Just before World War II, most football associations in Germany were disbanded and replaced by Nazi-sponsored organisations. Just to be allowed to play, a player needed two recommendations from non-Marxists. The DFB was eventually overtaken by the Reich Committee for Physical Education, which in turn was overtaken by the Nationalsozialistischer Reichsbund für Leibesübungen (NSRL for short), which followed the regimes orders and purged Jews from all sports clubs. Under the instruction of the Reichsportsfuhrer, clubs were then divided into a series of regional Gauligen which replaced the Bezirkligas that existed previously. There were initially 16 of these Gauligen, some of which were subdivided into groups. Try and keep up here.

 

Most German football officials wanted to see a Reichsliga, which would basically be a unified competition for all of Germany along the lines of Italy’s Serie A or England’s Football League, however just as the planning for such a league began, World War II broke out and Germany didn’t see a nation-wide football league until the Bundesliga was formed in 1963. With Germany growing through expansion in the War, more clubs from territories consumed by Germany were added to Gauligen, and at one point, the clubs numbered 600, all playing top flight football.  Teams from Austria, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Luxemburg and Alsace-Lorraine all competed under the German leagues. The winners of the various Gauligen then qualified to compete for the German championship, which was played out at season’s end. 

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It was in this period that a small club from Hamburg named Eimsbutteler TV enjoyed its greatest successes, becoming one of Germany’s most successful football clubs of the time and winning local championships against clubs that are much more prominent today. The team played in the Gauliga Nordmark, one of the 16 regional leagues introduced by the Nazi sports office. The club dominated this league and claimed titles in 1934, 1935, 1936, 1940 and 1942, often coming out on top in close battles with better known club Hamburger SV. By winning these titles, ETV were allowed to participate in preliminary rounds of the national championship, scoring victories against eventual champions and Third Reich golden boys Schalke 04 in both 1934 and 1935.

 

1940 yielded their best result, finishing second in their group to Dresdner SC. As the war raged on, German football became even more regional in nature thanks to the tide turning against Germany, players being called away for military duty or being killed in battles, and travel becoming more difficult, and the Gauliga Nordmark was further divided into three separate leagues after the 1942 season. ETV were placed into the Gauliga Hamburg, making do with facilities that had been heavily damaged in air raids. They never finished above mid table in this league. Today, ETV are one of Germany’s largest sports clubs, competing in 30 different sports and enjoying a membership base of 13,500. Their football team competes in the Bizerksliga Hamburg West.

Achievements: Gauliga Nordmark – Champions x 5