The Politicization of Danish Athletics during German Occupation in the Second World War

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Abstract

The Danish Sports-Federation - DIF - was collaborative in relation to the Nazi German authorities, but against DIF’s will the Danish Athletics Association constantly pulled Danish sport further in the direction of full collaboration. Of its own accord, the Athletics Association of Denmark carried out a Nazi-motivated collaboration with German sports as well as the Nazified Norwegian sports federation; far beyond what DIF advocated. In this process, the Danish Athletics Association became by far the most politicized association during the German occupation. Overall, Danish athletics differed politically from other Danish sports during the occupation by being the most activist federation. Together with a Nazi-inspired leadership, athletics became a catalyst in the German politicization of Danish sports.
Translated title of the contributionPolitiseringen af ​​dansk atletik under den tyske besættelse i Anden Verdenskrig
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationAthletics in the Nordic Countries : History and Developments
EditorsJörg Krieger
Place of PublicationChampaign, USA
PublisherCommon Ground Research Networks
Publication date1 Nov 2023
Pages27-50
ISBN (Print)9781957792507, 9781957792514
ISBN (Electronic)9781957792521
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2023

Keywords

  • Faculty of Humanities

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