The Gauliga Niederrhein 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 northern 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 ''Gau'' (German: ; ; or ) is a Germanic term for a region within a country, often a former or current province. It was used in the Middle Ages, when it can be seen as roughly corresponding to an English shire. The administrative use of the ...

'' ''

Essen Essen () is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as ...

'' and ''

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

'' replaced the Prussian province in the Lower Rhein (German: ''Niederrhein'') region.

Overview

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. While the ''Gauliga Niederrhein'' covered a small area in size, the region had a substantial population. The most successful club from the region was

Fortuna Düsseldorf Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V., commonly known as Fortuna Düsseldorf (), is a Football in Germany, German football club based in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, that competes in the 2. Bundesliga. Founded in 1895, Fo ...

, reaching the national championship final in 1936 and the cup final in 1937, both times coming out as the loser. No other club from the region reached a German final in this era. In its first season, the league had twelve 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 eleven, then ten teams. From 1935 to 1942, the modus and strength of the league did not alter, making it one of the few ''Gauligas'' which remained unaffected by 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. In the 1942–43 season, the league was reduced to nine clubs but returned to its old strength the season after. The imminent collapse of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

in 1945 gravely affected all ''Gauligas''. The ''Gauliga Niederrhein'' retained its single-division, ten-team format even for its last season, too, but after only having played one round, the league was halted and did not resume again.

Aftermath

With the end of the Nazi era, the ''Gauligas'' ceased to exist and 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. 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 twelve founding members and their league positions in the 1932–33 season were: *

VfL 06 Benrath VfL Benrath is a German association football club from the southern city district of Benrath in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia. __TOC__ History The club was established on 16 April 1906 in what was then the village of Benrath as ''Benrat ...

, ''champion Bergisch-Mark division, German champion 1932-33'' * SV Hamborn 07, ''champion Niederrhein division'' * TSV Duisburg 99 *

Borussia München-Gladbach Borussia is the Latin name for Prussia. It may refer to: ;Sports clubs: Unless stated, each club (multi-sport or not) plays association football * Tennis Borussia Berlin * Borussia Bocholt * Borussia Dortmund, multi-sport * Borussia Düsseldorf ...

* Duisburger FV 08 *

Schwarz-Weiß Essen Schwarz-Weiß Essen is a German association football club based in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia. The side has its origins in the gymnastics club ''Essener Turnerbund'' founded in 1881. A football department was formed in January 1900 and this b ...

* Preußen Krefeld * Rheydter SV * BV Preußen Altenessen *

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- ...

* Schwarz-Weiß Barmen

Winners and runners-up of the Gauliga Niederrhein

The winners and runners-up of the league:

Placings in the Gauliga Niederrhein 1933-44

The complete list of all clubs participating in the league: * ¹ Alemannia Aachen played in the Gauliga Mittelrhein from 1937. * ² SSV Ebersfeld became SSV Wuppertal in 1938. * ³ The following “war sport unions” (German: KSG) were formed between clubs in September 1943: ** TuS Duisburg 48/99 and Duisburger SV formed KSG SpV/48/99 Duisburg. ** Hamborn 07 and Union Hamborn formed KSG Hamborn. ** RW Essen and BV Altenessen formed KSG Essen. ** RW Oberhausen and Elmar Oberhausen formed KSG Oberhausen.

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 Gauliga Sports leagues established in 1933