DDR Oberliga

Overview

Following World War II, separate sports competitions emerged in the occupied eastern and western halves of Germany, replacing the Gauligas of the Nazi era.

In East Germany, a top-flight football competition, the highest league in the East German football league system, was established in 1949 as the DS-Oberliga (Deutscher Sportausschuss Oberliga or German Sports Association Upper League). Beginning in 1958, it carried the name DDR-Oberliga and was part of the league structure within the DFV (Deutscher Fussball Verband der DDR or German Football Association of the GDR).

In its inaugural season in 1949/50 the DDR-Oberliga was made up of 14 teams with 2 relegation spots. Over the course of the next four seasons the number of teams in the division varied and included anywhere from 17 to 19 sides with 3 or 4 relegation spots. Beginning with the 1954/55 season up until merger of the East and West German football associations in 1991/92 the league was made up of 14 teams with 2 relegation spots.

Initially the DDR-Oberliga was operated on an autumn-spring schedule as was traditional in Germany. From 1956 to 1960 a Soviet-style spring-autumn (calendar year) schedule was in place. This required a transition round in 1955 and, although no champion was formally declared that season, Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt finished atop the division. 1961/62 saw the return of an autumn-spring season and an extended schedule (39 matches vs. 26 matches) was played with each club meeting the others a total of three times – once at home, once away, and once at a neutral venue.

After German reunification the last regular DDR-Oberliga season was played in 1990/91 under the designation NOFV-Oberliga (Nordostdeutsche Fußballverband Oberliga or Northeast German Football Federation Premier League). The following year the East German league structure was merged into the West German system under the German Football Association (Deutscher Fussball Bund or German Football Association) and the top two NOFV-Oberliga clubs – F.C. Hansa Rostock and Dynamo Dresden – joined the first division Bundesliga.

For the duration of the league's existence, the league below it was the DDR-Liga.

Disbanding of the Oberliga

In 1991, the DDR-Oberliga ceased to exist, its clubs being integrated in the German football league system. The fourteen Oberliga clubs went to the following leagues, spread over three tiers:

To the Fussball-Bundesliga (Tier I):

To the 2. Bundesliga Nord (Tier II):

To the 2. Bundesliga Süd (Tier II):

To the NOFV-Oberliga Nord (Tier III):

To the NOFV-Oberliga Mitte (Tier III):

To the NOFV-Oberliga Süd (Tier III):

The Oberliga reformed as the Regionalliga Nordost

In 1994, a new third tier division was established in the area that formerly made up East Germany. The Regionalliga Nordost was made up of most of the big names of the DDR-era alongside clubs from West Berlin. The only clubs from the final season of the old DDR-Oberliga not to appear here were F.C. Hansa Rostock, which was competing at the Bundesliga level, and Hallescher FC which had fallen on hard times.

The league was disbanded again in 2000 and its member clubs were spread between the two remaining Regionalligas (III) and the NOFV-Oberligas (IV), effectively ending the history of the all-East German leagues.

The Regionalliga Nordost returned in 2012/13 as one of five fourth-tier regional leagues. The new league will cover the area of the former GDR and Berlin and the champions of this new division will qualify for a play-off against the winner of another Regionalliga or against the second-placed team in the Regionalliga Südwest to determine promotion to the 3rd Liga.

DDR-Oberliga champions

Berliner FC Dynamo was the league record holder with 10 DDR-Oberliga titles to its credit, having won all of these titles in successive seasons.

Source: "DDR Oberliga". Das deutsche Fussball-Archiv. Retrieved 4 March 2008. 

Placings in the DDR-Oberliga 1975–1991

Source: "DDR-Oberliga". Das deutsche Fussball-Archiv. Retrieved 15 March 2008.