Luftwaffen-SV Hamburg
Encyclopedia
Luftwaffen-SV Hamburg was a short-lived military German association football club
active during World War II
and is notable as the most successful of the wartime military sides.
, Mölders Krakau, and Heeres-SV Groß Born. Some military commanders sought out skilled or well-known footballers to play for their clubs. For the players this often provided a means to avoid other more dangerous service in the armed forces. Among the more well-known teams at the time was the Rote Jäger
assembled by Hermann Graf
, commander of German fighter pilots, whose team included famed national team player Fritz Walter
and national team manager Sepp Herberger
.
LSV Hamburg was formed 8 December 1942 at the direction of Colonel Laicher, commander of the anti-aircraft artillery defending Hamburg. The club was managed by Otto Faist who had led Schalke 04 to the German national championship in 1939 in a crushing 9:0 victory over Admira Wien in the final.
, one of sixteen top-flight divisions formed in the 1933 re-organization of German football under the Third Reich. The club played most of its home matches at Hoheluft which was the home field of Victoria Hamburg
.
The team played its way to the final of the 1943 Tschammerpokal, predecessor of today's German Cup, where they lost 2:3 to Vienna FC
. LSV Hamburg then totally dominated the Gauliga Hamburg in 1943–44, winning 17 matches while drawing only one, and outscoring their opponents 117:13. They advanced through the national playoff rounds to the championship match on 18 June 1944 in Berlin where they dropped a 0:4 decision to defending champions Dresdner SC
, a club they had earlier eliminated from German Cup competition on their march to the cup final.
In a desperate bid to help keep up civilian morale as the tide of war turned against the country, league play was immediately resumed within weeks of the championship match rather than after the customary three month summer break. Hamburg completed only three games before play by all military clubs was suspended in September 1944 as Allied armies began to advance on Germany.
Football in Germany
Association football is the most popular sport in Germany. The German Football Association is the sport's national governing body, with 6.6 million members organized in over 26,000 football clubs. There is a league system, with the 1. and 2. Bundesliga on top, and the winner of the first...
active during 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...
and is notable as the most successful of the wartime military sides.
Military sports clubs
Through the course of the war military sports teams were formed both in Germany and in occupied territories to serve as morale boosters for both service men and civilian populations. In addition to LSV Hamburg this included sides such as Luftwaffen-SV Danzig, SV der SG SS StraßburgSG 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...
, Mölders Krakau, and Heeres-SV Groß Born. Some military commanders sought out skilled or well-known footballers to play for their clubs. For the players this often provided a means to avoid other more dangerous service in the armed forces. Among the more well-known teams at the time was the Rote Jäger
Rote Jäger
The Rote Jäger were a short-lived German military football club active during World War II . The team was assembled by Hermann Graf, a fighter ace and commander of German fighter pilots...
assembled by Hermann Graf
Hermann Graf
Colonel Hermann Graf was a German Luftwaffe World War II fighter ace. A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. He served on both the Eastern and Western Fronts...
, commander of German fighter pilots, whose team included famed national team player Fritz Walter
Fritz Walter
Friedrich "Fritz" Walter was a German footballer. In his time with the German national team, he won 61 caps and scored 33 goals.-Early club career:...
and national team manager Sepp Herberger
Sepp Herberger
Josef "Sepp" Herberger was a German football player and manager...
.
LSV Hamburg was formed 8 December 1942 at the direction of Colonel Laicher, commander of the anti-aircraft artillery defending Hamburg. The club was managed by Otto Faist who had led Schalke 04 to the German national championship in 1939 in a crushing 9:0 victory over Admira Wien in the final.
Quick success
LSV joined the Gauliga Hamburg in 1943. The division had been formed the previous year out of the split of the Gauliga NordmarkGauliga Nordmark
The Gauliga Nordmark was the highest football league in the Prussian Province of Schleswig-Holstein and the German states of Hamburg, Lübeck, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Strelitz and parts of Oldenburg from 1933 to 1945...
, one of sixteen top-flight divisions formed in the 1933 re-organization of German football under the Third Reich. The club played most of its home matches at Hoheluft which was the home field of Victoria Hamburg
SC Victoria Hamburg
SC Victoria Hamburg is a German association football club from the city of Hamburg. The football team is part of a larger sports club that has departments for badminton, handball, hockey, athletics, tennis, table tennis , gymnastics, baseball , and softball .-History:The club was founded 5 May 1895...
.
The team played its way to the final of the 1943 Tschammerpokal, predecessor of today's German Cup, where they lost 2:3 to Vienna FC
First Vienna FC
First Vienna FC is an Austrian association football club based in the Döbling district of Vienna. Established on 22 August 1894, it is the country's oldest team and has played a notable role in the history of the game there...
. LSV Hamburg then totally dominated the Gauliga Hamburg in 1943–44, winning 17 matches while drawing only one, and outscoring their opponents 117:13. They advanced through the national playoff rounds to the championship match on 18 June 1944 in Berlin where they dropped a 0:4 decision to defending champions Dresdner SC
Dresdner SC
Dresdner SC is a German multisport club playing in Dresden, Saxony. Founded on 30 April 1898, the club was a founding member of the German Football Association in 1900...
, a club they had earlier eliminated from German Cup competition on their march to the cup final.
In a desperate bid to help keep up civilian morale as the tide of war turned against the country, league play was immediately resumed within weeks of the championship match rather than after the customary three month summer break. Hamburg completed only three games before play by all military clubs was suspended in September 1944 as Allied armies began to advance on Germany.
Team trivia
- Between 1903 and 1944 German national champions were awarded the Viktoria Cup. The 1944 final between Dresdner SC and LSV Hamburg was the last Viktoria Cup match ever played as the trophy disappeared at war's end and was replaced by the Meisterschale, first awarded in 1949, and still in use today to recognize the country's Bundesliga champions. The missing trophy has since been recovered and is held by the German Football AssociationGerman Football AssociationThe German Football Association is the governing body of football in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB organises the German football leagues, including the national league, the Bundesliga, and the men's and women's national teams. The DFB is based in Frankfurt and is...
(Deutscher Fussball Bund or German Football Association).
- Due to difficult wartime conditions in Germany the 1943–44 playoff rounds were initially cancelled and the title awarded to VfR MannheimVfR MannheimVfR Mannheim is a German association football club based in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg formed in 1911 out of the fusion of Mannheimer FG 1896, Mannheimer FG 1897 Union, and FC Viktoria 1897 Mannheim...
. However, widespread protest led to this decision being reversed and the resumption of the playoffs. Mannheim was eliminated in the eighth-final by 1. FC Nuremberg who were in turn put out by eventual champions Dresdner SC in the semi-finals.
External links
- Das deutsche Fußball-Archiv historical German football league tables
- The Abseits Guide to German Soccer football in Nazi Germany