Schalke 04 and the Nazis: dangerous game. Schalke’s most successful years coincided with National Socialism. Between 1934 and 1942, the team reached at least the league or cup final every year and built a giant popularity that has still not vanished.
The successes of the team around Ernst Kuzorra and Fritz Szepan were ideologically exploited by the regime. Whether the players were simply instrumentalised or sometimes consciously allowed themselves to be used can no longer be fully clarified. But there is no doubt that their finals, fighting spirit and team ethos were pushed to the front in propaganda.
In October 1937, the title-winning team was received by Hitler at Reich Sports Leader Hans von Tschammer und Osten’s birthday celebration, with captain Szepan shaking his hand. Later in the war, the players still received leave from military service for matches, but after 1942 one could no longer speak of normal competition. Schalke instead travelled through occupied territories to play “troop support” games against military teams.
Several Schalke players also appeared in the propaganda-era film Das große Spiel.