The Gauliga Mittelrhein was the highest

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

league in the central and southern part of the

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

Rhine Province The Rhine Province (), also known as Rhenish Prussia () or synonymous with the Rhineland (), was the westernmost Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822 to 1946. ...

from 1933 to 1945. Shortly after the formation of the league, the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

reorganised the administrative regions in Germany, and the '' Gaue'' '' Köln-Aachen'' and '' Moselland'' replaced the Prussian province in the

Middle Rhine Middle Rhine (, ; kilometres 529 to 660 of the Rhine) is the section of the Rhine between Bingen and Bonn in Germany. It flows through the Rhine Gorge (), a formation created by erosion, which happened at about the same rate as an uplift i ...

(German: ''Mittelrhein'') region. From 1941, the ''Gauliga Mittelrhein'' was split into two separate leagues, the ''Gauliga Köln-Aachen'' and the ''Gauliga Moselland''. From this time, it also included clubs from the occupied

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

and the Belgian region of

Eupen-Malmedy Eupen-Malmedy is a small, predominantly German-speaking region in eastern Belgium. It consists of three administrative cantons around the towns of Eupen, Malmedy, and Sankt Vith which encompass some . Elsewhere in Belgium, the region is common ...

Overview

Gauliga Mittelrhein

The league was introduced by the

Nazi Sports Office Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was frequen ...

in 1933, after the Nazi takeover of power in Germany. It replaced the '' Bezirksligas'' and ''Oberligas'' as the highest level of play in German football competitions. In its first season, the league had eleven clubs, playing each other once at home and once away. The league champion then qualified for the German championship. The bottom three teams were relegated. The season after, the league was reduced to ten teams and remained at this strength until 1939. From 1937, it also included

Alemannia Aachen Aachener Turn- und Sportverein Alemannia 1900 e. V., short Alemannia Aachen (), is a German football club from the western city of Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia. A long-term fixture of the country's second division, Alemannia enjoyed a three- ...

which had previously belonged to the ''

Gauliga Niederrhein The Gauliga Niederrhein was the highest Association football, football league in the northern part of the Prussian Rhine Province from 1933 to 1945. Shortly after the formation of the league, the Nazis reorganised the administrative regions in Ger ...

''. Due to the outbreak of

World War II 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 ...

in 1939, the league was split into two regional groups, a northern division of seven and a southern of six clubs. The two group champions then played a home-and-away final for the ''Gauliga'' championship. In its last season, 1940–41, the league returned to a single-division, ten-team format. At the end of this season, the league was split into two separate ''Gauligas'', divided along the administrative divisions of the two ''Gaue''.

Gauliga Köln-Aachen

The territory of the new ''Gauliga Köln-Aachen'' was made up of the area of the ''Gau Köln-Aachen'' and the

region, the German-speaking part of

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

which had been annexed to the ''Gau'' after the German victory in 1940. However, no club from this formerly Belgian region played at highest level during the war. The league started with nine clubs in a single division in 1941 and expanded to ten for the 1942-43 season. In its last completed season, 1943–44, it returned to a strength of nine teams. There is no record of play in the 1944-45 season as war overtook the region, including the conquest of

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

by the allied forces.

Gauliga Moselland

The territory of the new ''Gauliga Moselland'' was made up of the area of the ''Gau Moselland'' and

, which had been annexed by Germany in 1940 and added to the ''Gau''. The league started out with two regional divisions of six clubs each with a home-and-away final to determine the ''Gauliga'' champion. The western group compromised two clubs from the city of

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

and four Luxembourgian clubs. The league modus remained the same for the 1942-43 season but the number of clubs from Luxembourg increased to five. In the 1943-44 season, the eastern group comprised five teams while the western had seven clubs. There is no record of a 1944-45 season as allied forces had arrived in the region in late 1944.

Aftermath

With the end of the Nazi era, the ''Gauligas'' ceased to exist and the northern part of the region found itself in the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

occupation zone while the south became part of the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

zone. The annexed regions of Belgium and Luxembourg were taken from Germany again after 1945. The Oberliga Südwest was introduced as the highest football league in the French occupation zone in 1945, replacing the ''Gauliga''. The territory of the pre-1940 ''Gau Moselland'' became part of the new state of

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

. In the British zone, which the former ''Gau Köln-Aachen'' was part of, top-level football did not resume straight away, unlike in Southern Germany, and only in 1947 was a new, highest league introduced, the

Oberliga West Oberliga () 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, replaced by the NOFV-O ...

, which covered all of the new state of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

Founding members of the league

The eleven founding members and their league positions in the 1932-33 season were: * Mülheimer SV 06 *

VfR 04 Köln VfR is a German-language acronym that may appear in various contexts: *Verein für Raumschiffahrt, en:Society for Space Travel, a historical amateur rocket club in Germany * Verein für Rasensport (en:Association for Field Sports) or Verein für Ra ...

* SpVgg Sülz 07, ''champion Rhein division'' *

Eintracht Trier SV Eintracht-Trier 05 e. V., commonly known as Eintracht Trier (), is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate. The club was established on 11 March 1948 through the merger of Westmark 05 Trier ...

* Bonner FV * SV Westmark 05 Trier * Kölner CfR * Kölner SC 99 *

FV 1911 Neuendorf TuS Koblenz is a German association football club, located in Koblenz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Fussball Club Deutschland Neuendorf, which was formed in 1911, is viewed as the foundation of the modern club. History Nazi era (1933–1945) The or ...

* Fortuna Kottenheim, ''champion Mittelrhein division'' * SV Rhenania Köln

Winners and runners-up of the league

The winners and runners-up of the league:

Gauliga Mittelrhein

Gauliga Köln-Aachen

Gauliga Moselland

Placings in the league 1933-44

The complete list of all clubs participating in the league:

Gauliga Mittelrhein & Köln-Aachen

* ¹ In May 1937, SC 99 Köln and CfR Köln merged to form VfL 99 Köln. * ² SpVgg Andernach joined the new Gauliga Moselland in 1941. * ³ The following “war sport unions” (German: KSG) were formed between clubs in 1943: ** VfL 99 Köln and SpVgg Sülz 07 formed KSG VfL 99 Köln/SpVgg Sülz 07. ** VfR Köln and SV Mülheim formed KSG VfR/Mülheimer SV. ** Bonner FV and TuRa Bonn formed KSG Bonn. * ⁴ Title awarded to SV Beuel 06 after the end of season, however, Alemannia Aachen took part in the German championship.

Gauliga Moselland

* ⁴ Eintracht Trier and Westmark Trier formed KSG Trier for the 1943-44 season.

Clubs from Luxembourg in the Gauliga Moselland

From 1941, clubs from the occupied country of Luxembourg took part in the German ''Gauliga'' system. The most successful of those was the ''FV Stadt Düdelingen'', who reached the German championship finals round, losing to the

FC Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as Schalke 04 (), and abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional sports club from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its football team, ...

0-2 in 1942.Luxembourg clubs in the German football structure 1940-1944
RSSSF.com, accessed: 29 May 2008 The following clubs played in the Gauliga under their Germanised names: *

FV Stadt Düdelingen Stade Dudelange was a football (soccer), football club from Dudelange, in southern Luxembourg. It is now a part of F91 Dudelange, which was formed by the merger of Stade, Alliance Dudelange, and US Dudelange in 1991. Stade was one of the countr ...

, '' was Stade Dudelange'' *

FK Niederkorn FK or fk may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Flyer Killer, fictional automated robots in the ''Terminator'' film franchise * Fox Kids, a former American children's television programming block * Funky Kong, a video game character Place * F ...

, ''was Progrès Niedercorn'' *

Moselland Luxemburg CA Spora Luxembourg was a football (soccer), football football club, club, based in Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. It is now a part of Racing FC Union Luxembourg. History Spora was founded in 1923 as an amalgam of Racing Club Luxembou ...

, ''was Spora Luxembourg'' *

SV Düdelingen F91 Dudelange (; , ) is a Luxembourgish professional Association football, football club based in Dudelange which plays in the Luxembourg National Division. It was formed in 1991 as a merger between three teams in the town: Alliance Dudelange, ...

, ''was US Dudelange'' *

SV Schwarz-Weiß Esch Jeunesse Esch (full name ''Association Sportive la Jeunesse d'Esch/Alzette'') is a professional football club based in Esch-sur-Alzette, in south-western Luxembourg. The side play in the National Division, the highest league in the country, and ...

, ''was Jeunesse d'Esch'' *

Schwarz-Weiß Wasserbillig ''Schwarz Weiss'' (English: ''Black White'') is a studio album by Austrian recording artist Christina Stürmer, comprising new interpretations of songs from her first two albums ''Freier Fall'' (2003) and ''Soll das wirklich alles sein?'' (2004) ...

, ''was Jeunesse Wasserbillig''

References

Sources

* ''Die deutschen Gauligen 1933-45 - Heft 1-3'' Tables of the Gauligas 1933-45, publisher: DSFS * ''Kicker Almanach'', The yearbook on German football from Bundesliga to Oberliga, since 1937, published by the Kicker Sports Magazine

External links

*
The Gauligas
''Das Deutsche Fussball Archiv''

at RSSSF.com {{Football in North Rhine-Westphalia 1933 establishments in Germany 1945 disestablishments in Germany Football competitions in North Rhine-Westphalia Football competitions in Rhineland-Palatinate Football leagues in Belgium Football leagues in Luxembourg Gauliga German-speaking Community of Belgium History of Liège Province Sport in Liège Province Sports leagues established in 1933