The 1943–44 Gauliga was the eleventh 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'' generally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

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

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the last completed one. The league operated in thirty-one regional divisions, two more than in the previous season, with the league containing 358 clubs all up, 60 more than the previous season. The league champions entered the 1944 German football championship, won by Dresdner SC who defeated ''

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

'' team

LSV Hamburg Luftwaffen-SV Hamburg (literally: Airforce sports club Hamburg) was a short-lived military German association football club active during World War II and is notable as the most successful of the wartime military sides. History Military spor ...

4–0 in the final. It was Dresden's second

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

, having won the competition in the previous season as well. The number of Gauligas, thirty-one, increased by two compare to the previous season because of the splitting off of the Gauliga Osthannover from the Gauliga Südhannover-Braunschweig and the creation of the Gauliga Böhmen und Mähren. The 1943–44 season saw the continued participation of military and police teams, especially in the eastern regions. Gauliga champions like

, LSV Danzig, LSV Mölders Krakau and LSV Rerick were associated with the German air force, the ''Luftwaffe'', ''LSV'' standing for ''Luftwaffen Sportverein'' while MSV Brünn, WSV Celle and HSV Groß-Born were clubs of the ''

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

''. In the part of Czechoslovakia annexed into Germany in March 1939, the

Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was a partially-annexation, annexed territory of Nazi Germany that was established on 16 March 1939 after the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–1945), German occupation of the Czech lands. The protector ...

, a separate Czech league continued to exist which was not part of the Gauliga system or the German championship.

Champions

The 1943–44 Gauliga champions qualified for the knock-out stages of the German championship. HSV Groß-Born and 1. FC Nürnberg were knocked-out in the semi-finals while LSV Hamburg and Dresdner SC contested the final which the latter won. FC Schalke 04 won their eleventh consecutive Gauliga title, VfB Königsberg and Kickers Offenbach their fifth, Germania Königshütte and First Vienna FC their third while SDW Posen, SpVgg Wilhelmshaven, Eintracht Braunschweig, Holstein Kiel, Dresdner SC, 1. FC Nürnberg, VfR Mannheim, SV Dessau 05, TuS Neuendorf and FC Mühlhausen 93 defended their 1942–43 Gauliga title.''kicker Allmanach 1990'', page: 243-245 *^# Denotes Gauliga created through sub-division of existing Gauliga for the 1943–44 season. *^† Denotes newly created Gauliga for the 1943–44 season.

German championship

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, 1943-44 1943-44 1 Ger