An Instrumentalisation of Football in a Totalitarian State on the Example of the Third Reich

Abstract

The growing importance of sport in the early twentieth century caused that the Nazis paid specialattention to this area of human activity. Football, as one of the most popular sports became an important instrument in building this totalitarian state. Take over control of the football made possibleto the Third Reich a control of large part of society. Football became also an important and multifunctional tool of propaganda. It served the Nazis to build desired relations with other countries, to the peaceful image of their country and to demonstrate the ostensible superiority of the German nation over others. In addition, football game was a great way to disseminate and generate in the German people a sense of identity with Nazi symbols. Football was also a tool to achieve educational objectives of the Third Reich.