Jul 4

Jul 4 FC Union Berlin: A Story of Rebellion

David Wyatt-Hupton

Stories

The Story of FC Union Berlin’s Rebellious History

The Stasi rule touched every aspect of life in late 20th century Germany - even football.

David Wyatt-Hupton looks at FC Union Berlin’s history, rivalry and position under Stasi rule - and why it’s still important today.

FC Union Berlin fans celebrating in the stands

In 2011, controversy hit Union Berlin. A report revealed that FC Union President Dirk Zingler had spent three years of his military service in the "Feliks Dzierzynski" regiment of the East German army.

The "Feliks Dzierzynski” regiment answered to the Ministry of State Security, and was known as "the military arm of the Stasi.”

For a club that had built a reputation and even an identity as an anti-Stasi club, this was about as controversial as controversies get.

But how did FC Union Berlin fans use football to speak out during the oppressive Stasi rule? The Sporting Blog tells all.

The Stasi Rule

Fans who had lived under Stasi rule understood Dirk Zingler’s predicament, for under the Stasi you had to make difficult choices.

The president explained that he was told if he wanted to remain in Berlin, then this is what he needed to do, and as an 18-year-old, it was wise to say yes.

The Stasi was the state security service of East Germany from 1950 to 1990, intruding, spying and impacting the lives of the people of East Berlin, hidden from the West behind the Berlin Wall.

However, many people in Berlin wanted to unite the city - and this rebellious spirit found its way into football games.

Stasi Spies at Football Games

If you’d taken a visit to Alte Försterei stadium in Köpenick during the 1970s and 1980s, you would have heard chants like:

Ich wäre lieber ein Verlierer – als ein dummes Stasi-Schwein! ("I'd rather be a loser - than a stupid Stasi pig!”)

With Stasi spies all over Berlin and phone taps a regular feature of everyday life, the terraces of Alte Försterei became a breeding ground for anti-Stasi feelings. A place where people could talk openly with like-minded people.

Soon Stasi “fans” started appearing in the stands with trench coats and top hats, designed as a deterrent. It failed.

As the editor of Eulenspiegel once said: "Not every Union fan was an enemy of the state, but every enemy of the state was a Union fan.”

When teams would line up for a free kick opposed by a wall, the Union fans would chant “Die Mauer muss weg” (The wall must go), a tongue-in-cheek way of communicating their desire to see Berlin united.

It was also another way for the team to antagonise the Stasi spies in the crowd.

Part of the mistrust and hatred came on moral and philosophical grounds, after all, assassination, kidnapping, execution, denunciation and intimidation were a regular occurrence in East Berlin under the watch of the Stasi.

The terraces of Alte Försterei stadium in the 1980s were a melting pot, attracting the working class, skinheads, students, punks, rockers and dissidents.

A community of people who usually wouldn’t mix and may avoid each other on the street, coming together to face a common enemy.

Football Rivalry - BFC Dynamo

Although people came to football games to express their anger at the oppressive Stasi rule - some of it was down to a good old-fashioned football rivalry, too.

BFC Dynamo is now languishing in the local leagues of German Football, but during the 1970s and 1980s, they were the team to beat.

They won 10 straight championships between 1979 and 1988 and appeared on grand European occasions, like visiting Liverpool.

But for most people, BFC Dynamo represented everything that was wrong with East Berlin, backed by the Ministry for State Security (Stasi).

Stasi chief Erich Mielke, who was later convicted and jailed, was the honorary chairman of BFC Dynamo.

Mielke made sure that BFC Dynamo got their choice of players, with the best players in East Germany being transferred to the club.

There was no open market system as you’d expect from a communist state, players were told where they were playing and if they knew what was best for them, they’d go without question.

Author Hanns Leske, who’s produced a number of books on German football behind the Berlin Wall, offered some context for how BFC dominated the league.

If BFC Dynamo were losing in the closing stages of games, injury time would go on and on. Mystery penalties and free kicks would be given, and yellow cards handed out to the opponents at will.

Goals that were clearly offside for Dynamo were allowed, and goals that were clearly onside for the opposition were ruled out.

These claims were substantiated years later when former East German referee Bernd Heynemann confirmed that if Dynamo were to lose a game, all the referees would be summoned to the Stasi with the clear message being… that shouldn’t happen.

It’s not the most drastic example of intimidation under the Stasi. But it does go to show how seriously the Stasi took their support of BFC Dynamo and why Union Berlin and many other Berliners despised the club.

So maybe those 10 championships should come with a little asterisk next to them. At the time, Union Berlin hated their city neighbours with a passion that overflowed on the terraces.

The Importance of Beating BFC Dynamo

Frank Völker, head of the Schluckauf ’82 supporters club, spoke about how important victory over Dynamo was during this period:

“Beating BFC Dynamo Berlin – the secret service home team – felt like we’d single-handedly taken down the Wall, “Younger supporters who grew up after the fall of the Wall don’t know the real Union fan culture. Mostly, they want to light fireworks in the stadium and party in a bar afterwards.”

Despite the success of Dynamo, it was Union Berlin who enjoyed popular support, often attracting crowds of 20,000 to the stadium.

When Dynamo were in town, violence would often break out, with the fans of the Stasi puppet club knowing they’d face little retribution if caught by the police.

That intense rivalry with Dynamo created the aura that still surrounds Union Berlin today. That of an anti-establishment club, a working-class club, a club that is owned by the people for the people.