Gauliga Generalgouvernement

The Gauliga Generalgouvernement was the highest football league in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany after 1939, which were not incooperated into any of the Gaue, the so-called General Government (German:General Gouvernement). The name Gauliga is somewhat misleading in this case as the region was not part of the Gau system. The league existed from 1941 to 1945.

Main article: Gauliga
Gauliga Generalgouvernement
Founded1941
Folded1945
Replaced byRegion became part of Poland
Country Nazi Germany
RegionGeneral Government
Level on pyramidLevel 1
Domestic cup(s)Tschammerpokal
Last championsLuftwaffen SV Mölders Krakau
(1943–44)

Overview

The Gauliga Generalgouvernement was as such introduced by the Nazi Sports Office in 1941, but never actually became a proper league. It existed as a championship round for the four district champions of the General Government only, the four districts being:

Polish clubs were not permitted to take part in the competition, only clubs from the German ethnic minority, which made up 2.3 percent of the overall population of Poland, or 741,000 people.[1]

In the 1941–42 season, the four district champions played a one-game semifinal, with the winners reaching the final while the two losers played for third place. The winner of the final then went on to the German championship. Little is known about the following season but the modus remained the same for the 1943-44 edition, suggesting it may have also been the same in 1942–43. The imminent collapse of Nazi Germany in 1945 gravely affected all Gauligas and football in the region ceased in 1944. The 1944–45 season may not have been started at all.

Winners and runners-up of the league

The winners and runners-up of the league:[2]

Season Winner Runner-Up
1941–42 Luftwaffen SV Boelcke Krakau Luftwaffen SV Warschau
1942–43 Luftwaffen SV Adler Dęblin unknown
1943–44 Luftwaffen SV Mölders Krakau DTSG Tschenstochau

Other clubs:

  • Luftwaffen SV Lublin (1943/44)
  • Luftwaffen SV Radom (1941/42)
  • Rembertów Warschau (1943/44)
  • SS und Polizei Lublin (1941/42)
  • In 1943, the SG Warschau took part in the German championship instead of Luftwaffen SV Adler Deblin.

Former Polish footballers

Aftermath

With the end of the Nazi era, the Gauligas ceased to exist. The General Government came under Soviet control. The region then became a part of Poland again.

References
  1. Population of Poland in 1931 - Statistics and map Genealogy of Halychyna / Eastern Galicia, accessed: 24 June 2008
  2. "Gauliga final tables". f-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 28 February 2016.

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