Abstract des Autors

The Great War was an impulse to discuss the necessity and usefulness of sport for German society. It was claimed that gymnastics and sport were suitable forms of self-assurance for society, and sports behind the trenches and in the prisoner-of-war camps gave a boost to the distribution of sports in post-war German society. Sports sponsorship by the military and sports officials during the war contrasted with the simple enthusiasm for sports of the soldiers, who saw playing football and swimming as an opportunity to spend their free time. The turn to sport and the sporting experience became a positive experience, especially in contrast to everyday war life. The fact that sport in its effect and structure met the expectations of the soldiers and also served the goals of the sports officials and officers is a further reason for the rapid increase of sporting activities in German society and the army after the end of the war. Swimming sports could not benefit from this development to the same extent as football. The reasons for this are obvious: For regular swim training either natural conditions or civil facilities were considered. But the advance of sport and also swimming as an instrument of education, as part of mass culture, could no longer be stopped. One proof here is the paradigm shift in military training, of which sports became an essential part after the Great War.