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We have limited information on German sports clubs, but believe they play a major role in German sports. German schools tended to give very limited attention to sports. Thus children and youth interested in sports joined clubs. Most of the clubs, especially before the NAZI era were male groups. Female sports clubs were very limited, if they existed at all. I have not noted images of girls' sports clubs. A German reader writes, "I guess there were sports clubs for girls with sports 'suitable for girls'". I'm not sure but I believe that before World War II this involved primarily youths and young men and not boys. Sports clubs seem to have have played a very important role in athlectics and sports. We have, however, very little informstion at this time. As far as we can tell it is Friedrich Ludwig Jahn who played a major role in popularizing gymnastics in Germany and it was his followers who founded the first athletic sports clubs. The importance of sports clubs seemed to have declined during the NAZI era, first because the Hitler Youth became the focus of youth activities and then because of the War.
Since World War II these clubs have again become important for sports including gymnastics, riflery, footbal, and others. Here we have a boy's group which was almost surely part of a German sports club (figure 1). The shirt logo suggests a Berlin group.
We have limited information on German sports clubs, but believe they play a major role in German sports. American schools play a najor role in sports. This was not the same in Germany. German schools tended to give very limited attention to sports. Thus children and youth interested in sports joined clubs.
Most of the clubs, especially before the NAZI era were male groups. Female sports clubs were very limited, if they existed at all. I have not noted images of girls' sports clubs. The NAZIs were certainly not feminists. In fact they moved to restrict opportunity for girls. They saw the place for women as the home, the kitchen and caring for the children. Athleticism was an exception, but primarily related to health and physical fitness. Healthy women could produce healty children. Thus physical fintness was part of the BDM program. The physical activities involved were for the most part not-comperive sports in contrast to male sports. A German reader writes, "I guess there were sports clubs for girls with sports 'suitable for girls'". A particular telling example was the images of uniformed girls doing coordinated gym displays. Often we see these girls wearing BDM gym uniforms. But we also note sports clubs as well, including clubs with mixed memberships. We can not identify the clubs, but the jersey logos tell us that they were not HJ/BDM units. Adter World War II, most of the sports clubs we see are for boys and young adult men.
We believe German sports clubs began to organize in the late-19th century. We see German sports clubs un the early-20th century. They vseem to be proimarily involved with gymnastics. Here we have a boy's group which was almost surely part of a German sports club (figure 1). The shirt logo suggests a Berlin group. It seems to date from the 1920s. A German reader tells us, "I'm not sure but I believe that before World War II this involved primarily youths and young men and not boys." We do not cluns with boys involved both before and after World War I. We continue to see Clubs in the 1930s during the NAZI era. During this period there was a significant expansion od sports activities for boys and atlrtics in general. The NAZIs wanted to improve the general pgydical fitness of German children. I am not ebtirely sure what hapaned to sports clubs. Some may have been incorporated into the HJ organization. But we continue to see clubs with uniform jerseys rather than HJ jerseys. The HJ wanted to control youth activities, but these clubs had both youth abd adult members. There may have been other NAZI organizations which incorporated the clubs, but allowed them to retain a degree of autonomy. We continue to see sports clubs after World War II. We believe that mzany boys plsyed soccer as part of club rather than school reams. Sports clubs seem to have have played a very important role in athlectics and sports. We have, however, very little informstion at this time. The importance of sports clubs seemed to have declined during the NAZI era, first because the Hitler Youth became the focus of youth activities and then because of the War.
Since World War II these clubs have again become important for sports including gymnastics, riflery, footbal, and others.
As far as we can tell it is Friedrich Ludwig Jahn who played a major role in popularizing gymnastics in Germany and it was his followers who founded the first athletic sports clubs.
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