National Socialist Reich Association for physical exercises

Flag of the NSRL

Emblem of the NSRL

The National Socialist Reich Association for Physical Exercise ( NSRL ) was the umbrella organization for sport in Germany during the National Socialist era from 1938.

history

prehistory

A predecessor organization of the DRL / NSRL was the German Reich Committee for Physical Exercise (DRA or, more rarely, DRAfL) under the leadership of Theodor Lewald (chairman) and Carl Diem (general secretary). The DRA emerged from the German Reich Committee for the Olympic Games (DRAfOS) in 1917 and saw itself as the umbrella organization for sport in Germany, but by no means included all associations and sports. In particular, the clubs and associations of workers' sports had not joined him.

After the takeover by the NSDAP in 1933 not only parties and trade unions were banned and brought into line , but all sports federations with opposition political (z. B. social democratic, communist or church) orientation. This particularly affected the workers' sports clubs and associations in the first half of 1933; many of them anticipated a ban through self-dissolution. The national-conservative and bourgeois associations nominally existed until 1934, when they were incorporated into the unified organization of the Reichsbund for physical exercises.

On April 12, 1933, DRA chairman Theodor Lewald - branded as a " half-Jew " by the new rulers - bowed to demands for his resignation. At the request of Reich Interior Minister Wilhelm Frick , the election of a new first chairman was refrained from. For further negotiations with the Reich government regarding the reorganization of the sport, a tripartite commission was formed instead, consisting of Heinrich Pauli ( German Rowing Association ), Edmund Neuendorff ( German Turnerschaft ) and Felix Linnemann ( DFB ). On April 28, 1933, the SA group leader Hans von Tschammer und Osten , until then largely unknown in sport, was appointed Reich Commissioner for Gymnastics and Sport . The 'Reich Committee for Physical Exercise' was unlawfully dissolved on May 5, 1933 (official announcement May 10) - without the necessary resolution of the general meeting according to the statutes - and thus handed over organized civil sport to the NS regime's urge to shape without resistance.

In the first few weeks after the takeover of power there were conflicting interests in German sport, as there were National Socialists in several management positions who wanted to use the opportunity to get themselves (and their association, if applicable) into a leading position. The Reich Ministry of the Interior, which has been responsible for sport at the national level since 1914, opted for the Italian model of state sport , which meant abundance of power for the state without any idiosyncratic sport , international acceptance and varied physical training.

Hans von Tschammer und Osten was appointed Reich Sports Commissioner on April 28, 1933 and Reich Sports Leader on July 19 .

History of the DRL

Membership card of the German Reichsbund for physical exercise, September 1935

On January 23, 1934, the Reichsführerring of German Sports proclaimed the establishment of the German Reich Association for Physical Exercise (DRL); the founding meeting took place on March 9, 1934. During the German Fighting Games in Nuremberg, the first DRL congress took place on July 27, 1934 , under the direction of Reich Sports Leader Hans von Tschammer und Osten , at which the plans for the organizational redesign were announced. Little by little, almost all sports associations lost their independence and were transferred to the DRL as "specialist offices" or affiliated associations.

The synchronization also meant that the association areas that had grown historically up to now (e.g. the football clubs in Göttingen belonged to the West German game association [based in Duisburg], the canoe clubs to the Leinegau, the ski clubs to the Harz Ski Association, in workers' sports to Kassel, in gymnastics to Hanover, etc. .) have now been adapted to the political divisions. This means that a sports leader faced a top local civil servant in a local authority . This improved the socio-political position of sport.

By Adolf Hitler's decree of December 21, 1938, the DRL was renamed the National Socialist Reich Association for Physical Exercise (NSRL, also NSRBL) to become an "association supervised by the NSDAP". The NSRL was subordinated to the NSDAP . While sport on site was previously the responsibility of the National Socialist local government (mayor), it was now subordinate to the Gauführer of the NSDAP. Where the Gau area and the local authority did not match, there could also be changes in the layout of the sports organizations. The seat of the NSRL was the House of German Sports on the Reichssportfeld in Berlin. Hans von Tschammer und Osten , appointed State Secretary in the Ministry of the Interior in 1938, was NSRL Chairman. After his death in March 1943, Karl Ritter von Halt became his acting successor.

The structures of the NSRL were intact even during the world war. However, organizers had to provide a trained air raid helper for every 50 spectators, which was a particular challenge for professional sports. The gymnastics and sports clubs, which were well financed during the Nazi era, were z. B. asked in Hanover in February 1945 not to forget to apply for the trainer's allowance for 1944.

With Act No. 5 of the American military government of May 31, 1945, the NSDAP and all its institutions and organizations were dissolved, and with it the National Socialist Reich Association for Physical Exercise. With the Control Council Act No. 2 of October 10, 1945, the organization was banned by the Allied Control Council , a new establishment was prohibited and their property was confiscated. The organizations that had been absorbed into the Reichsbund were subsequently re-established.

guide

At the head of the DRL was the Reich Sports Leader . From 1934, all Reichssportführer were also presidents of the German Olympic Committee .

structure

Technical structure

Department 1: apparatus gymnastics, gymnastics and summer games ⁽¹⁾
Department 2: Football, Rugby, Cricket ⁽²⁾
Department 3: Athletics
Department 4: handball / basketball
Department 5: Swimming
Department 6: Heavy Athletics
Department 7: Boxing
Department 8: Fencing

Department 9: Hockey
Department 10: Tennis
Department 11: Rowing
Department 12: Canoeing
Department 13: Ice and roller sports
Department 14: Skiing ⁽²⁾
Department 15: Cycling

In addition to these specialist areas, some others were looked after by continuing professional associations within the Reichsbund:

21st German Golf Association
22nd German Bobsleigh and Sleigh Sports Association
23rd German Table Tennis Association
24th German Amateur Billiards Association
25. Fighting ring for völkisch nudism

⁽¹⁾ The summer games included the gymnastics games hit ball, fistball, netball, sling ball, ring tennis - ⁽²⁾ original spelling.

Regional breakdown

Territorial status of the sports areas in 1933

It corresponded to that of the NSDAP. Where the requirements of the practical sports business made it appear sensible, several districts of the NSDAP were merged into sports areas.

Sports area 1: East Prussia
Sports area 2: Pomerania
Sports area 3: Berlin-Brandenburg
Sports area 4: Silesia
Sports area 5: Saxony
Sports area 6: middle ⁽¹⁾
Sports area 7: Nordmark ⁽²⁾
Sports area 8: Lower Saxony
Sports area 9: Westphalia
Sports area 10: Lower Rhine
Sports area 11: Middle Rhine

Sports area 12: Hessen
Sports area 13: Southwest ⁽³⁾
Sports area 14: bathing
Sports area 14a: Alsace
Sports area 15: Württemberg-Hohenzollern
Sports area 16: Bavaria
Sports area 17: Ostmark ⁽⁴⁾
Sports area 18: Sudetenland
Sports area 19: Danzig-West Prussia
Gau Wartheland

⁽¹⁾ Thuringia, Anhalt and the Province of Saxony. - ⁽²⁾ Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Mecklenburg. - ⁽³⁾ Palatinate and (from 1935) the Saar area. - ⁽⁴⁾ Austria from 1938.

Distribution of members

On January 1, 1937, the National Socialist Reich Association for Physical Exercise had 45,096 associations with 3,582,776 active members (517,992 women / 3,064,784 men). On April 1, 1939, there were 44,622 clubs with 3,668,206 active members (526,084 of which were women) who practiced the following sports:

sport	Clubs / departments	Total exercisers	of which female
01. Apparatus gymnastics	12,773	662,567	234.190
02. Football	10,928	483,302	0
02. Rugby	00052	001.925	0
02. cricket	00006th	000088	0
03. Athletics	07,366	268.183	58,817
04. Handball	04,774	152.943	14,229
04. Basketball	00156	003,396	00522
05. Swimming	02,643	129,142	41,482
06. Weightlifting	00809	012,777	0
06. Wrestling	00748	015,263	0
06. Jiu Jitsu	00220	007,957	00068
07. Boxing	00872	017,904	0
08. Fencing	00548	009,088	02,505
09. Hockey	00411	020,446	05,748
10. Tennis	01,840	079,932	40,361
11. Rowing	00757	049,942	11,433
12. Canoe	01,155	045,652	08,183
13. Ice skating	00369	013,944	04,907
13. Roller skate	00142	004,409	02,364
14. Skiing	02,099	088,395	26,793
15. Cycling	02,951	061.131	05,093
16. Sailing	00460	019,069	00832
17. Mountaineering	00510	168,450	28,536
18. Hiking	02,961	198,346	30,683
19. Bowling	01,049	050,325	02,848
20. Shoot	14,310	418,404	02,730
21. Golf	00059	003,953	01,401
22. Bobsleigh	00021st	000311	00029
22. Sledging	00067	002,197	00682
23. Table tennis	00777	015,810	03,937
24. Billiards	00246	005,046	00067

The numbers correspond to the specialist offices and professional associations.

Events

Championships in the individual sports were held by the specialist offices and professional associations. The Reichsbund for physical exercises organized the following:

1934 the winter sports week of the 4th German Fighting Games in Schierke and Braunlage (Harz)
23 to 29 July 1934 the 4th German Fighting Games in Nuremberg
26th to 31st July 1938 the German Gymnastics and Sports Festival in Breslau

Names of trophies

Football: today's DFB-Pokal , donated in 1935, was played from 1935 to 1943 as the Tschammer-Pokal (named after the Reichssportführer). The amateur country cup , founded in 1909 as the Crown Prince Cup , was held as the Reichsbund Cup from 1935 to 1942 .

literature

Frank Becker : Shaping the sport. Carl Diems Life (1882–1962). Volume 3: Nazi era. Duisburg 2009.
Hajo Bernett : The way of sport in the National Socialist dictatorship. The emergence of the German (National Socialist) Reichsbund for physical exercises. Schorndorf 1983.
Hajo Bernett: Upheaval or Continuity? On the prehistory of the German Reich Association for physical exercises. In: Social and Contemporary History of Sport. (1995) 2, pp. 7-23.
Hajo Bernett: Sports Policy in the Third Reich. From the files of the Reich Chancellery. Schorndorf 1971.
Dieter Steinhöfer : Hans von Tschammer and east. Reich Sports Leader in the Third Reich. Berlin / Munich / Frankfurt a. M. 1973, ISBN 3-87039-945-7 .
Look up! Facts worth knowing from all areas . 1st edition. Bibliographical Institute, Leipzig 1938.
Look up! Facts worth knowing from all areas . 3. Edition. Bibliographical Institute, Leipzig 1941.

Web links

Commons : NS-Reichsbund for physical exercises - documents and pictures

Individual evidence

↑ Arnd Krüger : Today Germany belongs to us and tomorrow ...? The struggle for the sense of conformity in sport in the first half of 1933. In: Wolfgang Buss, Arnd Krüger (Hrsg.): Sport history: maintaining tradition and changing values. Festschrift for the 75th birthday of Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Henze . (= Series of publications by the Lower Saxony Institute for Sports History , Vol. 2). Mecke, Duderstadt 1985, pp. 175-196.
↑ Arnd Krüger: The Influence of the Fascist Sports Model of Italy on National Socialist Sports. In: Morgen A. Olsen (Ed.): Sport and Politics. 1918-1939 / 40. Universitetsforlaget, Oslo 1986, pp. 226-232; Arnd Krüger: Sport in Fascist Italy (1922-1933). In: G. Spitzer, D. Schmidt (Ed.): Sport between independence and external determination. Festschrift for Prof. Dr. Hajo Bernett. P. Wegener, Bonn 1986, pp. 213-226.
^ Hajo Bernett: Upheaval or Continuity? On the prehistory of the German Reich Association for physical exercises. In: Social and Contemporary History of Sport. (1995) 2, pp. 7-23.
^ Arnd Krüger: Sieg Heil to the most glorious era of German sport: Continuity and change in the modern German sports movement. In: International Journal of the History of Sport. 4: 1, pp. 5-20 (1987).
↑ Decree of the Führer and Reich Chancellor on the National Socialist Reich Association for physical exercises. dated December 21, 1938.
↑ See also implementation regulations for the decree of the Führer and Reich Chancellor on the National Socialist Reich Association for Physical Exercise. From May 15, 1939. by the Reich Sports Leader
↑ Arnd Krüger: Physical exercises now all the more! Sports in World War II. In: Arnd Krüger, Hans Langenfeld (Hrsg.): Sport in Hannover - from the founding of the city until today. Die Werkstatt, Göttingen 1991, ISBN 3-923478-56-9 , pp. 185–188. Arnd Krüger: Germany and Sport in World War II. In: Can. Journal of the History of Sport. 24: 1, pp. 52-62 (1993).

[1] Arnd Krüger : Today Germany belongs to us and tomorrow ...? The struggle for the sense of conformity in sport in the first half of 1933. In: Wolfgang Buss, Arnd Krüger (Hrsg.): Sport history: maintaining tradition and changing values. Festschrift for the 75th birthday of Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Henze . (= Series of publications by the Lower Saxony Institute for Sports History , Vol. 2). Mecke, Duderstadt 1985, pp. 175-196.

[2] Arnd Krüger: The Influence of the Fascist Sports Model of Italy on National Socialist Sports. In: Morgen A. Olsen (Ed.): Sport and Politics. 1918-1939 / 40. Universitetsforlaget, Oslo 1986, pp. 226-232; Arnd Krüger: Sport in Fascist Italy (1922-1933). In: G. Spitzer, D. Schmidt (Ed.): Sport between independence and external determination. Festschrift for Prof. Dr. Hajo Bernett. P. Wegener, Bonn 1986, pp. 213-226.

[3] Hajo Bernett: Upheaval or Continuity? On the prehistory of the German Reich Association for physical exercises. In: Social and Contemporary History of Sport. (1995) 2, pp. 7-23.

[4] Arnd Krüger: Sieg Heil to the most glorious era of German sport: Continuity and change in the modern German sports movement. In: International Journal of the History of Sport. 4: 1, pp. 5-20 (1987).

[5] Decree of the Führer and Reich Chancellor on the National Socialist Reich Association for physical exercises. dated December 21, 1938.

[6] See also implementation regulations for the decree of the Führer and Reich Chancellor on the National Socialist Reich Association for Physical Exercise. From May 15, 1939. by the Reich Sports Leader

[7] Arnd Krüger: Physical exercises now all the more! Sports in World War II. In: Arnd Krüger, Hans Langenfeld (Hrsg.): Sport in Hannover - from the founding of the city until today. Die Werkstatt, Göttingen 1991, ISBN 3-923478-56-9 , pp. 185–188. Arnd Krüger: Germany and Sport in World War II. In: Can. Journal of the History of Sport. 24: 1, pp. 52-62 (1993).