Sports associations (East Germany)

Mass performance as old German tradition with athletes at the Central Stadium (Leipzig, GDR)

Sports Associations (German: Sportvereinigung (SV), German pronunciation: [ˈspɔʁtˌfɛɐ̯ˈʔaɪ̯nɪɡʊŋ]) in East Germany were nation-wide sports agencies for certain economic branches of the whole society, which were members of the Deutscher Turn- und Sportbund (DTSB) Members of biggest social employers had their own branch sports clubs or the Sportvereinigung.

Central sports associations were set up in East Germany based on the Soviet model as a result of a decision by the German Sport Committee (German: Deutscher Sportausschuss) (DS) on 3 April 1950. The decision envisaged the formation of central sports associations based on the union structure in East Germany, where each sports association represented a trade union area. A total of 18 sports associations were set up after 1950.

14 of 18 sports association were dissolved as independent organizations after the founding of the DTSB in 1957.[1][2] Only the sports associations SV Dynamo, ASV Vorwärts, SV Lokomotive and SV Wismut survived the reorganization. They continued as district organizations within the DTSB.[3] The sports associations SV Dynamo and ASV Vortwärts received a special position within the DTSB and were allowed to retain their statutes.[4][5] SV Lokomotive and SV Wismut held their status district organizations of the DTSB until 1978 when the two sports associations were dissolved.[6]

After 1954 they separated amateur sport from professional sport, and from 1961, most Trade Sports-Associations of sports societies in the GDR had been closed but existed under single clubs with the name Betriebssportgemeinschaft or BSG ("Enterprise Sports Community"). In 1966, the football sections were separated and they used the name football club (FC). They had to conform to the rules of the East German Sports Association. The sections of the associations were called Sports Clubs (SCs) for only the professional athletes.

  1. ^ Reichelt, Frank (1995). Das System des Leistungssports in der DDR: Darstellung der Struktur und des Aufbaus anhand ausgewählter Beispiele (1st ed.). Hamburg: Diplomica Verlag GmbH. p. 31. ISBN 9783832429607.
  2. ^ Fechner, Carmen (25 August 2011). "Die Frühgeschichte der Sportvereinigung Dynamo. Hegemoniebestrebungen, Dominanzverhalten nd das Rivalitätsverhältnis zur Armeesportvereinigung "Vorwärts"" (PDF) (in German). Berlin: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin: 32, 36, 137. doi:10.18452/16499. Retrieved 6 December 2021. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. ^ Mike, Dennis; Grix, Jonathan (2012). Sport under Communism – Behind the East German 'Miracle' (1st ed.). Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan (Macmillan Publishers Limited). p. 39. ISBN 978-0-230-22784-2.
  4. ^ Braun, Jutta (13 January 2013). "Gutachten zum Themenfeld "Sport" für die Enquete-Kommission 5/1 "Aufarbeitung der Geschichte und Bewältigung von Folgen der SED-Diktatur und des Übergangs in einen demokratischen Rechtsstaat im Land Brandenburg"" (PDF) (in German). Potsdam: Zentrum deutsche Sportgeschichte Berlin-Brandenburg (ZdS): 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 December 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. ^ Zink, Falko (December 2009). Written at Kaiserslautern. "Der Sport und seine Institutionen im Spannungsfeld von Staat und Politik: Eine zeitgeschichtliche Untersuchung zur Anpassungsfähigkeit der Institutionen des Sports" (in German). Saarbrucken: Saarland University: 126–127. Retrieved 6 December 2021. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. ^ Fechner, Carmen (25 August 2011). "Die Frühgeschichte der Sportvereinigung Dynamo. Hegemoniebestrebungen, Dominanzverhalten nd das Rivalitätsverhältnis zur Armeesportvereinigung "Vorwärts"" (PDF) (in German). Berlin: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin: 116. doi:10.18452/16499. Retrieved 6 December 2021. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)