Before WWII, the owner of German football was without a doubt Schalke 04.
The drastic political (and social) change has its effect on the national football that Schalke 04 dominated. The Nazis, following the example of other nations, try to form a national league, but will fail in their attempts. However, the geographical restructuring of the former länder (states) to the 16 gaue (Nazi division of territory) causes changes in the competition system. From now on, the National (competition that we know today as the Bundesliga) will only be played by the 16 gaue champions. On the other hand, the anti-Semitic policy causes Jews to disappear from German football, thus banning a multitude of talents, such as Dori Kürschner or the Austrian Richard Kohn.
Later, with the Nazis in power, a club with a multitude of Polish surnames will become the owner of German football. Thus, by the time the Nazis lose the war a decade later, eleven Westphalian Gauligas (1934-1944) will have been played. S04 will have won them all. Although at the national level they will compete in eight of the eleven finals, they will triumph in six of them. Furthermore, with the premiere of the German Cup in 1935, the Pokal, named at the time after the Nazi sports leader Tschammer, reached five finals out of the first eight. However, you can only win one. Apart from the eleven regional leagues, at the national level there will be six national championships (more than half), one Pokal and fourteen national finals played.
The first championship with this format is achieved with a comeback that seemed unlikely. Szepan and Kuzorra come back thanks to two agonizing goals that mean total success for the miners. Thus, S04 achieves its first German league with goals in the 88th and 90th minutes. And after this triumph, German football looked to the 1934 World Cup.
It is curious, but the German champion is only represented by one player in the national team. Namely, Kuzorra, whose relationship with Nerz (coach) is bad, is one of the absent stars. At least Szepan will be the leader, since he is the captain and one of the few veterans. The German team falls in the semifinals, however, it does so with a bittersweet taste as it defeats post-Wünderteam Austria.
After the good World Cup, Schalke repeats its success by winning the two-time national championship, this time against VfB Stuttgart. They also reach the first final in the history of the Tschammer Cup, which they lose to Nürnberg. During 1937, Germany also played one of the best matches of the pre-war period. After the ridicule at the Olympic Games at home, where they fell under the gaze of the Nazi leadership - including Hitler - Otto Nerz stopped being a coach. They would have better luck organizing the 2006 World Cup , although without lifting the title.
Who replaces Otto Nerz is his second, Josef Herberger, who will be the coach of the country's first successes. The 8-0 against the Danes, undefeated in previous years, remains for history. They are two of Schalke's three attackers, Urban and Szepan, who completed the win.
Germany, which from then on achieved great results until becoming a power in the 1950s , will be affected by the territorial annexation of Austria a few months before the World Cup. In principle it was thought that it would help to have a better selection with the great quality of the Austrians. However, it ends up breaking the stability and harmony of the favorite team for the '38 World Cup.
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