National Olympic Committee of the Saarland
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A National Olympic Committee of the Saarland existed due to the Saar Statute during the French occupation between 1950 and 1957, until the Saarland joined the Federal Republic of Germany .
Historical requirements
After the end of the Second World War , the Saarland was occupied by French troops in July 1945. The occupying power created a military government that was separated from the rest of the French zone. The French interests in the Saarland were mainly economic. In the course of the next few years a state emerged that was internally autonomous, economically connected to France and separated from Germany.
Ordinances were issued as early as 1945 that stipulated the formation of sports clubs and the rules for sporting events. The rapprochement between Saarland sport and French sport was the declared aim of the military governor Gilbert Grandval , so in 1948 meetings between teams from Saarland and the rest of Germany were prohibited.
However, at this time, among other things, the football clubs in the Oberliga Südwest were playing with teams from the rest of Germany. As a result, the attempt to integrate a team with 1. FC Saarbrücken in French play also failed .
In 1949, the state sports association of the Saarland was supposed to vote on a letter which asked the professional associations to join the respective French associations. Despite the adoption of this letter, many professional associations, including the football association and the handball association, opposed this connection.
On the basis of a cultural agreement of December 1948, article eight of which said: “The Saarland sports organizations can send representatives to the French sports associations, which in turn represent them in the international sports associations. Independent representation of the Saarland at the international sports associations that approve such is permitted, ”the professional associations have now submitted applications to the international associations.
History of the NOK of the Saarland
The year 1950 is significant for the international recognition of Saar sports. At the meeting of the LSVS on January 12, 1950, a provisional Olympic Committee of the Saarland is formed. This “Comité olympique de la Sarre” asks the President of the IOC, Sigfrid Edström , for recognition on May 5, 1950 . The President of the Comité olympique français and IOC member, Armand Massard, was informed of this request. The State Sports Association, the government and the High Commission will endeavor to get the Saar to participate in good time before the 44th session of the IOC from 15 to 17 May 1950 in Copenhagen in preparation for the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki.
The National Olympic Committee for Germany only receives provisional recognition from the IOC. The international sports committees confirm the sport-political status created by France and thus the separation of the Saar from Germany.
In January 1950, an independent National Olympic Committee of the Saarland was constituted. On May 15, 1950, the Saarland NOK was recognized as a member at the IOC meeting in Copenhagen and the IOC recognized the Saar as a “pays olympique”.
Subsequently, the applications for membership submitted by the Saarland professional associations, which are available to the respective federations for decision, are recognized. Within five months, the most important Olympic sports are recognized by the relevant international professional associations, in some cases with the restriction of provisional admission.
The inclusion of the Saarland professional associations was an important prerequisite for the recognition of a NOK by the International Olympic Committee. The professional associations were now accepted by the international associations in rapid succession, so in September of that year eleven professional associations were recognized, for example footballers, fencers, boxers, handball and athletics. Erwin Müller was President of the NOK .
For the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, the area occupied by the French at the time set up its own team with 36 athletes, as participation in the all-German Olympic team was not yet possible. No medals were won, which resulted in a 44th place among 69 teams, shared with the other teams that were left empty-handed. The comparable Luxembourgers were not among them, they had even placed themselves with a gold medal in front of the German team, which only won silver and bronze medals.
Some Saarland athletes such as Therese Zenz , who, as a 19-year-old canoeist, finished ninth at the Olympics on the unfamiliar open Baltic Sea off Helsinki, were quite internationally competitive, and in 1954 she even won a World Championship title for Saarland.
After the Saarlanders voted against autonomy in autumn 1955, a large number of Saarland athletes who were still able to participate independently in the 1956 Summer Olympics were waived in favor of the more difficult athletic qualification for the all Germans, now also recognized by East Germans, made possible by membership negotiations Olympic team. I.a. Therese Zenz was able to prevail and also win Olympic medals.
On September 21, 1956, the NOK in Saarland informed the IOC that it was disbanding itself, which meant that the NOK lost its recognition.
After the Saarland officially acceded to the Federal Republic of Germany on January 1, 1957, the Saarland Committee, like other institutions, merged with the National Olympic Committee for Germany in February 1957 .
Results 1952
literature
- Wolfgang Harres: Sports Policy on the Saar 1945–1957 Saarbrücker Dr. und Verl., Saarbrücken 1997, ISBN 3-930843-20-X (zugl .: Diss., Univ. Saarbrücken, 1996).
- Volker Bernardi, Martina Fischer, Peter Meyer: Olympic history of the Saarland . Gollenstein Verlag, Blieskastel 2004, ISBN 3-935-731-54-X .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Harres, Wolfgang: Sportpolitik an der Saar 1945 - 1957, sdv Saarbrücken Druckerei und Verlag GmbH, 1997, p. 117>
- ^ RA Stockholm, Sigfried-Edström-Archiv, D-1-b: Sigfried Edström to Carl Diem, May 24, 1950>
- ↑ Harres, Wolfgang: Sportpolitik an der Saar 1945 - 1957, sdv Saarbrücken Druckerei und Verlag GmbH, 1997, p. 117>
- ↑ From April 5th to 7th, 1951, the annual meeting of the representatives of the Fédération International d´Escrime, the FIE, took place in the large meeting room of the French Automobile Club in Paris, which was founded in 1913 in precisely this location. The theme of the congress was the resumption of Japan and Germany and the new admission of the Saarland to the FIE. The delegates approved the admission of Japan and Saarland, while Germany's application for resumption was postponed for another year
- ^ Alfred Werner Maurer : Fechtsport -official organ of the German Fechter-Bund e. V. 18th year, No. 1, March 1999, The regional associations: Saar Fechterbund Saar e. VS 16 ff.
- ^ Horst Geyer: Olympic Games 1896-1996. A German political issue . Agenda Verlag, Münster 1996, ISBN 3929440792 .