A team like any other

The SS footballers from Buchenwald

The Buchenwald SS was firmly anchored in Weimar from the very beginning. From 1939, it also participated in Sports in the town with the "SS-Sportgemeinschaft Buchenwald". Sport was of great importance in the Nazi world view - sporting competition served not least to prove the SS's claim to be the elite of society. The Buchenwald SS men were active in various disciplines: as track and field athletes, in winter sports and as marksmen.

The Buchenwald SS football team was first mentioned in the sports sections of local newspapers in early 1939. Very little is known about it today. The SS footballers competed against clubs from the region in friendly matches and tournaments. Their opponents included SC Apolda, SV Kahla, Phönix Pößneck, Vimaria Weimar and the team from the Luftwaffen-Sportverein Weimar.

After significant defeats, the team asked the city of Weimar to appoint former national team player Fritz Förderer as coach in June 1939. He worked as a sports teacher and groundsman in Weimar. He coached the team for two hours a week. During home matches, the SS played at least once on the sports field on Lindenberg. Matches were probably also played at the "Thüringer Landeskampfbahn", today's Wimaria Stadium. In the 1940/41 season, in the middle of the war, the SS Buchenwald competed in the regular league for the first time. However, after just a few games, the team withdrew from the district league in October 1940. No information is available about the reasons for this. It is also not known whether the SS footballers played again after that.