Gauliga Mitte

:For the main article, see "Gauliga"

The Gauliga Mitte was the highest football league in the Prussian province of Saxony and the German states of Thuringia and Anhalt from 1933 to 1945, all located in the center (German:"Mitte") of Germany. Shortly after the formation of the league, the Nazis reorganised the administrative regions in Germany, and the "Gaue" "Thuringia", "Magdeburg-Anhalt" and "Halle-Merseburg" replaced the states and Prussian province.

Overview

The league was introduced in 1933, after the Nazi takeover of power in Germany. It replaced the "Bezirksligas" and "Oberligas" as the highest level of play in German football competitions.

Until the formation of the "Gauliga", the region was covered by a number of local leagues and, together with clubs from state of Saxony, they played out a "Central German championship" (German: "Mittel-Deutsche Meisterschaft").

In its first season, the league had ten clubs, playing each other once at home and once away. The league champion then qualified for the German championship. The bottom two teams were relegated. The league operated on the same modus until the outbreak of the 2nd World War in 1939.

Due to the effects of the war, the 1939-40 and 1940-41 seasons were played with only eight clubs. In 1941, the league returned to a ten-club strength, which it retained until 1944.

The imminent collapse of Nazi Germany in 1945 gravely affected all "Gauligas" and football in the region was split into six regional groups. However, none of them played more than a few games before the arrival of the Red Army, and the end of the war ended all competitions.

Aftermath

With the end of the Nazi era, the "Gauligas" ceased to exist and the region found itself in the Soviet occupation zone. The DDR-Oberliga was formed in the following years as the highest level of play in the new country of East Germany and the region became part of the East German football league system.

Virtually all football clubs in the region were dissolved and replaced with clubs controlled by the new communist government. Of those, some readopted the pre-1945 names after the German reunification in 1990.

Founding members of the league

The ten founding members and their league positions in the 1932-33 season were:
* FC Wacker Halle, "champion Saale division"
* SV 08 Steinach, "champion Südthüringen division"
* VfL Bitterfeld, "champion Mulde division"
* SpVgg Erfurt
* SV Victoria 96 Magdeburg
* SC 95 Erfurt, "champion Nordthüringen division"
* 1. SV Jena 03, "champion Ostthüringen division"
* SV Merseburg 1899
* Fortuna Magdeburg, "champion Elbe division"
* SC Preußen Magdeburg

Winners and runners-up of the Gauliga Mitte

ources

* [http://www.f-archiv.de/ The Gauligas] "Das Deutsche Fussball Archiv" (in German)
* [http://www.rsssf.com/tablesd/duithistpre45.html Germany - Championships 1902-1945] at RSSSF.com

References