The 1944–45 Gauliga was the twelfth and final season of the

Gauliga A Gauliga () was the highest level of play in German football from 1933 to 1945. The leagues were introduced in 1933, after the Nazi takeover of power by the National Socialist League of the Reich for Physical Exercise. Name The German word ...

, the first tier of the

football league system Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

from 1933 to 1945. It was the sixth season of the league held during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

but was not completed as

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

surrendered on 8 May 1945.

Cancellation

The league operated in a large number of regional divisions, the effects of the war having forced a further regionalisation. The effects of the war led to the cancellation of all Gauliga competition and various stages from September 1944 onwards. In Southern Germany competitions continued up to almost the end of the war. Only the

Gauliga Hamburg 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. Shortly after t ...

had an official champion recorded with

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its football section. Though the current HSV was founded in June 1919 from a merger of three ...

winning the competition.''kicker Allmanach 1990'', page: 243-245 The last recorded official Gauliga game was

Munich derby The Munich derby (german: Münchner Stadtderby) is the name given to football matches between FC Bayern Munich and TSV 1860 Munich, both of them from Munich, Germany. History Early years (1902–1933) Although the TSV has existed since 1860, ...

between FC Bayern and 1860 Munich on 23 April 1945, ending 3–2. League football soon resumed in post-war Germany in mostly regional competitions. In the

American occupation zone Germany was already de facto occupied by the Allies from the real fall of Nazi Germany in World War II on 8 May 1945 to the establishment of the East Germany on 7 October 1949. The Allies (United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and Franc ...

, in Southern Germany the tier one

Oberliga Süd Oberliga ( en, Premier league) may refer to: Association football * Oberliga (football), currently the fifth tier of the German football league system, formerly the first * DDR-Oberliga, the first tier of football in East Germany until 1990, re ...

kicked off with the approval of the US occupation authorities on 4 November 1945.''100 Jahre Süddeutscher Fussball Verband'', page: 71

German championship

The league champions would have qualified for the 1945

German football championship German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, but the competition was not held, with the next edition being in 1948.

References

Sources

* ''kicker-Almanach 1990'' Yearbook of German football, publisher: ''kicker Sportmagazin'', published: 1989, * ''100 Jahre Süddeutscher Fußball-Verband'' 100 Years of the Southern German Football Federation, publisher: SFV, published: 1997 * ''Die deutschen Gauligen 1933–45 – Heft 1–3'' Tables of the Gauligas 1933–45, publisher: DSFS

External links

Das Deutsche Fussball Archiv
Historic German league tables {{DEFAULTSORT:Gauliga, 1944-45 1944-45 1 Ger