The German Combat Games (german: Deutsche Kampfspiele) were a national multi-sport event established in 1922 by the Deutscher Reichsausschuss für Leibesübungen under

Carl Diem Carl Diem (24 June 1882, Würzburg – 17 December 1962, Cologne) was a German sports administrator, and as Secretary General of the Organizing Committee of the Berlin Olympic Games, the chief organizer of the 1936 Olympic Summer Games. ...

Deutsche Kampfspiele

The events lasted from 1922 to 1934. According to Diem the games should promote "

German art German art has a long and distinguished tradition in the visual arts, from the earliest known work of figurative art to its current output of contemporary art. Germany has only been united into a single state since the 19th century, and defining ...

, German song and German

Volksgemeinschaft ''Volksgemeinschaft'' () is a German expression meaning "people's community", "folk community", Richard Grunberger, ''A Social History of the Third Reich'', London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1971, p. 44. "national community", or "racial community", ...

". In 1938 they were replaced by the

Deutsches Turn- und Sportfest 1938 The Deutsches Turn- und Sportfest (German Gym and Sports Celebration) was the last big sports event organized by the Nationalsozialistischer Reichsbund für Leibesübungen, the Sports governing body of the Third Reich. It took place in Breslau ( ...

. A documentary film was made of the 1922 games, ''Die deutschen Kampfspiele 1922'', produced by

Arnold Fanck Arnold Fanck (6 March 1889 – 28 September 1974) was a German film director and pioneer of the mountain film genre. He is best known for the extraordinary alpine footage he captured in such films as '' The Holy Mountain'' (1926), '' The White He ...

. A two part documentary ''Zweite Deutsche Kampfspiele. 1. Tag'' and ''Zweite Deutsche Kampfspiele. 2. Tag'' was produced for the second.

NS-Kampspiele

During the Nazi regime, the fighting games continued as NS-fighting games. Since Germany had been allowed to participate in the Olympics since 1928, these games were no longer to be understood as a counter-movement to the Olympic idea, but rather as a propaganda platform for the regime. When, in 1935, the international boycott movement against the Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936 grew markedly, the replacement of German combat games in Berlin was Plan B of the

Reichssportführer The National Socialist League of the Reich for Physical Exercise (german: Nationalsozialistischer Reichsbund für Leibesübungen, abbreviated NSRL) was the umbrella organization for sports and physical education in Nazi Germany. The NSRL was kn ...

. On the order of Adolf Hitler on November 30, 1936, these games were held during the Reichsparteitage in Nuremberg from 1937 to 1938, with regional preliminary decisions for the main games. In addition to the NSDAP, the SA, SS, NSKK and HJ also participated in the predominantly military sports competitions, such as hand grenade targets, 30-meter swimming in a drizzle suit with a pack or 15-kilometer baggage in closed formations Wehrmacht and the police. The SA had the responsibility for these paramilitary events. The outbreak of war in 1939 ended the short episode of the NS combat games. A documentary was made of the 1937 edition of these games. NS-Kampfspiele 1937
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Games

Summer Games

*1922 - June 18 to July 2 in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

*1926 - July 4 to July 11 in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

*1930 - June 26 to June 29 in Breslau *1934 - June 23 to June 29 in Nürnberg

Winter Games

*1922 - January 23 to January 29 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in

Upper Bavaria Upper Bavaria (german: Oberbayern, ; ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany. Geography Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and seat o ...

*1926 - January 23 to January 31 in

Triberg im Schwarzwald Triberg im Schwarzwald is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located in the Schwarzwald-Baar district in the Black Forest. In 2020, it had a population of 4,656. Triberg lies in the middle of the Black Forest between 500 and 1038 metres above ...

*1930 - January 11 to January 19 in

Krummhübel Karpacz (German: ''Krummhübel'') is a spa town and ski resort in Jelenia Góra County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, south-western Poland, and one of the most important centres for mountain hiking and skiing, including ski jumping. Its population ...

Riesengebirge The Giant Mountains, Krkonoše or Karkonosze (Czech: , Polish: , german: Riesengebirge) are a mountain range located in the north of the Czech Republic and the south-west of Poland, part of the Sudetes mountain system (part of the Bohemian Massif ...

*1934 in

Schierke Schierke is a village and a former municipality in the Harz district, in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2009, it is part of the town Wernigerode. Situated within the Harz mountain range in the valley of the river Bode, at the rim ...

Harz The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German ...

NS-Kampfspiele

*1937 in Nürnberg *1938 in Nürnberg

References

{{Reflist

External links

*
NS-Kampfspiele 1937
' - film of the 1937 edition National multi-sport events Sporting events in Germany Recurring sporting events established in 1922 Recurring events disestablished in 1934 1922 establishments in Germany 1934 disestablishments in Germany