Articles
Das Deutsche Turnfest in München und die Politik Hitlers im Krisenjahr 1923
Peter Tauber
pp. 146–213
The German Turnfest 1923 in Munich in July was the largest mass event of the year. And in Munich, the NSDAP under the leadership of Adolf Hitler had gained enormously in popularity since January. It constantly gained new members and increasingly influenced politics. Consequently, Hitler wondered how he could use the Turnfest to generate even more attention for his party throughout the Reich. After originally having planned to disrupt the event, the party decided, following Hitler’s instructions, to use the Turnfest for its own propaganda. The aim was to present the NSDAP as a strong national political power. But police largely blocked this plan. Hitler did not allow the conflict to escalate and refrained from further provocation, which proves that his legal course to power was already in action then and not just after the failed so called Beer Hall Putsch in November of the same year. The clashes between the police and Hitler’s followers did not go unnoticed by the public. Hitler received nationwide attention, but not in the way he had hoped. He nevertheless continued to mobilize his supporters knowing that his movement was still not strong enough to stand up to state power. He knew that he needed the support of the Landespolizei and the Reichswehr in order to succeed and in the following months tried to convince these armed force of the Republic to support him.
Viel Kontinuität, wenig Neuanfang? Akteure und Diskurse im französischen und westdeutschen Autorennsport der frühen Nachkriegszeit 1945–1955
Philipp Didion
pp. 214–238
Franco-German relations in car racing in the period after World War II have so far been in academic obscurity. Little is known about the resumption of sporting contacts in that field. This article therefore aims to explore some of the routes of the history of French-West German relations in this sport for the first post-war decade (1945–55). The focus is on – in chronological order – the resumption of car racings in both countries, the first appearance of German drivers and brands at racing events in France, personal continuities, and cross-border contacts in this discipline as well as the 1955 Le Mans disaster. Like football, car racing can also be described as a symbol for diplomatic relations between France and the Federal Republic of Germany. The political and social conditions of the time were clearly reflected in this context. For example, the resumption of sporting contacts after 1945 also took place more quickly here than after the First World War. However, motorsport in general and car racing in particular had a somewhat exceptional status – especially regarding its systematic promotion in the French occupation zone as well as their very present international character.
Football and Faith: A Critical Perspective on Interpreting Sport as Religion
Christian Tagsold
pp. 239–254
Comparing football and its fan culture to religion has become a common trope in the last decades in newspapers, sports magazines, and scientific papers. The colorful stagings of fans, their often unruly behavior, and their display of passion resemble religious rituals and creeds. Thus, the analogy seems to explain actions that otherwise might appear strange if not irrational from the outside. However, as I will argue, attempts to analyze football as a religion tend to overlook that the concept of religion itself has undergone many permutations in the last centuries. Once, religion was a category reserved for Christianity. However, with colonialism, sociologists, scholars of religion, and cultural anthropologists began to subsume many creeds and rituals outside Europe under the category of religion. In a similar fashion, religion has helped social scientists come to terms with football fans as untypical modern subjects. Fans are loud and unruly, but when social scientists analyze their actions and social codes through the prism of religion, they suddenly appear less puzzling. However, with that in mind, I will ask whether analyzing football as religion might signify further changes in understanding the latter instead of offering an apt tool for understanding the former. In postmodern fashion, even football can be interpreted as religion, which may tell us more about religion’s broadening semantics than football’s sacralization.
La méthode du plancher d’Hippolyte Triat : Genèse et transmission
Jean-Michel Faidit
pp. 255–287
