Preußen Hindenburg was a German association football club from the city of Zaborze,

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located ...

in Germany (present-day

Zabrze Zabrze (; German: 1915–1945: ''Hindenburg O.S.'', full form: ''Hindenburg in Oberschlesien'', Silesian: ''Zŏbrze'', yi, זאַבזשע, Zabzhe) is an industrial city in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. The west district of the Sil ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

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History

The club was established in 1909 as ''Fußball-Club Borussia 1909 Zaborze'' out of the membership of the fencing club ''Fechtklub Edelweiß Hindenburg''. On 23 August 1910, the team merged with other local clubs including ''Fußball-Club Viktoria Zaborze'', ''Sport-Club Silesia Zaborze'', and ''Sport-Club Zaborze'' to form ''Sport-Club Preußen Zaborze'' whose membership was largely made up of post office workers. They took on the name ''SC Preußen Hindenburg'' in 1915 when the city was renamed in honour of German military leader and statesman

Generalfeldmarschall ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; en, general field marshal, field marshal general, or field marshal; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several ...

Paul von Hindenburg Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (; abbreviated ; 2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German field marshal and statesman who led the Imperial German Army during World War I and later became President of Germany fro ...

, and in 1918 were joined by the membership of ''Sportfreunde Hindenburg''. The name of the club reverted in 1920 to ''SC Preußen Zaborze'' and then again to ''SC Preußen Hindenburg'' in 1934, reflecting the struggle between Germany and Poland over the territory of Upper Silesia. When the region was partitioned in 1921, Zaborze remained part of Germany and ''Preußen'' played in German football competition in the Südostdeutscher Fußball Verband (Southeast German Football Association). By 1923, the club had over 500 members with departments for

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competiti ...

and

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...

. The footballers were a successful regional side capturing the title of German Upper Silesia in 1928, 1929, 1930, and 1931. They emerged as Südostdeutscher champions in 1929 and qualified for the national playoffs by defeating '' SpVgg Komet Breslau'' (7:3) before being soundly beaten 1:8 in an eighth-final matchup versus eventual vice-champions ''

Hertha Berlin Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC (), and sometimes referred to as Hertha Berlin, Hertha BSC Berlin, or simply Hertha, is a German professional football club based in the locality of Westend (Berlin), Westend of the ...

''.Grüne, Hardy (1996). Vom Kronprinzen bis zur Bundesliga. Kassel: AGON Sportverlag German football competition was reorganized under the

Third Reich 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 ...

in 1933 into sixteen top-flight divisions with ''Preußen'' becoming part of the

Gauliga Schlesien The Gauliga Schlesien was the highest football league in the region of Silesia (German:''Schlesien''), which consisted of the Prussian provinces of Lower Silesia and Upper Silesia from 1933 to 1945. Shortly after the formation of the league, the ...

. The following year the club's name was Germanized to ''Hindenburg'' and they remained in first division play until being relegated in 1942. During this period the club earned three second-place finishes (1936 and 1939 in the Gauliga Schlesien, 1940 in the

Gauliga Oberschlesien 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 '' ...

), but was unable to make its way back to the national stage. ''Hindenburg'' played a final season in the Gauliga Oberschlesien (I) in 1943–44 before competition in the region was disrupted by World War II. The club played its final match in January 1945 and disappeared following the war when the area became part of Poland. The modern-day Polish club '' MKS Zaborze'' acknowledges links to predecessor ''Preußen'' through ethnically-Polish pre-war club members who organized ''Robotniczy Klub Sportowy Pogoñ Zabrze'' later in 1945.

Honours

* South Eastern German champions: 1929 *Upper Silesia (Germany) champions: 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931

References

Das deutsche Fußball-Archiv
historical German domestic league tables

External links

History of MKS Zaborze
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hindenburg Football clubs in Germany Defunct football clubs in Germany Association football clubs established in 1910 Defunct football clubs in former German territories Association football clubs disestablished in 1945 Zabrze 1910 establishments in Germany 1945 disestablishments in Germany Defunct football clubs in Poland