 Böcking and Viktoria Böcking, the club today has 1,200 members in departments for football, canoeing, handball, and skiing...
, 2nd Württemberg division - Kickers Stuttgart, winner Württemberg division
- VfB StuttgartVfB StuttgartVerein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart, is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club is best known for its football team, which has participated in all but two Bundesliga seasons...
, 3rd Württemberg division - Sportfreunde StuttgartSportfreunde StuttgartThe Sportfreunde Stuttgart is a German association football club from the city of Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg.-1874 to 1945:The club was formed, as a gymnastics club, on 18 April 1874, under the name of Turnverein Heslach...
, promoted from 2nd division - SV Feuerbach, 5th Württemberg division
- SSV Ulm, 5th Südbayern division
- SC Stuttgart, 7th Württemberg division
- FV Ulm 1894, 3rd Südbayern division
- FC Birkenfeld, 8th Württemberg division
- VfR Heilbronn, disqualified on January 21st 1934
Winners and runners-up of the Gauliga Württemberg
| Season | Winner | Runner-Up |
| 1933-34 | Union Böckingen | Kickers Stuttgart |
| 1934-35 | VfB Stuttgart | SSV Ulm |
| 1935-36 | Kickers Stuttgart | Sportfreunde Stuttgart |
| 1936-37 | VfB Stuttgart | SSV Ulm |
| 1937-38 | VfB Stuttgart | Kickers Stuttgart |
| 1938-39 | Kickers Stuttgart | VfB Stuttgart |
| 1939-40 | Kickers Stuttgart | VfB Stuttgart |
| 1940-41 | Kickers Stuttgart | VfB Stuttgart |
| 1941-42 | Kickers Stuttgart | VfB Stuttgart |
| 1942-43 | VfB Stuttgart | Sportfreunde Stuttgart |
| 1943-44 | SV Göppingen | Kickers Stuttgart |
Placings in the Gauliga Württemberg 1933-44
| Club | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union Böckingen Union Böckingen Union Böckingen is a German sports club from the district of Böckingen in the city of Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg. Founded in 1908 out of the merger of Fussball Klub Germania 08 Böcking and Viktoria Böcking, the club today has 1,200 members in departments for football, canoeing, handball, and skiing... |
1 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 5 | 7 | ||
| Kickers Stuttgart | 2 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| VfB Stuttgart VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart, is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club is best known for its football team, which has participated in all but two Bundesliga seasons... |
3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Sportfreunde Stuttgart Sportfreunde Stuttgart The Sportfreunde Stuttgart is a German association football club from the city of Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg.-1874 to 1945:The club was formed, as a gymnastics club, on 18 April 1874, under the name of Turnverein Heslach... |
4 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 10 |
| SV Feuerbach | 5 | 4 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | ||
| SSV Ulm | 6 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 9 | ||
| SC Stuttgart | 7 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 10 | ||
| TSG Ulm 1846 1 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 3 | |
| FC Birkenfeld | 9 | ||||||||||
| Sportfreunde Esslingen | 5 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 12 | ||||||
| SV Göppingen SV Göppingen SV Göppingen is a German association football club from the city of Göppingen, Baden-Württemberg. The team was established on 13 October 1905 as 1. Göppingener Fuβballverein and lays claim to being the oldest football club in the city. On 24 April 1920, soon after World War I the club merged with... |
10 | 10 | 1 | ||||||||
| FV Zuffenhausen | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 4 | |||||
| SV Cannstatt SpVgg Cannstatt Cannstatt SpVgg is a German association football club from the district of Bad Cannstatt in the city of Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club was established in 1897 as FC Stern Cannstatt and in 1919 merged with Fußballverein Cannstatt 07 to form Spielvereinigung Cannstatt... |
8 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 11 | ||||||
| VfR Schwenningen | 10 | ||||||||||
| VfR Aalen VfR Aalen VfR Aalen is a German football club based in Aalen, Baden-Württemberg.-History:The club was founded on 8 March 1921 out of the football department of the gymnastics club MTV Aalen and has led a largely unremarked existence as a lower division side... |
5 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 6 | ||||||
| VfL Sindelfingen VfL Sindelfingen VfL Sindelfingen is a German sports club from Sindelfingen, Baden-Württemberg. The club was founded in 1862 and has more than 9,000 members, making it one of biggest sports clubs in Germany... |
6 | ||||||||||
| SV Untertürkheim | 10 | ||||||||||
| VfR Heilbronn | 5 | 8 | |||||||||
| VfB Friedrichshafen VfB Friedrichshafen VfB Friedrichshafen is a German sports club founded in 1909 and based in Friedrichshafen. The VfB Friedrichshafen men's volleyball team plays in the 1. Bundesliga and the CEV Champions League. The team won the 2006-07 CEV Champions League title... |
8 | 9 | |||||||||
| SSV Reutlingen SSV Reutlingen SSV Reutlingen 05 is a German association football club from Reutlingen, Baden-Württemberg.- History :The club was founded as FC Arminia Reutlingen and was re-named SV Reutlingen 1905 in 1910. The club fused with 1... |
4 | 9 | |||||||||
Source:
- 1 The FV Ulm 1894 merged with three other clubs from Ulm in 1939 to form the TSG Ulm 1846.
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...
- Süddeutschlands Fussballgeschichte in Tabellenform 1897-1988 History of Southern German football in tables, publisher & author: Ludolf Hyll
External links
The Gauligas Das Deutsche Fussball Archiv- Germany - Championships 1902-1945 at RSSSF.com