Hamburg, 15 April 1945. About two weeks before Adolf Hitler commits suicide, two local clubs are playing the last league football game in Germany during the war. On the pitch: the SC Victoria… and FC St. Pauli.
The Boys in Brown win 4-3. We do not have pictures of the goalscorers – neither do pictures of that game itself exist. The availability of photographic and/or filming material was so low that its supply was strictly rationed.
This image (taken shortly after the end of the war on the Heiligengeistfeld) is symbolic – like the game played on 15 April 1945. In fact, FC St. Pauli and its members have been playing football in remains from as early as 1933: what in 1945 were the remains of the city were in 1933 the remains of freedom, basic rights and democracy.
FC St. Pauli decided to follow and to play on. Was this the right decision?
Before we can explore options of action, perceived and actual compulsions present within the “Third Reich”, we must first turn to the roots of the club.