List of football clubs in East Germany
Encyclopedia
The history of East German football is complex, and that of its clubs particularly so. After World War II
, the occupying allies
disbanded most German organisations, including football clubs. While some were re-formed, others were not, and many that were emerged having been renamed, merged with their neighbours, or even split. The instability continued throughout the DDR era, with many clubs being moved to new towns, and with very frequent name-changes, Soviet-sounding names like Dynamo and Lokomotive replacing more traditional names. After re-unification, many clubs reverted to their pre-East German names, but some stuck with them, and others have changed back again. This page lists all prominent East German clubs, along with their original name, their present day name, and a list of name changes and mergers that they underwent.
° Football club
(FC), which were foundet 1965-66 as centers of high-level football in the GDR.
°° SG Dynamo Dresden was a sport-community with FC-status.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the occupying allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
disbanded most German organisations, including football clubs. While some were re-formed, others were not, and many that were emerged having been renamed, merged with their neighbours, or even split. The instability continued throughout the DDR era, with many clubs being moved to new towns, and with very frequent name-changes, Soviet-sounding names like Dynamo and Lokomotive replacing more traditional names. After re-unification, many clubs reverted to their pre-East German names, but some stuck with them, and others have changed back again. This page lists all prominent East German clubs, along with their original name, their present day name, and a list of name changes and mergers that they underwent.
| DDR name | Pre-DDR name | Current name | Other names | DDR Titles | DDR Cups |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BSG Wismut Aue FC Erzgebirge Aue FC Erzgebirge Aue is a German football club based in Aue, Saxony. The former East German side was a charter member of the 3. Liga in 2008–09, after being relegated from the 2. Bundesliga in 2007–08. The city of Aue has a population of about 18,000 making it one of the smallest cities to ever... |
Pneumatik Aue | FC Erzgebirge Aue | BSG Pneumatik Aue (1946–49) BSG Zentra Wismut Aue (1949–51) SC Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt (1954–63) FC Wismut Aue (1990–93) |
3 | 1 |
| BSG Rotation Babelsberg Fortuna Babelsberg Fortuna Babelsberg is a German football club from the south-eastern part of the city of Potsdam in Brandenburg. A former East German side, they currently play in the Landesliga Brandenburg-Nord, the 7th tier of the German football league system.... |
SG Babelsberg | Fortuna Babelsberg | SG Babelsberg (1946–49) BSG Märkische Volksstimme Potsdam-Babelsberg (1949–50) BSG DEFA Babelsberg (1969–90) |
- | - |
| Berliner FC Dynamo Berliner FC Dynamo Berliner FC Dynamo is a German association football club and is the successor organization to the club that played in East Berlin as Dynamo Berlin from 1953 to 1966.-Founding and Stasi patronage:... ° |
None (formed 1951) | Berliner FC Dynamo | SG Volkspolizei Berlin (1951–53) SG Dynamo Berlin (1953–54) SC Dynamo Berlin (1954–66) FC Berlin (1990–99) |
10 | 3 |
| 1. FC Union Berlin 1. FC Union Berlin 1. FC Union Berlin is a German association football club based in Berlin. It is one of two sides in the city bearing the name Union that emerged during the Cold War and played in East Germany, while the other played in the west. The club currently plays in the 2. Fußball-Bundesliga.-Foundation to... ° |
SC Oberschöneweide | 1. FC Union Berlin | SC Olympia 06 Oberschöneweide (1906–1920) SG Oberschöneweide (1945–49) SG Union Oberschöneweide (1949–51) BSG Motor Oberschöneweide (1951–55) SC Motor Berlin (1955–57) TSC Oberschöneweide (1957–63) TSC Berlin (1963–66) |
- | 1 |
| BSG Chemie Böhlen FC Sachsen Leipzig FC Sachsen Leipzig was a German football club from Leipzig, Saxony. The roots of the club go back to 1899 and the founding of Britannia Leipzig. Following World War I, a 1919 merger with FC Hertha 05 Leipzig created Leipziger Sportverein 1899... |
None (founded 1969) | SV Chemie Böhlen | BSG Brennstoff Böhlen (1949–52) BSG Benzinwerk Böhlen (1949–52) BSG Aktivist Böhlen (1952–68) SV Chemie Böhlen (1990) |
- | - |
| FC Vorwärts Berlin FC Viktoria Frankfurt Frankfurter FC Viktoria is a German association football club based in Frankfurt , Brandenburg. The club was originally founded in East Germany as the army club SV Vorwärts der HVA Leipzig in 1951 in the city of Leipzig.- History :One of the characteristics of East German football after World War... ° FC Vorwärts Frankfurt/Oder FC Viktoria Frankfurt Frankfurter FC Viktoria is a German association football club based in Frankfurt , Brandenburg. The club was originally founded in East Germany as the army club SV Vorwärts der HVA Leipzig in 1951 in the city of Leipzig.- History :One of the characteristics of East German football after World War... ° |
None (founded 1951) | Frankfurter FC Viktoria | Vorwärts Leipzig (1951–53) ZSK Vorwärts Berlin (1953–56) ZASK Vorwärts Berlin (1956) ASK Vorwärts Berlin (1956–66) FC Victoria Frankfurt/Oder (1991–92) |
6 | 2 |
| BSG Stahl Brandenburg Stahl Brandenburg FC Stahl Brandenburg is a German association football club based in Brandenburg an der Havel, Brandenburg.-History:The club was formed in 1950 as BSG Einheit Brandenburg and played its earliest seasons in the II division of East German football. They took on the name BSG Stahl Brandenberg in 1955... |
None (founded 1950) | FC Stahl Brandenburg | BSV Stahl Brandenburg (1990–93) BSV Brandenburg (1993–98) |
- | - |
| BSG Energie Cottbus | None (founded 1963) | FC Energie Cottbus | BSG Aktivist Brieske-Ost (1950–54) SC Aktivist Brieske-Senftenberg (1954–63) SC Cottbus (1963–66) |
- | - |
| BSG Motor Dessau SV Dessau 05 SV Dessau 05 is a German association football club based in Dessau, Saxony-Anhalt. They distinguished themselves in 1949 as winners of the inaugural FDGB-Pokal .-History:... |
SV Dessau 05 | SV Dessau 05 | FC Adler (1905) Dessauer FC (1905–1919) SV BAMAG Dessau (?-1919) VfR Dessau (1919–21) SpVgg Dessau (?-1921) Blau-Weiss Dessau (1945–47) Sport-Union Dessau (1947–48) SG Dessau-Nord (1948–49) BSG Waggonbau Dessau (1949) BSG Waggonfabrik Dessau (1949–50) SG Waggonbau 05 Dessau (1990–95) |
- | 1 |
| SG Dynamo Dresden Dynamo Dresden SG Dynamo Dresden are a German association football club, based in Dresden, Saxony. They were founded in 1950, as a club affiliated with the East German police, and became one of the most popular and successful clubs in East German football, winning eight league titles... °° |
None (founded 1953) | SG Dynamo Dresden | SG Volkspolizei Dresden (1950–52) 1. FC Dynamo Dresden (1990–2007) |
8 | 7 |
| SG Dresden-Friedrichstadt Dresdner SC Dresdner SC is a German multisport club playing in Dresden, Saxony. Founded on 30 April 1898, the club was a founding member of the German Football Association in 1900... |
Dresdner SC | Dresdner SC | None (disbanded 1950-91) | - | - |
| BSG Stahl Eisenhüttenstadt FC Stahl Eisenhüttenstadt Eisenhüttenstädter FC Stahl is a German association football club based in Eisenhüttenstadt, Brandenburg, near the Polish border.-History:The club's predecessors were founded as BSG Stahl Fürstenberg Ost in 1950. The community of Stalinstadt was built nearby for the workers of the local ironworks,... |
None (founded 1950) | Eisenhüttenstädter FC Stahl | BSG Stahl Fuerstenberg Ost (1950–53) BSG Stahl Stalinstadt (1953–59) |
- | - |
| FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt° | SG Erfurt West | Rot-Weiss Erfurt | SG Erfurt West (1946–48) SG Fortuna Erfurt (1948–49) KWU Erfurt (1949–50) Turbine Erfurt (1950–54) SC Turbine Erfurt (1954–65) |
2 | - |
| BSG Wismut Gera | SG Gera-Pforden | 1.SV Gera | 1.VfR Gera (?-1922)Allgemeinen Turngemeinde Gera (?-1922) SpVgg Gera 04 Concordia Gera-Reuß (?-1936) SG Gera-Pforden (1945–49) RFT Gera (?-1950) BSG Mechanik Gera (1950–51) BSG Motor Gera (1951–52) |
- | - |
| Hallescher FC Chemie Hallescher FC Hallescher FC is a German association football club based in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt.-History:The club's roots are in the 1946 formation of SG Glaucha in Soviet-occupied East Germany around the core of Hallescher Fußball-Club Wacker which was founded in 1900... ° |
SG Freiimfelde Halle | Hallescher FC | SG Freiimfelde Halle (1945–49) ZSG Union Halle (1949–50) BSG Turbine Halle (1950–54) SC Chemie Halle-Leune (1954–58) SC Chemie Halle (1958–66) |
2 | 2 |
| FC Carl Zeiss Jena FC Carl Zeiss Jena FC Carl Zeiss Jena is a German association football club based in Jena, Thuringia.-History:The club was founded in May 1903 by workers at the Carl Zeiss AG optics factory as the company-sponsored Fussball-Club der Firma Carl Zeiss. The club underwent name changes in 1911 to Fussball Club Carl Zeiss... ° |
1.SV Jena | FC Carl Zeiss Jena | FC der Firma Carl Zeiss (1903–11) FC Carl Zeiss Jena (1911–17, 1966-) Ernst-Abbe Jena (1946–48) Stadion Jena (1948–49) BSG Carl Zeiss Jena (1949–51) Mechanik Jena (1951) BSG Motor Jena (1951–54) SC Motor Jena (1954–66) |
3 | 4 |
| FC Karl-Marx-Stadt Chemnitzer FC Chemnitzer FC is a German association football club based in Chemnitz, Saxony.The roots of the club go back to its establishment as Chemnitzer BC 1933 in 1933 after the collapse of former Chemnitzer BC 1899.... ° |
None (founded 1945) | Chemnitzer FC | SG Chemnitz Nord (1945–48) BSG Fewa Chemnitz (1948–51) BSG Chemie Chemnitz (1951–53) SC Chemie Karl-Marx-Stadt (1953–56) SC Motor Karl-Marx-Stadt (1956–63) SC Karl-Marx-Stadt (1963–66) |
1 | - |
| BSG Chemie Leipzig FC Sachsen Leipzig FC Sachsen Leipzig was a German football club from Leipzig, Saxony. The roots of the club go back to 1899 and the founding of Britannia Leipzig. Following World War I, a 1919 merger with FC Hertha 05 Leipzig created Leipziger Sportverein 1899... |
TuRa Leipzig | FC Sachsen Leipzig | Britannia Leipzig (1899–1919) Hertha Leipzig (1905–19) Leipziger SV (1919–1938) SG Leipzig-Leutzsch (1945–49) Industrie Leipzig (1949–50) Dissolved (1954–63) Grün-Weiß Leipzig (1990) Chemie Böhlen (?-1990) |
2 | 1 |
| 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig Lokomotive Leipzig 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig is a German football club based in the city of Leipzig in Saxony and may be more familiar to many of the country's football fans as the historic side VfB Leipzig, the first national champions of Germany... ° |
VfB Leipzig | 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig | SG Probstheida (1946–54) SC Rotation Leipzig (1946–63) SC Leipzig (1963–65) VfB Leipzig (1896–1946, 1991–2004) |
- | 4 |
| 1. FC Magdeburg 1. FC Magdeburg 1. FC Magdeburg is a German association football club playing in Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt.-History:Football has been played in Magdeburg since the end of the 19th century. On 15 June 1896 SV Victoria 96 Magdeburg was founded, a club that had its best days before World War II, when it participated... ° |
None (founded 1945) | 1.FC Magdeburg | SG Sudenburg (1945) SG Lemsdorf (1945) SAG Krupp Grusson (1945–50) Eintracht Sudenburg (1945–51) Stahl Magdeburg (1951–52) Motor Mitte Magdeburg (1952–57) Aufbau Magdeburg (1957–65) SC Magdeburg (1965) |
3 | 8 |
| BSG Einheit Pankow | SG Pankow-Nord | VfB-Einheit zu Pankow | VfB Pankow (1893–1945) SG Pankow Nord (1945–51) VfB Pankow (1949–50) PSV Einheit Pankow (1990–91) |
- | - |
| BSG Motor WEMA Plauen VFC Plauen VFC Plauen is a German association football club from the city of Plauen, Saxony.-History:The club was founded as 1. Vogtländischer Fußballclub Plauen and took part in the competition of the VMFV... |
VFC Plauen | VFC Plauen | SG Plauen-West (1946–49) Sachsenverlag Plauen (1949–51) Rotation Plauen (1951–55) Wismit Plauen (1955–63) |
- | - |
| BSG Stahl Riesa Stahl Riesa TSV Stahl Riesa is a German association football club from Riesa in Saxony.-History:The club was founded as SC Riesa in 1903 in the cellar of the local pub "Bodega" and was re-named Riesaer SV two years later... |
Riesaer SV | TSV Stahl Riesa | SC Riesa (1903–05) FC Wettin (?-1917) SG Riesa (1945–48) Riesaer SV (1905–45) Stahlwerk Riesa (1945–48) FC Stahl Riesa (1990–91) Riesaer SV Blau-Weiß (1991–98) FC Stahl Riesa (1998–2003) |
- | - |
| FC Hansa Rostock° | SG Lauter | F.C. Hansa Rostock | SG Lauter (1946–49) BSG Freihet Wismut Lauter (1950–51) BSG Empor Lauter (1951–54) Empor Rostock (1954–65) |
1 | 1 |
| BSG Lokomotive Stendal Lok Stendal 1. FC Lok Stendal is a German association football club that plays in Stendal, Saxony-Anhalt.- History :Founded in 1909, FC Viktoria Stendal was dissolved in the aftermath of World War II and re-established in Soviet-occupied East Germany in 1945 as SG Stendal-Nord. The club underwent a number of... |
Viktoria Stendal | 1. FC Lok Stendal | SG Stendal-Nord (1945–48) Blau-Weiss Stendal (1948–49) SG Eintracht Stendal (1949) SG Blau-Weiß Stendal (1949) BSG "Hans Wendler" Stendal (1949–50) FSV Lok Altmark Stendal (1990–2002) |
- | - |
| BSG Sachsenring Zwickau FSV Zwickau FSV Zwickau is a German association football club located in Zwickau, Saxony. Today's club claims as part of its complex heritage sides that were East Germany's first champions: 1948 Ostzone winners SG Planitz and 1950 DDR-Oberliga champions ZSG Horch Zwickau.-History:In addition to the earliest... |
SG Planitz | FSV Zwickau | SC Planitz (-1945) SG Planitz (1945–49) ZSG Horch Zwickau (1949–50) BSG Motor Zwickau (1950–68) |
1 | 3 |
° Football club
Football club (GDR)
Football club was a designation for the elite football teams in the GDR . They were formed in the mid-1960s as centers of high-level football....
(FC), which were foundet 1965-66 as centers of high-level football in the GDR.
°° SG Dynamo Dresden was a sport-community with FC-status.