Gauliga Mitte
 |
|
| Country |
 Nazi Germany
|
|---|---|
|
States and Provinces |
|
| Gau (from 1934) | |
| Founded | 1933 |
| Folded | 1945 |
| Replaced by | DDR-Oberliga |
| Level on pyramid | Level 1 |
| Domestic cup(s) | Tschammerpokal |
| Last champions |
SV Dessau 05 (1943-44) |
The Gauliga Mitte was the highest football league in the Prussian province of Saxony and the German states of Thuringia and Anhalt from 1933 to 1945, all located in the center (German:Mitte) of Germany. Shortly after the formation of the league, the Nazis reorganised the administrative regions in Germany, and the Gaue Thuringia, Magdeburg-Anhalt and Halle-Merseburg replaced the states and Prussian province.
The league was introduced by the Nazi Sports Office 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.
Until the formation of the Gauliga, the region was covered by a number of local leagues and, together with clubs from state of Saxony, they played out a Central German championship (German: Mittel-Deutsche Meisterschaft).
In its first season, the league had ten clubs, playing each other once at home and once away. The league champion then qualified for the German championship. The bottom two teams were relegated. The league operated on the same modus until the outbreak of World War II in 1939.
Due to the effects of the war, the 1939-40 and 1940-41 seasons were played with only eight clubs. In 1941, the league returned to a ten-club strength, which it retained until 1944.
The imminent collapse of Nazi Germany in 1945 gravely affected all Gauligas and football in the region was split into six regional groups. However, none of them played more than a few games before the arrival of the Red Army, and the end of the war ended all competitions.
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Wikipedia