1941 German football championship

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1941 German championship
Deutsche Fußballmeisterschaft
Victoria Schalke-Museum.jpg
Replica of the Viktoria trophy
CountryGermany
Dates6 April – 22 June
Teams20
Champions Rapid Wien
1st German title
Runners-up Schalke 04
Third place Dresdner SC
Fourth place VfL Köln 99
Matches played56
Goals scored248 (4.43 per match)
Top goal scorer(s) Hermann Eppenhoff (15 goals)
← 1940
1942 →

The 1941 German football championship , the 34th edition of the competition, was won by SK Rapid Wien, the club's sole German championship. Rapid, which had previously won twelve Austrian football championships between 1911 and 1938 as well as the 1938 German Cup, won the competition by defeating Schalke 04 4–3 in the final. [1] [2] [3] The final was held on 22 June 1941, the same day Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa. [4]

Contents

Overview

The score board of the 1941 final Bundesarchiv Bild 183-2004-1001-503, Berlin, Zuschauer beim Fussball-Endspiel.jpg
The score board of the 1941 final

FC Schalke 04, having won five of the previous seven finals, being the defending champions and aiming for an unprecedented third consecutive German championship, were the favourites and led the final 3–0 after 57 minutes but Rapid scored four unanswered goals, the last three of them by Franz Binder, to win the championship. [5] It marked the second of three occasions of a club from Vienna (German: Wien) in the final, Rapid becoming the only one to win the competition while Admira Wien had made a losing appearance in the 1939 final and First Vienna FC would do the same in 1942. [1] Austrian clubs had played in the German league system from 1938, after the Anschluss , until the German surrender in 1945. [6]

Rapid's victory led to a number of conspiracy theories. On Schalke's side it was speculated that Rapid was allowed to win to award a national championship to a club from the Ostmark while, in Austria, the theory developed that Rapid players were punished after the final by being sent to the front line. Both theories were disproven when Rapid, in 2009, commissioned a study into the history of the club during the Nazi era and found no evidence for either. [7] Rapid continues to list both German titles, the 1941 championship and the 1938 cup win, in its honours. [8]

Schalke's Hermann Eppenhoff became the top scorer of the 1941 championship with 15 goals, the highest individual amount for any player in the history of the competition from 1903 to 1963. [9]

The twenty 1940–41 Gauliga champions, two more than in 1940 because of the addition of the Gauliga Elsaß and Gauliga Danzig-Westpreußen, [10] competed in a group stage with the four group winners advancing to the semi-finals. The two semi-final winners then contested the 1941 championship final. The groups were divided into two with four clubs and two with six clubs with the latter, in turn, subdivided into two groups of three teams each and a final of these group winners to determine the overall group champions. [11]

In the following season, the German championship was played with twenty five clubs. From there it gradually expanded further through a combination of territorial expansion of Nazi Germany and the sub-dividing of the Gauligas in later years, reaching a strength of thirty one in its last completed season, 1943–44. [10]

Qualified teams

The teams qualified through the 1940–41 Gauliga season: [11]

ClubQualified from
VfL Neckarau Gauliga Baden
TSV 1860 München Gauliga Bayern
Tennis Borussia Berlin Gauliga Berlin-Brandenburg
Preußen Danzig Gauliga Danzig-Westpreußen
FC Mühlhausen 93 Gauliga Elsaß
Borussia Fulda Gauliga Hessen
SV Jena Gauliga Mitte
VfL 99 Köln Gauliga Mittelrhein
TuS Helene Altenessen Gauliga Niederrhein
Hannover 96 Gauliga Niedersachsen
Hamburger SV Gauliga Nordmark
SK Rapid Wien Gauliga Ostmark
VfB Königsberg Gauliga Ostpreußen
LSV Stettin Gauliga Pommern
Dresdner SC Gauliga Sachsen
Vorwärts-Rasensport Gleiwitz Gauliga Schlesien
NSTG Prag Gauliga Sudetenland
Kickers Offenbach Gauliga Südwest
Schalke 04 Gauliga Westfalen
Stuttgarter Kickers Gauliga Württemberg

Competition

Group 1

Group 1A

Group 1A was contested by the champions of the Gauligas Danzig-Westpreußen, Pommern and Schlesien: [11]

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGRPtsQualification VRG LSV DAN
1 Vorwärts-Rasensport Gleiwitz 4211951.8005Advance to group final — 3–1 4–1
2 LSV Stettin 4121890.8894 3–2 — 1–1
3 Preußen Danzig 4031580.6253 0–0 3–3 —
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal ratio.

Group 1B

Group 1B was contested by the champions of the Gauligas Brandenburg, Sachsen and Sudetenland: [11]

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGRPtsQualification DRE TBB PRA
1 Dresdner SC 44001142.7508Advance to group final — 5–2 4–2
2 Tennis Borussia Berlin 4112570.7143 0–1 — 3–1
3 NSTG Prag 4013380.3751 0–1 0–0 —
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal ratio.

Group 1 final

Team 1 Agg. Team 21st leg2nd leg
Dresdner SC 6–0 Vorwärts-Rasensport Gleiwitz 3–0 3–0

Group 2

Group 2A

Group 2A was contested by the champions of the Gauligas Mitte, Nordmark and Ostpreußen: [11]

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGRPtsQualification HSV SVJ KON
1 Hamburger SV 4310951.8007Advance to group final — 2–1 3–1
2 1. SV Jena 4112981.1253 2–2 — 2–4
3 VfB Königsberg 41036110.5452 1–2 0–4 —
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal ratio.

Group 2B

Group 2B was contested by the champions of the Gauligas Hessen, Niedersachsen and Westfalen: [11]

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGRPtsQualification S04 H96 FUL
1 Schalke 04 44001628.0008Advance to group final — 4–0 4–0
2 Hannover 96 410310150.6672 1–6 — 6–1
3 Borussia Fulda 41036150.4002 1–2 4–3 —
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal ratio.

Group 2 final

Team 1 Agg. Team 21st leg2nd leg
Schalke 04 3–1 Hamburger SV 3–0 0–1

Group 3

Group 3 was contested by the champions of the Gauligas Elsaß, Mittelrhein, Niederrhein and Südwest: [11]

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGRPtsQualification K99 KOF HEA M93
1 VfL Köln 641119121.5839Advance to semi-finals — 3–1 3–1 6–1
2 Kickers Offenbach 63211992.1118 2–2 — 1–1 5–1
3 Helene Altenessen 622215131.1546 6–1 0–4 — 5–2
4 FC Mülhausen 60159280.3211 1–4 2–6 2–2 —
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal ratio.

Group 4

Group 4 was contested by the champions of the Gauligas Bayern, Baden, Ostmark and Württemberg: [11]

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGRPtsQualification RWI M60 SKI NEC
1 Rapid Wien 64112454.8009Advance to semi-finals — 2–0 1–1 8–1
2 1860 Munich 631214111.2737 2–1 — 2–1 6–2
3 Stuttgarter Kickers 612311160.6884 1–5 3–3 — 2–0
4 VfL Neckarau 620410270.3704 0–7 2–1 5–3 —
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal ratio.

Semi-finals

Three of the four clubs in the 1941 semi-finals had reached the same stage in the previous season, Rapid Wien, Dresdner SC and FC Schalke 04, while VfL Köln 99 replaced SV Waldhof Mannheim in comparison to 1940: [12]

Team 1 Score Team 2
8 June 1941 [13]
SK Rapid Wien 2–1 Dresdner SC
Schalke 04 4–1 VfL Köln 99

Third place play-off

Team 1 Score Team 2
22 June 1941 [14]
Dresdner SC 4–1 VfL Köln 99

Final

SK Rapid Wien 4–3 Schalke 04
Schors Soccerball shade.svg60'
Binder Soccerball shade.svg62' Soccerball shade.svg65' (pen.) Soccerball shade.svg71'		 Report Hinz Soccerball shade.svg5' Soccerball shade.svg58'
Eppenhoff Soccerball shade.svg8'
Olympia Stadium (Berlin)
Attendance: 95,000
Referee: Adolf Reinhardt (Stuttgart)
SPORTKLUB RAPID:
GK Flag of Germany (1935-1945).svg Rudolf Raftl
DF Flag of Germany (1935-1945).svg Stefan Wagner
DF Flag of Germany (1935-1945).svg Heribert Sperner
MF Flag of Germany (1935-1945).svg Franz Wagner
MF Flag of Germany (1935-1945).svg Leopold Gernhardt
MF Flag of Germany (1935-1945).svg Stefan Skoumal
FW Flag of Germany (1935-1945).svg Willy Fitz
FW Flag of Germany (1935-1945).svg Georg Schors
FW Flag of Germany (1935-1945).svg Franz Binder
FW Flag of Germany (1935-1945).svg Hermann Dvoracek
FW Flag of Germany (1935-1945).svg Hans Pesser
Manager:
Flag of Germany (1935-1945).svg Leopold Nitsch
FC GELSENKIRCHEN-SCHALKE 04:
GK Flag of Germany (1935-1945).svg Hans Klodt
DF Flag of Germany (1935-1945).svg Hans Bornemann
DF Flag of Germany (1935-1945).svg Otto Schweisfurth
MF Flag of Germany (1935-1945).svg Bernhard Füller
MF Flag of Germany (1935-1945).svg Otto Tibulski
MF Flag of Germany (1935-1945).svg Rudolf Gellesch
FW Flag of Germany (1935-1945).svg Herbert Burdenski
FW Flag of Germany (1935-1945).svg Fritz Szepan
FW Flag of Germany (1935-1945).svg Hermann Eppenhoff
FW Flag of Germany (1935-1945).svg Ernst Kuzorra
FW Flag of Germany (1935-1945).svg Heinz Hinz
Manager:
Flag of Germany (1935-1945).svg Otto Faist

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">1940–41 Gauliga</span> Football league season

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">1941–42 Gauliga</span> Football league season

The 1941–42 Gauliga was the ninth season of the Gauliga, the first tier of the football league system in Germany from 1933 to 1945. It was the third season of the league held during the Second World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1940–41 Gauliga Bayern</span> Football league season

The 1940–41 Gauliga Bayern was the eighth season of the league, one of the 20 Gauligas in Germany at the time. It was the first tier of the football league system in Bavaria (German:Bayern) from 1933 to 1945.

References

  1. 1 2 (West) Germany -List of champions rsssf.org, accessed: 26 December 2015
  2. ↑ FC Schalke 04 » Steckbrief (in German) Weltfussball.de – FC Schalke 04 honours, accessed: 26 December 2015
  3. ↑ Rapid Wien » Steckbrief (in German) Weltfussball.de – Rapid Wien honours, accessed: 26 December 2015
  4. ↑ Der längste Tag – das Protokoll des Überfalls Die Welt , published: 22 June 2011, accessed: 26 December 2015
  5. ↑ Deutsche Meisterschaft 1940/1941 » Finale » Rapid Wien – FC Schalke 04 4:3 (in German) Weltfussball.de, Game report, accessed: 26 December 2015
  6. ↑ Die deutsche Vergangenheit von Rapid Wien (in German) sportal.de, The German history of Rapid Wien, accessed: 26 December 2015
  7. ↑ Deutscher Meister: Rapid 1, Leverkusen 0 (in German) Kurier , published: 25 December 2012, accessed: 26 December 2015
  8. ↑ Erfolge Archived 9 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine (in German) Rapid Wien website – honours, accessed: 27 December 2015
  9. ↑ "Deutsche Meisterschaft » Torschützenkönige" [German championship: Top goal scorer]. Weltfussball.de (in German). Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  10. 1 2 kicker Allmanach 1990, page: 243-245
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 German championship 1941 rsssf.org, accessed: 26 December 2015
  12. ↑ German championship 1940 rsssf.org, accessed: 27 December 2015
  13. ↑ German championship 1941 – Semifinals (in German) Weltfussball.de, accessed: 26 December 2015
  14. ↑ German championship 1941 – Third place game (in German) Weltfussball.de, accessed: 26 December 2015

Sources

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