Dynamo Dresden: The Team Where The Far Right Rules

July 21, 2022, by Arnaldo Brito

Dynamo Dresden - The Far Right Rules

Much is said about German football: the great players, the great clubs, the great German national team. But, people rarely mention some stories outside of Germany. Mainly because of its level of controversy. One of these stories is about a team that has not played in the first division of the Bundesliga for a long time. This club is one of those with the most loyal fans in all of Germany. Nevertheless, this club has also generated more scandals and has received more fines than any other in German football history. This team is Dynamo Dresden, which currently plays in the third division of the Bundesliga (3. Bundesliga). Perhaps you have never heard of this team. However, we assure you that its history and present are little more than surprising.

Football in Dresden, the state capital of Saxony, dates from the late 1800s, when the Dresdner SC team already existed. It later made way for the Sportvereinigung Volkspolizei Dresden, which directly depended on the Volkspolizei or Deutsche Volkspolizei (DVP). That was the police force of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), which operated in the Soviet occupation zone after World War II. By 1954, it was the most relevant team in the German Democratic Republic. But everything changed the following year when the team's name was changed to SG Dynamo Dresden. That year, the club won its first championship. But, shortly after, the dream would end just a year later. By this time, football had gained incredible importance in Germany. So, Erich Mielke, who at the time was the highest authority in the Stasi, decided that Berlin needed a competitive and successful team. What did he do? He took all the best Dresden players and founded a new team with them: SC Dynamo Berlin.

This fact practically disintegrated Dynamo Dresden, who fell to the lower categories and needed years to return to the first. But in addition, the Stasi turned the team into a source of espionage to find out if executives, players, and even followers within its core were against the socialist regime. All the above significantly impacted Dresden fans, who have always felt humiliated by West Germany. After the unification of both, the teams that belonged to the other Germany would keep Dresden's distance and recognition. Dynamo Dresden, which originally was a team with "Soviet" tendencies, became the team of the far-right. With an emphasis on National Socialism and Nazism. But through it all, the team has been gaining one of the largest fan bases in Germany.

It is somewhat surprising, regardless of whether they play in the third division. Indeed, every match the team plays at the Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion is filled with 32,066 spectators who support their team. But, sadly, they display Nazi slogans and usually commit violent acts against fans of other teams. Thus, it has cost the Dynamo to pay countless amounts of money in fines. Unlike other teams with radical followings, Dynamo Dresden has failed to establish a good relationship with the ultra groups that dominate the stadium. It makes the team one of the most feared in Germany and Europe.

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