Zwischen Erinnerung und Verständigung: Der Racing Club de Strasbourg und die Wiederaufnahme der deutsch-französischen Fußballbeziehungen nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg

Abstract

This article aims to analyse the role of the Alsatian football club Racing Club de Strasbourg throughout the re-establishment process of the French-German football relations after the Second World War. Because of its geographical location between France and Germany and due to the double annexation of the Alsace by the German Reich the club held a special position in the French football landscape. To examine the difficulties and conflicts that came along with the attempt to restore international sport relations between West Germany and France, the paper focuses on three aspects: German prisoners of war in France, efforts to organise football games between French and German top-level-clubs, and the re-establishment of international matches between the two countries. As a result, Racing’s attitude can be situated in a field of tension between hurtful wartime experiences on the one hand and sporting as well as financial benefits on the other hand. While the former was an argument held against an over-hasty spirit of understanding between the French and the German teams especially by the Alsatian Football Association, the latter were a reason for Racing to intensify its pragmatical efforts to re-establish sport relations with West German clubs. This ambivalence is further exemplified by the dualism between Aimé Gissy, secretary general of the Alsatian Football Association (1935-1939, 1945-1974), and Willy Scheuer, president of Racing Club de Strasbourg (1952-1960).