Gauliga Niederrhein


The Gauliga Niederrhein was the highest football league in the northern part of the Prussian Rhine Province from 1933 to 1945. Shortly after the formation of the league, the Nazis reorganised the administrative regions in Germany, and the Gaue Essen and Düsseldorf replaced the Prussian province in the Lower Rhein region.

Overview

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.
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, 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 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 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 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, which covered all of the new state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Founding members of the league

The twelve founding members and their league positions in the 1932-33 season were:
The winners and runners-up of the league:
SeasonWinnerRunner-Up
1933-34VfL 06 BenrathFortuna Düsseldorf
1934-35VfL 06 BenrathFortuna Düsseldorf
1935-36Fortuna DüsseldorfVfL 06 Benrath
1936-37Fortuna DüsseldorfTuS Duisburg 48/99
1937-38Fortuna DüsseldorfSchwarz-Weiß Essen
1938-39Fortuna DüsseldorfSchwarz-Weiß Essen
1939-40Fortuna DüsseldorfSchwarz-Weiß Essen
1940-41TuS Helene AltenessenRot-Weiß Essen
1941-42SV Hamborn 07TuS Duisburg 48/99
1942-43BSG Westende HambornTuS Helene Altenessen
1943-44KSG SpV/48/99 DuisburgBSG Westende Hamborn

Placings in the Gauliga Niederrhein 1933-44

The complete list of all clubs participating in the league:
Club19341935193619371938193919401941194219431944
VfL 06 Benrath112879875
Fortuna Düsseldorf2211111597
SF Hamborn 07 33644354415
TuS Duisburg 48/99 3492488823
Borussia Mönchengladbach539
FV 08 Duisburg6479
Schwarz-Weiß Essen7786222369
Preußen Krefeld88610
Rheydter SpV911
BV Preußen Essen10
Alemannia Aachen 111
Schwarz-Weiß Barmen12
Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 353395656
Homberger SpV10
TuRu Düsseldorf55676710
Union Hamborn 310810
SSV Wuppertal 27569310
BV Altenessen 310
Rot-Weiß Essen 333244
BSG Westende Hamborn4792
VfB Hilden 0310
TuS Helene Altenessen1723
VfR Ohligs10
Union Krefeld810
KSG SpV/48/99 Duisburg 31
KSG Oberhausen 34
Gelb-Weiß Hamborn6
KSG Essen 38
KSG Hamborn 39