Top News

Germany tries to purge Nazi past before World Cup

(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-04-11 09:33

BAD BOLL, Germany - Hoping to cleanse themselves of their Nazi past before the World Cup starts, German soccer leaders have broadened their examination of their shameful history in the Third Reich and embraced their critics.

The German soccer federation (DFB), now eager to come to terms with its enthusiastic support of the Nazis during the Hitler era after covering it up for six decades, has thrown open its soul, and archives, to try to purge that nightmare past.

"In a few weeks we'll be welcoming the world to Germany and we want to face up to our history," said DFB co-president Theo Zwanziger at a symposium held at a church retreat entitled "Fussball unterm Hakenkreuz" (Soccer under the Swastika).

"We opened our archives and are open for critical discussions. We want to learn from our past," added Zwanziger, 60.

"We want to get closer to our history in that dark era. But this is just the start of a process that must continue."

At the symposium held in a small town near Stuttgart, soccer leaders and historians spent two days debating issues such as whether the DFB collaborated with the Nazis more than the public at large. Another issue concerns the depth of DFB crimes against the Jews.

The consensus was that German soccer helped stabilise the Hitler regime, failed to do anything for Jews and in some areas was overly eager to please the Nazis even if its overall level of support for the regime only mirrored that of the public.

CAST LIGHT

The self-critical examination in Bad Boll followed last year's publication of a book by the same title that cast light on how the DFB climbed into bed with the Nazis at an early date.

The book, which the DFB commissioned, detailed how Jewish players, club owners, sponsors and journalists were all excluded from 1933 when Hitler came to power.

Many German Jews, including former leading national team hero Julius Hirsch, later perished in Nazi death camps.