The Eishockey-Bundesliga ("Federal Ice Hockey League") was formed in 1958 as the elite hockey competition in the Federal Republic of Germany , replacing the Oberliga in this position. From the 1994–95 season, it was in turn replaced by the Deutsche Eishockey Liga , which now also carries the name 1st Bundesliga in its logo. The DEL, originally administered by the DEB , the German Ice Hockey Federation , became an independent league in 1997.
164-736: With the German reunion, the Bundesliga became a truly nationwide league, initially including two teams from the former East Germany . Ice hockey was first played in Germany in 1887, in Berlin , and it was there that the first ice hockey department of a sports club was formed, as part of the Berliner SC . The history of the German ice hockey championship began in 1912 when the Berliner SC won
328-715: A legal fiction , and the Soviet sector of Berlin became fully integrated into the GDR. The deepening Cold War conflict between the Western Powers and the Soviet Union over the unresolved status of West Berlin led to the Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949). The Soviet army initiated the blockade by halting all Allied rail, road, and water traffic to and from West Berlin. The Allies countered
492-610: A bar in Essen for DM 8,000. The DEB banned the guilty players and, eventually, deducted a large number of points from the two teams. At that stage the Kölner EC was already playing in the play-off quarter finals, which had to be repeated since the KEC was not qualified for them anymore after losing the points. Of the two new clubs, ESV Kaufbeuren qualified for the play-offs while EHC 70 München , successor to FC Bayern's ice hockey department,
656-492: A club joined the league that had never played at top level before, the EC Deilinghofen . The SC Riessersee, often branded as a rough team, won its first championship since 1960 in the 1977–78 season, one point ahead of Berliner SC after 46 games in a for once unchanged modus. At the bottom of the league, Deilinghofen, who had only been promoted after 2nd Bundesliga champions ESV Kaufbeuren declined for financial reasons,
820-514: A couple of lean seasons in regards to success and money. The KEC defeated the DEG in three games in the best of three final, coached by Swede Hardy Nilsson , a former player. In the relegation zone, Bayreuth was another uncompetitive newcomer that found itself promptly relegated and replaced by Eintracht Frankfurt's ice hockey department, which returned to the Bundesliga after a long absence. After struggling against relegation for four consecutive seasons,
984-726: A critical legitimization tool in the last decades and mixed socialist and traditional elements about equally. At the Yalta Conference during World War II, the Allies , i.e., the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK), and the Soviet Union (USSR), agreed on dividing a defeated Nazi Germany into occupation zones , and on dividing Berlin, the German capital, among the Allied powers as well. Initially, this meant
1148-462: A distant last. During the 1979–80 season, the league scheduled a break in its scheduling to allow players to compete in ice hockey at the 1980 Winter Olympics with the Germany men's national ice hockey team . The highlight of the 1980–81 season should have been the introduction of play-offs to the league, for which the best eight teams qualified, and SC Riessesee's last-ever championship. However,
1312-509: A few sections of the Berlin Wall were opened, resulting in thousands of East Germans crossing freely into West Berlin and West Germany for the first time in nearly 30 years. Krenz resigned a month later, and the SED opened negotiations with the leaders of the incipient Democratic movement, Neues Forum , to schedule free elections and begin the process of democratization. As part of this process,
1476-522: A future, reunited Germany. The GDR ceased to exist when its five states ("Länder") joined the Federal Republic of Germany under Article 23 of the Basic Law , and its capital East Berlin united with West Berlin on 3 October 1990. Several of the GDR's leaders, notably its last communist leader Egon Krenz , were later prosecuted for offenses committed during the GDR era. The official name
1640-637: A labour protest, the action soon included the general populace, and on 17 June similar protests occurred throughout the GDR, with more than a million people striking in some 700 cities and towns. Fearing anti-communist counter-revolution , on 18 June 1953 the government of the GDR enlisted the Soviet Occupation Forces to aid the police in ending the riot; some fifty people were killed and 10,000 were jailed (see Uprising of 1953 in East Germany ). The German war reparations owed to
1804-549: A large amount of territories in the Westphalian region and created the Province of Westphalia in 1815. After in 1816, the former Duchy of Westphalia and the counties of Wittgenstein and in 1851 the condominium of Lippstadt had joined the province, Westphalia had received its modern territorial shape. In 1816, the governmental districts of Arnsberg, Minden and Münster were created. After World War II in 1946,
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#17327757631111968-423: A league for all of Germany, including the lone two East German clubs EHC Dynamo Berlin and PEV Weißwasser , formerly Dynamo Weißwasser. Both clubs struggled in the new competition and found themselves in eleventh and twelfth place in the expanded league. A play-down format between the bottom four clubs was than used to determine the relegated teams, with the two East German sides competing against each other. Berlin
2132-529: A long absence. The 1994–95 season saw all twelve Bundesliga clubs from 1993 to 1994 compete in the DEL, with defending champions EC Hedos München folding halfway through. Apart from the twelve, six 2nd Bundesliga teams were also admitted to the league, the Augsburger EV, ESC Frankfurt , EC Hannover , EC Kassel, EHC 80 Nürnberg and ES Weißwasser. The 2nd Bundesliga, like the Bundesliga, was disbanded. Behind
2296-478: A number of times in the 1980s. The 1970–71 saw the league reduced to ten teams but the number of season games remaining at 36 per club. Because of this, the league did not have a new club in it and ended with the familiar result of EV Füssen taking out another championship. In this season, the league also introduced the Friday-Sunday rhythm of games, with a team playing one home and one away game per weekend,
2460-573: A part of the North German Plain , most of Westphalia's north is flat. In the south the German Central Uplands emerge. Westphalia is divided into the following landscapes. Flat to hilly (498 m or 1,634 ft and under): East Westphalia , Münsterland , eastern Ruhr Metropolitan Area , Tecklenburg Land , Westphalian Hellweg Hilly to mountainous (up to 843 m or 2,766 ft): Westphalian part of
2624-555: A picnic near the border at Sopron (near Hungary's border with Austria). The local Sopron organizers knew nothing of possible GDR refugees, but envisaged a local party with Austrian and Hungarian participation. But with the mass exodus at the Pan-European Picnic, the subsequent hesitant behavior of the Socialist Unity Party of East Germany and the non-intervention of the Soviet Union broke the dams. Thus
2788-605: A primary goal of ridding East Germany of all traces of Nazism . It is estimated that between 180,000 and 250,000 people were sentenced to imprisonment on political grounds. In the Yalta and Potsdam conferences of 1945, the Allies established their joint military occupation and administration of Germany via the Allied Control Council (ACC), a four-power (US, UK, USSR, France) military government effective until
2952-622: A province of Prussia and later state part of North Rhine-Westphalia, the term "Westphalia" was applied to different territories of different sizes such as the western part of the ancient Duchy of Saxony , the Duchy of Westphalia or the Kingdom of Westphalia . The Westphalian language , a variant of the Low German language , is spoken beyond modern Westphalia's borders in neighbouring southwestern Lower Saxony and northwestern Hesse . Being
3116-463: A single division, 22 games each. At the end of this, the best eight teams played another home-and-away round against each other. The championship was won for the first time by the EV Landshut, while Cologne and Frankfurt were relegated. The Bad Tölz versus Bad Nauheim produced the highest ever draw in the league when the two sides finished the game with scoren eight goals each, a result repeat later
3280-700: A socialist political constitution establishing its control of the Anti-Fascist National Front of the German Democratic Republic (NF, Nationale Front der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik ), an omnibus alliance of every party and mass organisation in East Germany. The NF was established to stand for election to the Volkskammer ( People's Chamber ), the East German parliament. The first and only president of
3444-475: A system that would remain in place for the duration of the league and beyond. At the bottom end, the Mannheimer ERC was relegated, to be replaced with Preußen Krefeld, at least in theory. Only nine clubs competed in the 1971–72 season because Preußen Krefeld, who had won promotion in an impressive fashion the previous year, folded and was never to reform. Consequently, no club had to fear relegation while
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#17327757631113608-729: A trend that would soon become commonplace in the Bundesliga, to import Canadian players of German origins, the Deutschkanadier , who would be eligible to play for the West German ice hockey team and not take up any of the limited spots for foreigners per team. On the ice, the expansion meant that the main round was reduced from four to two games per team, 22 each. and the champions and relegation rounds were staged with six teams each. The Kölner EC won its second title while Augsburg and Kaufbeuren dropped out again. The game between Düsseldorfer and Berlin that season saw 22 goals scored, with
3772-492: Is a bilateral Treaty between two States, to which the rules of international law apply and which like any other international treaty possesses validity, it is between two States that are parts of a still existing, albeit incapable of action as not being reorganized, comprehensive State of the Whole of Germany with a single body politic. Travel between the GDR and Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary became visa-free from 1972. From
3936-505: Is a complete list of clubs in the Bundesliga, sorted by the last season a club played in the league. Of these clubs the EV Landshut has played the longest in the league, having entered the Bundesliga in 1963–64 and never been relegated again, competing in 31 of 36 possible seasons: East Germany in Europe (dark grey) East Germany ( German : Ostdeutschland , [ˈɔstˌdɔʏtʃlant] ), officially known as
4100-570: Is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia . It has an area of 20,210 square kilometres (7,800 sq mi) and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the historic Province of Westphalia , which was a part of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1815 to 1918 and the Free State of Prussia from 1918 to 1946. In 1946, Westphalia merged with North Rhine , another former part of Prussia, to form
4264-975: Is known for the 1648 Peace of Westphalia which ended the Thirty Years' War , as the two treaties were signed in Münster and Osnabrück . It is one of the regions that were part of all incarnations of the German state since the Early Middle Ages : the Holy Roman Empire , the Confederation of the Rhine , the German Confederation , the North German Confederation , the German Empire ,
4428-648: Is the Westphalian Steed: a white horse on a red field. It is derived from the Saxon Steed in the coat of arms of the medieval Duchy of Saxony which most of today's Westphalia was part of. In official contexts the coat of arms of Westphalia is being used by the Westphalia-Lippe Regional Association, which represents these two historic parts of North Rhine-Westphalia. The coat of arms of North Rhine-Westphalia uses
4592-579: The Republikflucht ("desertion from the republic") to West Germany, further weakening the GDR's economy. Western economic opportunities induced a brain drain . In response, the GDR closed the inner German border , and on the night of 12 August 1961, East German soldiers began erecting the Berlin Wall . In 1971, Ulbricht was removed from leadership after Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev supported his ouster; Erich Honecker replaced him. While
4756-582: The DEB , wanted the two clubs that had finished third and failed in the promotion round in the league as they were big names, the ice hockey departments of FC Bayern and Eintracht Frankfurt . Neither impressed during a season that saw EV Füssen defend its title, the last club to do so until 1987. New to the league, apart from Frankfurt, were the Augsburger EV , while the SC Riessersee made a return. At
4920-737: The East Bloc states. This policy saw the Treaty of Moscow (August 1970), the Treaty of Warsaw (December 1970), the Four Power Agreement on Berlin (September 1971), the Transit Agreement (May 1972), and the Basic Treaty (December 1972), which relinquished any separate claims to an exclusive mandate over Germany as a whole and established normal relations between the two Germanies. Both countries were admitted into
5084-569: The German Democratic Republic ( GDR ; Deutsche Demokratische Republik , [ˈdɔʏtʃə demoˈkʁaːtɪʃə ʁepuˈbliːk] , DDR ), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally viewed as a communist state and described itself as a socialist "workers' and peasants' state". The economy of
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5248-591: The Hallstein Doctrine (1955), West Germany did not establish (formal) diplomatic ties with any country – except the Soviets ;– that recognized East German sovereignty. In the early 1970s, the Ostpolitik ("Eastern Policy") of "Change Through Rapprochement" of the pragmatic government of FRG Chancellor Willy Brandt , established normal diplomatic relations with
5412-499: The SED general secretary Walter Ulbricht assumed most executive authority. Socialist leader Otto Grotewohl (1894–1964) became prime minister until his death. The government of East Germany denounced West German failures in accomplishing denazification and renounced ties to the Nazi past, imprisoning many former Nazis and preventing them from holding government positions. The SED set
5576-840: The Sauerland , Siegerland , Wittgenstein Eastern Ruhr Metropolitan Area East Westphalia Münsterland Siegerland Westphalia is roughly the region in between the rivers Rhine and Weser , located both north and south of the Ruhr River. Other important rivers are the Ems and the Lippe . The Langenberg (843 m or 2,766 ft) and the Kahler Asten (842 m or 2,762 ft) in
5740-599: The Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) in the Soviet-controlled zone. However, the SED quickly transformed into a full-fledged Communist party as the more independent-minded Social Democrats were pushed out. The Potsdam Agreement committed the Soviets to support a democratic form of government in Germany, though the Soviets' understanding of democracy was radically different from that of
5904-721: The Soviet-occupied zone , bounded on the east by the Oder-Neiße line . The GDR was dominated by the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED), a communist party , before being democratized and liberalized in 1989 as a result of the pressure against communist governments brought by the Revolutions of 1989 . This paved the way for East Germany's reunification with the West. Unlike the government of West Germany,
6068-602: The Treaty of Tilsit in 1807 made the easternmost portion of today's Westphalia part of the French client Kingdom of Westphalia until 1813, when the kingdom was dissolved by the Russians. While this state shared its name with the historical region, it only contained a relatively small part of Westphalia, rather consisting of mostly Hessian and Eastphalian regions. Following to the Congress of Vienna , Prussia received
6232-481: The United Nations and the Helsinki Final Act . This assessment of the Basic Treaty was confirmed in a decision of the Federal Constitutional Court in 1973; the German Democratic Republic is in the international-law sense a State and as such a subject of international law. This finding is independent of recognition in international law of the German Democratic Republic by the Federal Republic of Germany. Such recognition has not only never been formally pronounced by
6396-566: The Weimar Republic and National Socialist Germany . After World War II it was a part of the British occupation zone which merged with the American zone to become the Bizone in 1947 and again merged with the French zone to become the Trizone in 1948. The current Federal Republic of Germany was founded on these territories making Westphalia a part of West Germany . It is a part of united Germany since 1990. Around AD 1 there were numerous incursions through Westphalia and perhaps even some permanent Roman or Romanized settlements. The Battle of
6560-413: The Westphalian variant of the Low German language , Central German and Low Franconian dialects are spoken in the Northern Rhineland. These different regional identities are often being emphasized by different majorities of denomination between Roman Catholics and Lutheran Protestants . The different majorities date back to the days of the territorial fragmentation of the Holy Roman Empire (of
6724-426: The de facto and de jure government, but also the sole de jure legitimate representative of a dormant "Germany as whole". The two Germanies each relinquished any claim to represent the other internationally; which they acknowledged as necessarily implying a mutual recognition of each other as both capable of representing their own populations de jure in participating in international bodies and agreements, such as
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6888-495: The elections of October 1946 . The SED government nationalised infrastructure and industrial plants. In March 1948 the German Economic Commission ( Deutsche Wirtschaftskomission –DWK) under its chairman Heinrich Rau assumed administrative authority in the Soviet occupation zone, thus becoming the predecessor of an East German government. On 7 October 1949 the SED established the Deutsche Demokratische Republik (German Democratic Republic – GDR), based on
7052-557: The equestrian statue of Frederick the Great was removed from East Berlin. Instead, the SED focused on the progressive heritage of German history, including Thomas Müntzer 's role in the German Peasants' War of 1524–1525 and the role played by the heroes of the class struggle during Prussia's industrialization. Other notable figures and reformers from Prussian history such as Karl Freiherr vom Stein (1757–1831), Karl August von Hardenberg (1750–1822), Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767–1835), and Gerhard von Scharnhorst (1755–1813) were upheld by
7216-414: The fall of the Berlin Wall and the establishment of a government committed to liberalization. The following year, a free and fair election was held in the country, and international negotiations between the four former Allied countries and the two German states commenced. The negotiations led to the signing of the Final Settlement treaty , which replaced the Potsdam Agreement on the status and borders of
7380-406: The shock-therapy style of privatization , the artificially high rate of exchange offered for the Ostmark , and the speed with which the entire process was implemented did not leave room for East German enterprises to adapt. There were four periods in East German political history. These included: 1949–1961, which saw the building of socialism; 1961–1970 after the Berlin Wall closed off escape
7544-456: The 'state anti-fascism' of the GDR gave way to the 'state anti-communism' of the FRG. From then on, the dominant interpretation of GDR history, based on the concept of totalitarianism, led to the equivalence of communism and Nazism. Historian Anne-Kathleen Tillack-Graf shows, with the help of the newspaper Neues Deutschland , how the national memorials of Buchenwald , Sachsenhausen and Ravensbrück were politically instrumentalised in
7708-406: The 17th and 18th centuries, but most of it remained divided by duchies and other areas of feudal power. The Peace of Westphalia of 1648, signed in Münster and Osnabrück, ended the Thirty Years' War . The concept of nation-state sovereignty resulting from the treaty became known as " Westphalian sovereignty ". After the defeat of the Prussian Army by the French at the Battle of Jena–Auerstedt ,
7872-422: The 1990s, the majority of West German historians described the Normandy landings in June 1944 as an "invasion", exonerated the Wehrmacht of its responsibility for the genocide of the Jews and fabricated the myth of a diplomatic corps that "did not know". On the contrary, Auschwitz was never a taboo in the GDR. The Nazis' crimes were the subject of extensive film, theatre and literary productions. In 1991, 16% of
8036-414: The Communist Party of the Soviet Union , Joseph Stalin , issued a proposal to reunify Germany with a policy of neutrality, with no conditions on economic policies and with guarantees for "the rights of man and basic freedoms, including freedom of speech, press, religious persuasion, political conviction, and assembly" and free activity of democratic parties and organizations. The West demurred; reunification
8200-504: The DEG and Weßling/Starnberg. And while the champions only lost one game all season Weßling/Starnberg managed to only win one, with the club promptly dissolved at the end. In its second season, the Bundesliga saw the end of EV Füssen's series of seven championships in a row, with the title going to SC Riessersee instead after a championship-clinching game at Garmisch-Partenkirchen in front of 12,000 that saw SCR win 6–4. Riessersee only lost one game all season, away against EVF, and drew once,
8364-475: The Düsseldorfer EG reach the final for a sixth consecutive time. The other team, EC Hedos München, played in the final for the first time but disposed of the DEG in three games to win the championship and take the title to Munich for the first time since 1922. Because of the DEL, relegation turned out to be irrelevant, with EC Ratingen nominally relegated while Schwenninger ERC held the league against EC Kassel . Augsburger EV would have been directly promoted, after
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#17327757631118528-466: The Düsseldorfer EG, Preußen Krefeld and VfL Bad Nauheim all making a return. After a home-and-away season of 18 games each, which the EV Füssen won with an eleven-point advantage, the league was split again between top and bottom, now two groups of five. Unlike in the past however, points from the first part of the season could not be transferred and EC Bad Tölz was crowned champions with a two-point advantage despite having earned nine points less than EVF. At
8692-516: The Düsseldorfer EG, the best supported club in Germany with a spectator average of almost 10,000 per home game, took out the championship while EV Füssen came second. The following year, this order was reversed with the EVF first and the DEG second. It was to be the last-ever title for the club from Füssen and marked the end of the Bavarian dominance, with championships going to the state now becoming as rare as they had been commonplace. The league modus experienced another change when, instead of ten clubs
8856-501: The EV Füssen to a fourth-place finish, the worst in its post war era at the time. The league itself was played with ten teams again, but the modus had changed. A northern and a southern division of five clubs each was played followed by a six team championship round of the best three of each division. The bottom clubs in the league had to face the best teams of the second tier in the promotion-relegation round and SC Riessersee, ESV Kaufbeuren and Berliner SC were all relegated and replaced with
9020-486: The EV Rosenheim meant that the ice hockey department joined the SB Rosenheim instead, a lucky move that would soon pay off. Apart from the financial troubles, Augsburger EV would also declare insolvency at the end of the season and drop down to the Oberliga , Mannheim and Rosenheim were also accused of fielding players without correct transfer papers. Consequently, both clubs had points deducted but later reinstalled again. Mannheim, under coach Heinz Weisenbach , also started
9184-416: The East German state was defined by two dominant forces – Soviet communism on the one hand, and German traditions filtered through the interwar experiences of German communists on the other. Throughout its existence GDR consistently grappled with the influence of the more prosperous West, against which East Germans continually measured their own nation. The notable transformations instituted by
9348-452: The East of Berlin). Over time, however, the abbreviation "DDR" was also increasingly used colloquially by West Germans and West German media. When used by West Germans, Westdeutschland ( West Germany ) was a term almost always in reference to the geographic region of Western Germany and not to the area within the boundaries of the Federal Republic of Germany. However, this use was not always consistent and West Berliners frequently used
9512-585: The FRG. While in West Germany, a work of memory on the resurgence of Nazism was carried out, this was not the case in the East. Indeed, as Axel Dossmann, professor of history at the University of Jena , notes, "this phenomenon was completely hidden. For the state-SED (the East German communist party), it was impossible to admit the existence of neo-Nazis, since the foundation of the GDR was to be an anti-fascist state. The Stasi kept an eye on them, but they were considered to be outsiders or thick-skinned bullies. These young people grew up hearing double talk. At school, it
9676-415: The Federal Republic of Germany but on the contrary repeatedly explicitly rejected. If the conduct of the Federal Republic of Germany towards the German Democratic Republic is assessed in the light of its détente policy, in particular, the conclusion of the Treaty as de facto recognition, then it can only be understood as de facto recognition of a special kind. The special feature of this Treaty is that while it
9840-417: The Federal Republic of Germany, while East and West Berlin united as a third city-state (in the same manner as Bremen and Hamburg ). On 1 July, a currency union preceded the political union: the "Ostmark" was abolished, and the Western German "Deutsche Mark" became the common currency. Although the Volkskammer 's declaration of accession to the Federal Republic had initiated the process of reunification,
10004-420: The GDR, particularly during the celebrations of the liberation of the concentration camps. Although officially built in opposition to the 'fascist world' in West Germany, in 1954, 32% of public administration employees were former members of the Nazi Party . However, in 1961, the share of former NSDAP members among the senior Interior Ministry administration staff was less than 10% in the GDR, compared to 67% in
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#173277576311110168-431: The GDR. SPDA Vice President Wolfgang Thierse , for his part, complained in Die Welt about the rise of the extreme right in the everyday life of the inhabitants of the former GDR, in particular the terrorist group NSU, with the German journalist Odile Benyahia-Kouider explaining that "it is no coincidence that the neo-Nazi party NPD has experienced a renaissance via the East". The historian Sonia Combe observes that until
10332-404: The German Democratic Republic was Wilhelm Pieck . However, after 1950, political power in East Germany was held by the First Secretary of the SED, Walter Ulbricht . On 16 June 1953, workers constructing the new Stalinallee boulevard in East Berlin according to the GDR's officially promulgated Sixteen Principles of Urban Design , rioted against a 10% production-quota increase. Initially
10496-441: The German Nation) which existed until 1806. The Münsterland and the region around Paderborn for instance are still mainly Catholic regions because of the former existence of the prince-bishoprics of Münster and Paderborn . The mainly Reformed Lippe was even able to retain its independence as a small state within Germany in the form of a principality until 1918 and as a free state until 1946. This continues to influence
10660-442: The German labour movement and the victims of the camps, it was "staged, censored, ordered" and, during the 40 years of the regime, was an instrument of legitimisation, repression and maintenance of power. In May 1989, following widespread public anger over the faking of results of local government elections, many GDR citizens applied for exit visas or left the country contrary to GDR laws. The impetus for this exodus of East Germans
10824-434: The Nazis consolidated all power and criminalized them, and official East German and Soviet histories portrayed this merger as a voluntary pooling of efforts by the socialist parties and symbolic of the new friendship of German socialists after defeating their common enemy; however, there is much evidence that the merger was more troubled than commonly portrayed, and that the Soviet occupation authorities applied great pressure on
10988-401: The SC Riessersee, last of the original eight from 1958 to never have dropped out of the league, finally fell. The club would not return to the Bundesliga again but at least made a brief top-level comeback in the DEL some years later. The Kölner EC again took out the championship and again needed only three games in the finals to do so, this time against Mannheim. Ice hockey returned to Berlin in
11152-406: The SED as examples and role models. The communist regime of the GDR based its legitimacy on the struggle of anti-fascist militants. A form of resistance "cult" was established in the Buchenwald camp memorial site, with the creation of a museum in 1958, and the annual celebration of the Buchenwald oath taken on 19 April 1945 by the prisoners who pledged to fight for peace and freedom. In the 1990s,
11316-415: The SED did not see its state as the successor to the German Reich (1871–1945) and abolished the goal of unification in the constitution ( 1974 ). The SED-ruled GDR was often described as a Soviet satellite state ; historians described it as an authoritarian regime. Geographically the GDR bordered the Baltic Sea to the north, Poland to the east, Czechoslovakia to the southeast, and West Germany to
11480-477: The SED eliminated the clause in the East German constitution guaranteeing the Communists leadership of the state. The change was approved in the Volkskammer on 1 December 1989 by a vote of 420 to 0. East Germany held its last election in March 1990 . The winner was Alliance for Germany , a coalition headed by the East German branch of West Germany's Christian Democratic Union , which advocated speedy reunification. Negotiations ( 2+4 Talks) were held involving
11644-411: The SPD's eastern branch to merge with the KPD, and the communists, who held a majority, had virtually total control over policy. The SED remained the ruling party for the entire duration of the East German state. It had close ties with the Soviets, which maintained military forces in East Germany until the dissolution of the Soviet regime in 1991 ( Russia continued to maintain forces in the territory of
11808-632: The Sauerland part of the Rothaar Mountains are Westphalia's and also North Rhine-Westphalia's highest mountains. The term "Westphalia" contrasts with the much less used term " Eastphalia ", which roughly covers the southeastern part of the present-day state of Lower Saxony , western Saxony-Anhalt and northern Thuringia . Westphalia is divided into three governmental districts . These are subdivided into further districts and independent cities . All districts and independent cities of
11972-766: The Saxon Steed. Composed in Iserlohn in 1886 by Emil Rittershaus , the Westfalenlied is an unofficial anthem of Westphalia. While the Northern Rhineland, Westphalia and Lippe are different historic territories of today's North Rhine-Westphalia , the old border between the former Rhine Province and the Province of Westphalia is also a language border. While in Westphalia and Lippe, people tend to speak West Low German dialects and especially
12136-452: The Soviets administered their zone without regard to the policies implemented in the other zones. The Soviets withdrew from the ACC in 1948; subsequently, as the other three zones were increasingly unified and granted self-government, the Soviet administration instituted a separate socialist government in its zone. Seven years after the Allies' 1945 Potsdam Agreement on common German policies,
12300-520: The Soviets impoverished the Soviet Zone of Occupation and severely weakened the East German economy. In the 1945–46 period the Soviets confiscated and transported to the USSR approximately 33% of the industrial plant and by the early 1950s had extracted some US$ 10 billion in reparations in agricultural and industrial products. The poverty of East Germany, induced or deepened by reparations, provoked
12464-619: The Soviets with the Berlin Airlift (1948–49) of food, fuel, and supplies to West Berlin. On 21 April 1946 the Communist Party of Germany ( Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands – KPD) and the part of the Social Democratic Party of Germany ( Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands – SPD) in the Soviet zone merged to form the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED – Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands ), which then won
12628-856: The Teutoburg Forest took place near Osnabrück, which at this time was a place of settlement of the Westphalians, who were a part of the Germanic tribe of the Saxons . Some of the tribes who fought at this battle came from the area of Westphalia. Charlemagne is thought to have spent considerable time in Paderborn and nearby parts. His Saxon Wars also partly took place in what is thought of as Westphalia today. Popular legends link his adversary Widukind to places near Detmold, Bielefeld, Lemgo, Osnabrück and other places in Westphalia. Widukind
12792-632: The USSR via the Stalin Note (10 March 1952) proposed German reunification and superpower disengagement from Central Europe, which the three Western Allies (the United States, France, the United Kingdom) rejected. Soviet leader Joseph Stalin , a Communist proponent of reunification, died in early March 1953. Similarly, Lavrenty Beria , the First Deputy Prime Minister of the USSR, pursued German reunification, but he
12956-575: The Ulbricht government had experimented with liberal reforms, the Honecker government reversed them. The new government introduced a new East German Constitution which defined the German Democratic Republic as a "republic of workers and peasants". Initially, East Germany claimed an exclusive mandate for all of Germany, a claim supported by most of the Communist bloc. It claimed that West Germany
13120-626: The United Nations on 18 September 1973. This also increased the number of countries recognizing East Germany to 55, including the US, UK and France, though these three still refused to recognize East Berlin as the capital, and insisted on a specific provision in the UN resolution accepting the two Germanies into the UN to that effect. Following the Ostpolitik, the West German view was that East Germany
13284-491: The VfL Bad Nauheim, the short-lived merger club SG Oberstdorf/Sonthofen and the equally short-lived ice hockey department of FC Bayern Munich . The season also produced the second-ever goalless draw when neither Mannheim nor Düsseldorfer scored during their game, something that would not happen again until 1987–88. EV Füssen took out the league title once more in 1967–68, in a season with only slight modifications to
13448-581: The West more accessible than ever before, 30,000 East Germans made the crossing via Czechoslovakia in the first two days alone. To try to stem the outward flow of the population, the SED proposed a law loosening travel restrictions. When the Volkskammer rejected it on 5 November, the Cabinet and Politburo of the GDR resigned. This left only one avenue open for Krenz and the SED: completely abolishing travel restrictions between East and West. On 9 November 1989,
13612-527: The West. As in other Soviet-bloc countries, non-communist political parties were allowed. Nevertheless, every political party in the GDR was forced to join the National Front of Democratic Germany , a broad coalition of parties and mass political organisations, including: Westphalia Westphalia ( / w ɛ s t ˈ f eɪ l i ə / ; German : Westfalen [vɛstˈfaːlən] ; Low German : Westfalen [vεs(t)ˈfɔːln] )
13776-474: The Westphalia-Lippe Regional Association uses these colours with the Westphalian coat of arms in its centre. The flag of North Rhine-Westphalia is a combination of the Northern Rhineland's colours green/white and the Westphalian white/red. The flag of the Prussian Province of Westphalia already displayed the colours white and red. The flag of Lower Saxony shows the colours of Germany and
13940-726: The Westphalian Steed to represent Westphalia as one of its parts alongside the Lippish Rose representing Lippe and the Rhine River representing the Northern Rhineland. Prussia already used the Westphalian Steed in the coat of arms of its Province of Westphalia . The coat of arms of Lower Saxony uses a different version of the Saxon Steed since the state also covers large parts of the Old Saxons' duchy. The colours of Westphalia are white and red. The flag of
14104-509: The act of reunification itself (with its many specific terms, conditions and qualifications, some of which involved amendments to the West German Basic Law) was achieved constitutionally by the subsequent Unification Treaty of 31 August 1990 – that is, through a binding agreement between the former Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic, now recognising each other as separate sovereign states in international law. The treaty
14268-766: The barrier of the Eastern Bloc was broken. Tens of thousands of East Germans, alerted by the media, made their way to Hungary, which was no longer ready to keep its borders completely closed or force its border troops to open fire on escapees. The GDR leadership in East Berlin did not dare to completely lock down their own country's borders. The next major turning point in the exodus came on 10 September 1989, when Hungarian Foreign Minister Gyula Horn announced that his country would no longer restrict movement from Hungary into Austria. Within two days, 22,000 East Germans crossed into Austria; tens of thousands more did so in
14432-597: The beginning, the newly formed GDR tried to establish its own separate identity. Because of the imperial and military legacy of Prussia , the SED repudiated continuity between Prussia and the GDR. The SED destroyed a number of symbolic relics of the former Prussian aristocracy ; Junker manor-houses were torn down, the Berliner Stadtschloß was razed and the Palace of the Republic was built in its place, and
14596-699: The border on the Iron Curtain . In particular, it tested whether Moscow would give the Soviet troops stationed in Hungary the command to intervene. Extensive advertising for the planned picnic was made by the Paneuropean Union through posters and flyers among the GDR holidaymakers in Hungary. The Austrian branch of the Paneuropean Union , which was then headed by Karl von Habsburg , distributed thousands of brochures inviting GDR citizens to
14760-566: The bottom of the league, Freiburg had returned, now as EHC instead of ERC, and survived the relegation round. ESV Kaufbueren was not so lucky and replaced by another up and coming club, the EC Hedos München . The most successful era of the Düsseldorfer EG began with the 1989–90 season, with the club winning the regular season and then overcoming champions SB Rosenheim in five games in the finals. The two clubs that had to enter
14924-440: The bottom of the league, the VfL Bad Nauheim dropped out again and was replaced by the former champions Berliner SC. The 1966–67 season, in retrospect, marked a turning point of German ice hockey, also not an instantaneous one, the shift from the dominance of small-town Bavarian teams to the clubs from the large cities. The Düsseldorfer EG ended a spell of championships for Bavarian clubs that had lasted since 1951 and also condemned
15088-417: The building of the Berlin Wall in 1961. The idea of opening the border at a ceremony came from Otto von Habsburg , who proposed it to Miklós Németh , then Hungarian Prime Minister, who promoted the idea. The patrons of the picnic, Habsburg and Hungarian Minister of State Imre Pozsgay , who did not attend the event, saw the planned event as an opportunity to test Mikhail Gorbachev 's reaction to an opening of
15252-564: The capital. However, the Western Allies disputed this recognition, considering the entire city of Berlin to be occupied territory governed by the Allied Control Council . According to Margarete Feinstein, East Berlin's status as the capital was largely unrecognized by the West and by most Third World countries. In practice, the ACC's authority was rendered moot by the Cold War , East Berlin's status as occupied territory largely became
15416-566: The club from Westphalia could not hold the league and EV Landshut was promoted instead. EV Füssen also took out the next two championships, 1963–64 and 1964–65, while Preußen Krefeld (1964) and Eintracht Dortmund (1965) were the relegated teams. In between, in June 1963, the DEB was formed, ice hockey having previously been part of the Deutsche Eissport-Verband . The 1965–66 season saw the league expanded to ten teams, with
15580-549: The communist regime were particularly evident in the abolition of capitalism, the overhaul of industrial and agricultural sectors, the militarization of society, and the political orientation of both the educational system and the media. On the other hand, the new regime made relatively few changes in the historically independent domains of the sciences, the engineering professions, the Protestant churches, and in many bourgeois lifestyles. Social policy, says Ritter, became
15744-598: The country was centrally planned and state-owned . Although the GDR had to pay substantial war reparations to the Soviets, its economy became the most successful in the Eastern Bloc . Before its establishment, the country's territory was administered and occupied by Soviet forces following the Berlin Declaration abolishing German sovereignty in World War II . The Potsdam Agreement established
15908-530: The dominating side of this era, winning seven titles in twelve seasons, six of those in series from 1953 to 1958. Apart from Füssen, the Oberliga proved an inconsistent league, with members fluctuating season-by-season and consequently, in 1958, the decision was made to form a Bundesliga , the first ever league in Germany to carry that name. In autumn 1958, the new Ice hockey Bundesliga started with eight clubs in its first season. Apart from Riessersee, Füssen and
16072-453: The early 1970s, West Germany maintained that East Germany was an illegally constituted state. It argued that the GDR was a Soviet puppet-state, and frequently referred to it as the "Soviet occupation zone". West Germany's allies shared this position until 1973. East Germany was recognized primarily by socialist countries and by the Arab bloc , along with some "scattered sympathizers". According to
16236-407: The end of the season, FC Bayern was relegated and soon disbanded its ice hockey department. Preußen Krefeld was the other team dropping out of the league and the club folded only two years later. The league remained at a strength of twelve teams for the 1969–70 season, with ESV Kaufbeuren and Kölner EK the new teams. The modus however had been changed again, all teams played a home-and-away round in
16400-423: The final result of 12–10 being the first time that two clubs in the same Bundesliga game scored in the double figures. The search for the perfect modus continued in 1979–80, with an extra round introduced after the regular season. The twelve clubs were split into three groups of four, with the best eight overall than entering the championship round while the worst four played against relegation. The complicated modus
16564-475: The financially strong northern clubs recruiting a large number of players from the southern ones. Consequently, spectator numbers for the Bavarian clubs like Riessersee, Bad Tölz and Füssen went down, making it even more difficult to retain their young players. In the north, another championship was won by the well-supported DEG, with Berlin coming second. At the bottom end, Kaufbeuren was replaced by Rosenheim for
16728-401: The first 0-all draw in Bundesliga history. In a league with an unchanged modus, the two new clubs, VfL Bad Nauheim and ESV Kaufbeuren , finished last. Only one team was relegated however, Kaufbeuren. The season also saw the league's biggest ever score and highest defeat when Bad Tölz beat Kaufbeuren 28–0. In its third season, 1960–61, the league remained at a strength of eight clubs but doubled
16892-509: The first edition of the competition. The BSC was also to become the most dominating side in German ice hockey before the Second World War , winning 17 out of a possible 21 editions until 1937, with its best run of six consecutive championships between 1928 and 1933. The MTV München (1922), SC Riessersee (1927 & 1935) and Brandenburg Berlin (1934) were the only other clubs to earn some honours in this era. From 1938 onwards,
17056-472: The first golden era of the Kölner EC began with the club taking out titles in 1976–77 and 1978–79. The team from Cologne was generally the first to be seen as bought together rather than having grown. The success of the club was brought about by the club's chairman, Jochem Erlemann , an investment banker. Unknown to club and players, Erlemann invested other people's money into the club, without their approval and eventually would serve eight years in jail for it. On
17220-409: The following weeks. Many other GDR citizens demonstrated against the ruling party , especially in the city of Leipzig . The Leipzig demonstrations became a weekly occurrence, with a turnout of 10,000 people at the first demonstration on 2 October, peaking at an estimated 300,000 by the end of the month. The protests were surpassed in East Berlin, where half a million demonstrators turned out against
17384-654: The form of BSC Preußen , successor to the Berliner SC, in 1987–88. The club was not competitive in the league but survived nevertheless because ECD Iserlohn folded midway. Iserlohn, formerly the EC Deilinghofen, was already under threat of folding before the season started but was allowed to participate anyway and made a desperate rescue attempt when chairman Heinz Weifenbach negotiated an advertising contract in which his club would advertise Muammar Gaddafi 's Green Book on its shirts. After only one game, this
17548-491: The formation of the DEL stood the financial risk clubs were taking to survive in the Bundesliga, as a drop inevitably meant a massive financial loss. It was decided that this could only be addressed by forming a league like the National Hockey League where clubs were safe from relegation and therefore financially more stable. In the 1998–99 season, a national league was reintroduced by the DEB which carried
17712-447: The formation of three zones of occupation, i.e., American, British, and Soviet. Later, a French zone was carved out of the US and British zones. The ruling communist party, known as the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED), formed on 21 April 1946 from the merger between the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). The two former parties were notorious rivals when they were active before
17876-658: The former East Germany until 1994), with the purpose of countering NATO bases in West Germany. As West Germany was reorganized and gained independence from its occupiers (1945–1949), the GDR was established in East Germany in October 1949. The emergence of the two sovereign states solidified the 1945 division of Germany. On 10 March 1952, (in what would become known as the " Stalin Note ") the General Secretary of
18040-420: The full integration of the German Democratic Republic into the Federal Republic of Germany. Because of the resulting deindustrialization in the former East Germany, the causes of the failure of this integration continue to be debated. Some western commentators claim that the depressed eastern economy is a natural aftereffect of a demonstrably inefficient command economy . But many East German critics contend that
18204-1019: The governmental districts of Arnsberg and Münster are considered to be a part of Westphalia as a historic region. The District of Lippe as successor of the Free State of Lippe in the Governmental District of Detmold is rather considered to be a separate historic region. [REDACTED] Governmental District of Arnsberg 3,582,497 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2018 ) 8,010 km (3,094 sq mi) (all districts and independent cities) [REDACTED] Governmental District of Detmold 1,706,919 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2018 ) 5,280 km (2,038 sq mi) (all districts and independent cities except District of Lippe ) [REDACTED] Governmental District of Münster 2,623,619 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2018 ) 6,920 km (2,671 sq mi) (all districts and independent cities) The traditional symbol of Westphalia
18368-416: The ice the league modus had been slightly altered again. After the 36 games of the regular round a championship- and relegation round was added. The top six played for the championship while the bottom four played against relegation, in another home-and-away series within each group. In the end, new club AEV was relegated from the league again, under unfortunate circumstances on the last day of the season, while
18532-430: The identity of its people who often distinguish themselves from neighbouring regions such as East Westphalia . In addition to these historic, lingual and religious aspects, there are some regional differences in culture and mentality. That is why many of the citizens of North Rhine-Westphalia rather see themselves either as "Rhinelanders", "Westphalians" or "Lippers" rather than as "North Rhine-Westphalians". Westphalia
18696-452: The league was expanded to eleven, courtesy to the promotion of both Berliner SC and EV Rosenheim . The later was found to be uncompetitive in the league however, only accumulating twelve points in 40 season games and being relegated again. Alongside the EVR, ESV Kaufbeuren was also relegated while the big-spending newcomer from Berlin finished fifth. It was also the last season of the Oberliga as
18860-529: The league was maintained with Dynamo Berlin having made an instant return to the league, followed by EC Ratingen , in the Bundesliga for the first time. While Ratingen qualified for the play-offs, Dynamo came last but saved itself in the play-downs. The two clubs from the Black Forest , Schwenninger ERC and EHC Freiburg had to face each other in the play-down final, which Schwenningen lost while Freiburg faced 2nd Bundesliga club Weißwasser for one more place in
19024-431: The league. Freiburg won but was refused a license, which was instead awarded to Schwenninger ERC. The play-offs saw Düsseldorfer EG and Kölner EC competing in the final once more, which was decided in a game five overtime win for Düsseldorf. The 1993–94 season was to become the 36th and last of the Bundesliga, the DEL being formed shortly afterwards. The SB Rosenheim had returned to the league for its final season, which saw
19188-456: The modus. Of the bottom two teams of each division which had to defend their league place the northern clubs both succeeded while the southern clubs both failed. SG Oberstdorf/Sonthofen consequently folded while the FC Bayern was saved by the fact that the league was expanded to twelve teams. The league expansion of 1968 is generally explained by the fact that the German ice hockey federation,
19352-423: The name Bundesliga for a season. The following year, the DEL reached an agreement with the DEB , allowing the former to use the name Bundesliga while the DEB league was branded the 2nd Bundesliga. The league champions, championship winning coaches and top scorers from the establishment of the league in 1958–59 to its disbanding in 1994: The statistics from 1958 to 1980: The statistics from 1981 to 1994: This
19516-442: The national championship featured Austrian clubs as well and twice the title went to Vienna after this. The war disrupted the championship and between 1941 and 1947 only one season was played, in 1944. In this era, teams came from all over Germany, including areas that would not be part of Germany any more after 1945. Ice hockey restarted in the occupied Germany in 1947 and began with two regional leagues, north and south, of which
19680-520: The newly created state of North Rhine-Westphalia. In 1947, the state with its two historic parts was joined by a third one: Lippe, a former principality and free state . The seventeen districts and nine independent cities of Westphalia and the single district of Lippe are members of the Westphalia-Lippe Regional Association ( Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe ). Previous to the formation of Westphalia as
19844-489: The next season. The league modus unchanged in 1975–76, the Berliner SC won its second post-war title in convincing fashion while, at the bottom, the last three clubs finished on equal points and the goals for-against had to decide who would finish on the tenth and last place and be relegated. It was to be the EC Bad Tölz, thereby disappearing from the Bundesliga for good, replaced by the Augsburger EV. From 1976 onwards,
20008-405: The number of season games to 28 per team. Füssen rectified the slip-up of the previous year, winning the league again, Bad Nauheim was relegated and new team Eintracht Dortmund survived in seventh place. The 1961–62 modus was different again from the previous year. After 14 games each the league was split into top- and bottom eight, with each group playing another home-and-away series just against
20172-461: The official name and its abbreviation, instead using terms like Ostzone (Eastern Zone), Sowjetische Besatzungszone (Soviet Occupation Zone; often abbreviated to SBZ ) and sogenannte DDR or "so-called GDR". The centre of political power in East Berlin was – in the West – referred to as Pankow (the seat of command of the Soviet forces in Germany was in Karlshorst , a district in
20336-408: The play-offs. On the negative side, both VfL Bad Nauheim and Berliner SC became insolvent and dropped out of the league. The league shrunk in size in 1982–83, now having only ten teams again. A double round of home-and-away games, 36 each, was followed by the play-offs contested by the top eight. The EV Landshut was the surprise champions, the second title for the club after 1970. On both occasions, it
20500-460: The population in West Germany and 6% in East Germany had antisemitic prejudices. In 1994, 40% of West Germans and 22% of East Germans felt that too much emphasis was placed on the genocide of the Jews. Historian Ulrich Pfeil , nevertheless, recalls the fact that anti-fascist commemoration in the GDR had "a hagiographic and indoctrination character". As in the case of the memory of the protagonists of
20664-455: The present state of North Rhine-Westphalia was created by the British military government from the former Prussian Province of Westphalia and the northern half of the former Prussian Rhine Province . The old governmental districts of 1816 stayed in place. When in 1947 the former Free State of Lippe with its capital Detmold joined North Rhine-Westphalia, the "Governmental District of Minden"
20828-538: The regime on 4 November. Kurt Masur , conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra , led local negotiations with the government and held town meetings in the concert hall. The demonstrations eventually led Erich Honecker to resign in October; he was replaced by a slightly more moderate communist, Egon Krenz . The massive demonstration in East Berlin on 4 November coincided with Czechoslovakia formally opening its border to West Germany. With
20992-415: The relegation round with the best eight from the 2nd Bundesliga, EV Landshut and EHC Freiburg, both survived and consequently were able to play in the league for another season. The greatest change the league experienced however was a political one, the German reunion . Two clubs from the former East Germany would join the league in the following season. From the 1990–91 season onwards, the Bundesliga became
21156-478: The restoration of German sovereignty. In eastern Germany, the Soviet Occupation Zone (SBZ – Sowjetische Besatzungszone ) comprised the five states ( Länder ) of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern , Brandenburg , Saxony , Saxony-Anhalt , and Thuringia . Disagreements over the policies to be followed in the occupied zones quickly led to a breakdown in cooperation between the four powers, and
21320-522: The risky crossing into Austria but remained instead in Hungary or claimed asylum in West German embassies in Prague or Budapest . The opening of a border gate between Austria and Hungary at the Pan-European Picnic on 19 August 1989 then set in motion a chain reaction leading to the end of the GDR and disintegration of the Eastern Bloc. It was the largest mass escape from East Germany since
21484-541: The season was overshadowed by one of the biggest scandals in German ice hockey. The German consulate in Edmonton, Alberta , Canada, had sent a message to the DEB highlighting that a number of Canadian ice hockey players were living and playing in Germany with fake German passports. Eventually, seven players at the Duisburger SC and three at the Kölner EC were found to have obtained fake passports, which were sold in
21648-534: The second division, the 2nd Bundesliga being introduced in 1973. After a 37-year wait, the Berliner SC won another championship in 1973–74 in a league which had returned to ten clubs and 36 season games. New to the Bundesliga was the Kölner EC while the Augsburger EV was relegated and the ESV Kaufbeuren promoted. The 1974–75 seasons saw a continuation of the south–north shift of German ice hockey, with
21812-435: The second-last of the league's founding members that played in it uninterruptedly since day one. Füssen became insolvent at the end of the season, restarted in the 2nd Bundesliga but never returned to the top flight again. In the 1983–84 season, the league once more made a slight modus change, introducing a round of two groups of four between the regular season and the play-offs and skipping the quarter-finals instead. The final
21976-647: The southwest and west. Internally, the GDR also bordered the Soviet sector of Allied-occupied Berlin , known as East Berlin , which was also administered as the country's de facto capital. It also bordered the three sectors occupied by the United States , United Kingdom , and France known collectively as West Berlin ( de facto part of the FRG). Emigration to the West was a significant problem as many emigrants were well-educated young people; such emigration weakened
22140-410: The state economically. In response, the GDR government fortified its inner German border and later built the Berlin Wall in 1961. Many people attempting to flee were killed by border guards or booby traps such as landmines . In 1989 numerous social, economic, and political forces in the GDR and abroad, one of the most notable being peaceful protests starting in the city of Leipzig , led to
22304-424: The sudden-death format in the play-offs. SB Rosenheim turned out to be the surprise team of the season, finishing fifth after the regular season. The team managed to reach the final where they defeated the Mannheimer ERC and took home their first ever-championship. Of the new teams, ERC Freiburg, like two years before, could not keep up and was relegated while local rivals Schwenninger ERC came close to qualifying for
22468-540: The teams in its group. The reason for this was the large gap between top and bottom clubs which resulted in very one-sided games. The EC Bad Tölz became the third different champion in four seasons while newly promoted club ESV Kaufbeuren finished fifth and Eintracht Dortmund last. Direct relegation was however abolished and Dortmund had the chance to hold the league in a promotion-relegation round, which it completed successfully. The following year saw Füssen on top again and Dortmund last in an unchanged modus. This time however
22632-509: The term Westdeutschland to denote the Federal Republic. Before World War II, Ostdeutschland (eastern Germany) was used to describe all the territories east of the Elbe ( East Elbia ), as reflected in the works of sociologist Max Weber and political theorist Carl Schmitt . Explaining the internal impact of the GDR government from the perspective of German history in the long term, historian Gerhard A. Ritter (2002) has argued that
22796-402: The third game, Rosenheim's Bundesliga era temporarily ended, the club withdrawing for financial reasons to the 2nd Bundesliga. Initially, this again would have saved relegated PEV Weißwasser, but the club was eventually refused a license and had to step down anyway. Weißwasser's misfortune saved Landshut who was initially relegated after losing to PEV in the play-downs. An East German presence in
22960-481: The two German states and the former Allies , which led to agreement on the conditions for German unification. By a two-thirds vote in the Volkskammer on 23 August 1990, the German Democratic Republic declared its accession to the Federal Republic of Germany. The five original East German states that had been abolished in the 1952 redistricting were restored. On 3 October 1990, the five states officially joined
23124-476: The two champions played a national final, won by SC Riessersee, which marked the beginning of a Bavarian dominance in the sport in Germany. In the following year, the Eishockey-Oberliga (English: Ice hockey premier league ) was formed, consisting of six clubs, those being the SC Riessersee, EV Füssen , Augsburger EV , Preußen Krefeld , Krefelder EV and VfL Bad Nauheim . The EV Füssen soon became
23288-600: The two teams from Krefeld, the EC Bad Tölz , Mannheimer ERC , Düsseldorfer EG and the SG Weßling/Starnberg were also part of this first season. The league was played in a home-and-away format, 14 games per team, with no play-offs at the end, which were only introduced in 1980. The top placed team in the league won the championship, the EV Füssen, while the teams placed seventh and eighth were relegated,
23452-410: Was Deutsche Demokratische Republik (German Democratic Republic), usually abbreviated to DDR (GDR). Both terms were used in East Germany, with increasing usage of the abbreviated form, especially since East Germany considered West Germans and West Berliners to be foreigners following the promulgation of its second constitution in 1968. West Germans, the western media and statesmen initially avoided
23616-516: Was a de facto government within a single German nation and a de jure state organisation of parts of Germany outside the Federal Republic. The Federal Republic continued to maintain that it could not within its own structures recognize the GDR de jure as a sovereign state under international law; but it fully acknowledged that, within the structures of international law, the GDR was an independent sovereign state. By distinction, West Germany then viewed itself as being within its own boundaries, not only
23780-657: Was a period of stability and consolidation; 1971–1985 was termed the Honecker Era, and saw closer ties with West Germany; and 1985–1990 saw the decline and extinction of East Germany. The ruling political party in East Germany was the Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands ( Socialist Unity Party of Germany , SED). It was created in 1946 through the Soviet-directed merger of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) and
23944-553: Was admitted to the league to replace the ERC Freiburg, but had to little time to prepare and was heavily outclassed, finishing the season in last place, with only eight points. The club was relegated and made room for the SV Bayreuth . From 1985 onwards, the second golden era of the Kölner EC began, winning three titles in a row. In 1985–86, the final was contested against the arch rival Düsseldorfer EG, who had just overcome
24108-446: Was an illegally-constituted puppet state of NATO. However, from the 1960s onward, East Germany began recognizing itself as a separate country from West Germany and shared the legacy of the united German state of 1871–1945 . This was formalized in 1974 when the reunification clause was removed from the revised East German constitution. West Germany, in contrast, maintained that it was the only legitimate government of Germany. From 1949 to
24272-428: Was blamed for Riessersee not defending its title, which went, for the first time, to the Mannheimer ERC and its Canadian-German star players. While Mannheim was, unjustly criticised for playing them other clubs already fielded foreigners with fake passports, which would blow out the following season. At the bottom of the league, new club Duisburger SC had no trouble saving itself in seventh place while ERC Freiburg came
24436-568: Was buried in Enger , which is also a subject of a legend. Along with Eastphalia , Angria and Nordalbingia , Westphalia (Westfalahi) was originally a district of the Duchy of Saxony . At the time, large portions of its territory in the north lay in what today is Lower Saxony . Following the deposition of the Saxon duke Henry the Lion in 1180 and the subsequent belittlement of the duchy, Westphalia
24600-411: Was due to its coach, the Czech Karel Gut . Landshut's championship team was low-cost, with the lowest budged in years for a championship winning side, achieved through the fact that 20 of its players were local boys who had been born in Landshut . Apart from them, only Erich Kühnhackl and the two Canadian Laycock brothers were not born in Landshut. Only one club was relegated that season, the EV Füssen,
24764-401: Was elevated to a duchy in its own right by Emperor Barbarossa . The Duchy of Westphalia comprised only a small area south of the Lippe River . Modern Westphalia was a part of the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire, which comprised territories of Lower Lorraine , Frisia and parts of the former Duchy of Saxony . As a result of the Protestant Reformation , there
24928-470: Was enlarged by this territory and renamed "Governmental District of Detmold". In total, North Rhine-Westphalia is subdivided into five governmental districts ( Regierungsbezirke ) . Westphalia today consists of the old governmental districts of Arnsberg and Münster and of Detmold (including the District of Lippe , which is a separate historical region). Inhabitants of the region call themselves Westphalians and their home region Westphalia even though there
25092-450: Was eventually relegated while Weißwasser was saved by the withdrawal of Eintracht Frankfurt from the league. In the top eight, the DEG reached the final again, this time against Cologne, which it defeated in five games. The 1991–92 season saw the return of a former German champion, with the Krefelder EV having been promoted, alongside ESV Kaufbeuren. Krefeld qualified for the play-offs which saw Düsseldorf defeat Rosenheim in three games. With
25256-426: Was forbidden to talk about the Third Reich and, at home, their grandparents told them how, thanks to Hitler , we had the first motorways." On 17 October 1987, thirty or so skinheads violently threw themselves into a crowd of 2,000 people at a rock concert in the Zionskirche without the police intervening. In 1990, the writer Freya Klier received a death threat for writing an essay on antisemitism and xenophobia in
25420-420: Was hopelessly outclassed and thirteen points behind the saving ninth place. The 1978–79 season saw the league expanded to twelve teams. This meant, Deilinghofen did not have to step down to the 2nd Bundesliga and Augsburger EV and Mannheimer ERC were added. Because of the insolvency of the Krefelder EV who dropped out of the league, the ESV Kaufbeuren was also admitted to the league while the financial collapse of
25584-412: Was no dominant religion in Westphalia. Roman Catholicism and Lutheranism were on a relatively equal footing. Lutheranism was strong in the eastern and northern parts with numerous free churches. Münster and especially Paderborn were considered to be Catholic. Osnabrück was divided almost equally between Catholicism and Protestantism. Parts of Westphalia came under Brandenburg-Prussian control during
25748-428: Was not then a priority for the leadership of West Germany, and the NATO powers declined the proposal, asserting that Germany should be able to join NATO and that such a negotiation with the Soviet Union would be seen as a capitulation. In 1949 the Soviets turned control of East Germany over to the SED , headed by Wilhelm Pieck (1876–1960), who became President of the GDR and held the office until his death, while
25912-401: Was only the third scoreless game in league history that season. The 1988–89 season was somewhat a transition, between the dominance of the Kölner EC's three consecutive titles and the Düsseldorfer EG's consecutive four that were to follow. In between, in that season, SB Rosenheim won its third and last national championship, after defeating the up-and-coming DEG in four matches in the finals. At
26076-400: Was outlawed by the DEB and Iserlohn folded after the next. The Iserlohn affair also brought to the surface the tension between the clubs and the DEB , with some demanding an independent league, which would eventually materialise in 1994. On the ice, Kölner EC's third title was not won quite so easily, having to overcome SB Rosenheim in five games. Düsseldorfer and Mannheim also played out what
26240-404: Was relegated alongside the Duisburger SC. Apart from all this, the league also found itself in a row with the television broadcasters who refused to show games of teams with advertising on their shirts, with the clubs not backing down as they could not afford to lose the sponsorship money. The 1981–82 season saw a recovery of the league after the scandal of the previous year and the introduction of
26404-429: Was removed from power that same year before he could act on the matter. His successor, Nikita Khrushchev , rejected reunification as equivalent to returning East Germany for annexation to the West; hence reunification was off the table until the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989. East Germany regarded East Berlin as its capital, and the Soviet Union and the rest of the Eastern Bloc diplomatically recognized East Berlin as
26568-405: Was the removal of the electrified fence along Hungary 's border with Austria on 2 May 1989. Although formally the Hungarian frontier was still closed, many East Germans took the opportunity to enter Hungary via Czechoslovakia , and then make the illegal crossing from Hungary to Austria and to West Germany beyond. By July, 25,000 East Germans had crossed into Hungary; most of them did not attempt
26732-418: Was then voted into effect prior to the agreed date for Unification by both the Volkskammer and the Bundestag by the constitutionally required two-thirds majorities, effecting on the one hand the extinction of the GDR, and on the other the agreed amendments to the Basic Law of the Federal Republic. The great economic and socio-political inequalities between the former Germanies required government subsidies for
26896-423: Was won by the Kölner EC, defeating champions Landshut in five games. No club was relegated because ERC Freiburg, finishing seventh, went broke and folded, to reform as EHC Freiburg in the 2nd Bundesliga. In 1984–85 the league returned to the old system of a regular season of 36 games followed by the play-off quarter finals. The SB Rosenheim won its second title, again against the Mannheimer ERC. The EHC Essen-West
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