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 sports clubs.
While some clubs were re-formed, others were not, and many that emerged had been renamed, merged with their neighbours, or even split. The instability continued throughout the East German era, with 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.
| GDR name | Pre-GDR name | Current name | Other names | GDR Titles | GDR Cups |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BSG Wismut Aue | Pneumatik Aue | FC Erzgebirge Aue | BSG Pneumatik Aue (1946–49) BSG Zentra Wismut Aue (1949–51) SC Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt (1954–63)[1] FC Wismut Aue (1990–93) |
3 | 1 |
| BSG Rotation Babelsberg | SG Babelsberg | Fortuna Babelsberg | SG Babelsberg (1946–49) BSG Märkische Volksstimme Potsdam-Babelsberg (1949–50) BSG DEFA Babelsberg (1969–90) |
- | - |
| Berliner FC Dynamo° | None (formed 1966) | Berliner FC Dynamo | SC Dynamo Berlin (1954–66)[nb 1] FC Berlin (1990–99) |
10 | 3 |
| 1. FC Union Berlin° | SC Union Oberschöneweide | 1. FC Union Berlin | FC Olympia Oberschöneweide (1906–1906) BTuFC Helgoland (1906-07) BTuFC Union 1892 (1907-09) SC Union Oberschöneweide (1909-45) SG Oberschöneweide (1945–48) SG Union Oberschöneweide (1948–51) BSG Motor Oberschöneweide (1951–55) SC Motor Berlin (1955–57) TSC Oberschöneweide (1957–63) TSC Berlin (1963–66) |
- | 1 |
| BSG Chemie Böhlen | None (founded 1969) | SV Chemie Böhlen[2] | BSG Brennstoff Böhlen (1949–52)[3] BSG Benzinwerk Böhlen (1949–52)[4] BSG Aktivist Böhlen (1952–68)[5] SV Chemie Böhlen (1990)[2] |
- | - |
| FC Vorwärts Berlin° FC Vorwärts Frankfurt/Oder°[nb 2] |
None (founded 1951) | 1. FC Frankfurt | SV VP Vorwärts Leipzig (1951–53) SV Vorwärts der HVA Leipzig (1952-52) SV Vorwärts der KVP Leipzig (1952-53) SV Vorwärts der KVP Berlin (1953-53) ZSK Vorwärts der KVP Berlin (1953-54) ZSK Vorwärts Berlin (1954–56) ZASK Vorwärts Berlin (1956-57) ASK Vorwärts Berlin (1957–66)[nb 3] FC Victoria 91 Frankfurt (1991–92) FFC Viktoria 91 (1992–2012)[nb 4] |
6 | 2 |
| BSG Stahl Brandenburg | 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)[6] SC Cottbus (1963–66) |
- | - |
| BSG Motor Dessau | SV Dessau 05 | SV Dessau 05 | FC Adler (1905) Dessauer FC (1905–1919) SV BAMAG Dessau (?–1919) VfR Dessau (1919–21)[7] SpVgg Dessau (?–1921)[8] 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°° | None (founded 1953) | SG Dynamo Dresden | SG Volkspolizei Dresden (1948–50) SV Deutsche Volkspolizei Dresden (1950-1953)[nb 5] 1. FC Dynamo Dresden (1990–2007) |
8 | 7 |
| SG Friedrichstadt | Dresdner SC | Dresdner SC | Dresdner SC (1898-1945) None (disbanded 1950–91)[nb 6] |
- | - |
| BSG Stahl Eisenhüttenstädt | None (founded 1950) | FC Eisenhüttenstädt | BSG Stahl Fürstenberg Ost (1950–53) BSG Stahl Stalinstadt (1953–59) Eisenhüttenstädter FC Stahl (1990–2016)[14] |
- | - |
| FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt° | SG Erfurt West | Rot-Weiss Erfurt | SG Erfurt West (1946–48)[15] SG Fortuna Erfurt (1948–49) KWU Erfurt (1949–50) BSG Turbine Erfurt (1950–54) SC Turbine Erfurt (1954–65)[16] |
2 | - |
| BSG Wismut Gera | SG Gera-Pforden | BSG Wismut Gera | 1. VfR Gera (?–1922) Allgemeinen Turngemeinde Gera (?–1922) SpVgg Gera 04[17] Concordia Gera-Reuß (?–1936)[18] SG Gera-Pforden (1945–49) RFT Gera (?–1950) BSG Mechanik Gera (1950–51)[19] BSG Motor Gera (1951–52) FSV Wismut Gera (1990–93) 1. SV Gera (1993–2007) FV Gera Süd (2007–09) |
- | - |
| Hallescher FC Chemie° | 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° | 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° | 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 | TuRa Leipzig | BSG Chemie Leipzig[nb 7] | TuRa Leipzig (1938-44) KSG Leipzig (1944-45) [nb 8] SG Leipzig-Leutzsch (1945–49) ZSG Industrie Leipzig (1949–50)[nb 9] Dissolved (1954–63)[nb 10] BSG Chemie Leipzig (1963-90) FC Grün-Weiß Leipzig (1990) FC Sachsen Leipzig (1990-2011) SG Leipzig-Leutzsch (2011-13) SG Sachsen Leipzig (2013-14) |
2 | 1 |
| 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig° | VfB Leipzig | 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig | VfB Leipzig (1896-98) VfB 1893 Sportbrüder Leipzig (1898-1900) VfB Leipzig (1900-45) SG Probstheida (1946–50) BSG Erich Zeigner Probstheida (1950-53) BSG Einheit Ost (1953-45) SC Rotation Leipzig (1954–63)[nb 11] SC Leipzig (1963–65)[nb 12] 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig (1966-1991)[nb 13] VfB Leipzig (1991–2004[nb 14] |
- | 4 |
| 1. FC Magdeburg° | None (founded 1945) | 1. FC Magdeburg | SG Sudenburg (1945) SG Lemsdorf (1945) SAG Krupp Grusson (1945–50) Eintracht Sudenburg (1945–51)[20] BSG Stahl Magdeburg (1951–52) BSG Motor Mitte Magdeburg (1952–57) SC Aufbau Magdeburg (1957–65) SC Magdeburg (1965) |
3 | 8[21] |
| BSG Einheit Pankow | SG Pankow-Nord | VfB Einheit zu Pankow[22] | VfB Pankow (1893–1945, 1949–50) SG Pankow Nord (1945–51) PSV Einheit Pankow (1990–91) |
- | - |
| BSG Motor WEMA Plauen | VFC Plauen | VFC Plauen | SG Plauen-West (1946–49) Sachsenverlag Plauen (1949–51)[23] Rotation Plauen (1951–55) Wismut Plauen (1955–63) |
- | - |
| BSG Stahl Riesa | Riesaer SV | BSG Stahl Riesa | SC Riesa (1903–05) FC Wettin (?–1917)[24] SG Riesa (1945–48) Riesaer SV (1905–45) Stahlwerk Riesa (1945–48) FC Stahl Riesa (1990–91) Riesaer SV Blau-Weiß (1991–98)[25] FC Stahl Riesa (1998–2003)[26] TSV Stahl Riesa (2003–12) |
- | - |
| FC Hansa Rostock° | SG Lauter | F.C. Hansa Rostock | SG Lauter (1946–49) BSG Freihet Wismut Lauter (1950–51) BSG Empor Lauter (1951–54)[nb 15] SC Empor Rostock (1954–65)[nb 16] |
1 | 1 |
| BSG Lokomotive Stendal | 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)[29] FSV Lok Altmark Stendal (1990–2002)[30] |
- | - |
| BSG Sachsenring Zwickau | SG Planitz | FSV Zwickau | SC Planitz (-1945) SG Planitz (1945–49) ZSG Horch Zwickau (1949–50) BSG Motor Zwickau (1950–68)[31] |
1 | 3 |
° Football clubs (FC), which were founded 1965-66 as centers of high-level football in the GDR.
°° SG Dynamo Dresden was a sports community with FC status.
- ^ Despite being named Karl-Marx-Stadt for much of their time in the DDR-Oberliga, Wismut continued to play in Aue.
- ^ a b In 1990 the first team of SV Chemie Böhlen merged with GW Leipzig, forming FC Sachsen Leipzig. The reserve team continued as SV Chemie Böhlen.
- ^ BSG Brennstoff Böhlen were renamed Aktivist Mitte Böhlen in 1951.
- ^ BSG Benzinwerk Böhlen were renamed Aktivist West Böhlen in 1951.
- ^ Aktivist Mitte Böhlen and Aktivist West Böhlen were merged in BSG Chemie Böhlen on 1 January 1969.
- ^ SC Aktivist Brieske-Senftenberg was being moved from Senftenberg to Cottbus in 1963
- ^ Dessauer FC and SV BAMAG Dessau merged in 1919, forming VfR Dessau 1905.
- ^ SpVgg Dessau and VfR Dessau merged in 1921, forming SV Dessau 05
- ^ a b "Dynamo Dresden - Gestern und Heute". dynamo-dresden.de (in German). Dresden: SG Dynamo Dresden e.V. n.d. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
- ^ a b Mike, Dennis; Grix, Jonathan (2012). Sport under Communism – Behind the East German 'Miracle' (1st ed.). Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan (Macmillan Publishers Limited). p. 136. ISBN 978-0-230-22784-2.
- ^ "Die Geschichte Dynamo Dresdens". 3-liga.com (in German). Lübeck: Niels-Frederik Popien. 29 June 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
- ^ Hesse-Lichtenberger, Ulrich (2003). Tor!: The Story of German Football (3rd ed.). London: WSC Books Ltd. p. 226. ISBN 095401345X.
- ^ Grüne, Hardy (1 June 2020). "Der angefeindete Serienmeister des Ostens". Fußball-Woche (de) (in German). Hamburg: SPM Sportplatz Media GmbH. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
- ^ FC Eisenhüttenstadt absorbed Eisenhüttenstadt FC Stahl in 2016.
- ^ SG Erfurt West encompassed the area of the city once served by SC Erfurt 1895 and VfB Erfurt and drew footballers who had played for these clubs.
- ^ SC Turbine Erfurt absorbed Optima Erfurt in 1965, one year before becoming Rot-Weiss Erfurt.
- ^ ATG Gera and VfR Gera merged in 1922, forming SpVgg Gera 04
- ^ In 1936, Concordia Gera-Reuss merged with SpVgg Gera to form SV Gera 04.
- ^ RFT Gera and Gera-Pforden merged in 1950, forming BSG Mechanik Gera.
- ^ BSG Eintracht Sudenburg were formed from a merger of SG Sudenburg and SG Lemsdorf in 1945. They absorbed SAG Krupp Grusson in 1950.
- ^ 1. FC Magdeburg also won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1974, the only European trophy to go to East Germany.
- ^ In 1991 PSV Einheit Pankow and VfB Pankow were merged in VfB-Einheit zu Pankow.
- ^ BSG Sachsenring Plauen absorbed SG-Plauen West in 1949 and Zellwolle Plauen in 1950.
- ^ FC Wettin were swallowed up by Riesaer SV in 1917.
- ^ Riesaer SV absorbed SC Riesa-Röderau (formerly Chemie Riesa) in 1998.
- ^ FC Stahl Riesa were declared bankrupt in 2003. The same year, they were re-established by fans as TSV Stahl Riesa.
- ^ a b Hesse-Lichtenberger, Ulrich (2003). Tor!: The Story of German Football (3rd ed.). London: WSC Books Ltd. pp. 225–226. ISBN 095401345X.
- ^ Mike, Dennis; Grix, Jonathan (2012). Sport under Communism – Behind the East German 'Miracle' (1st ed.). Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan (Macmillan Publishers Limited). p. 138. ISBN 978-0-230-22784-2.
- ^ SG "Hans Wendler" Stendal were formed in 1949 after a merger of Eintracht Stendal with two railway sides, Reichsbahn Stendal and RAW Stendal.
- ^ FSV Lokomotive Altmark Stendal went bankrupt in 2002, but merged with neighbours 1. FC Stendal, forming 1. FC Lokomotive Stendal.
- ^ BSG Sachsenring Zwickau were formed in 1968, from a merger between BSG Motor Zwickau and Aktivist Karl Marx Zwickau.
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