Sport- und Freizeitpolitik in Köln 1945-1975

Sports have assumed more and more public functions since the beginning of the 20th century and have thereby gained functional meaning for the political-administrative system. Changes at the border between state-run areas of jurisdiction and civilian freedom basically took place in the communal area of responsibility.

This study about the relationship between politics and administration of the City of Cologne on the one hand and the local sports organizations or rather the unorganizedly sportive population on the other hand gives information about the perceptible political goals, strategies of realisation, potentials of power, conflicts and problem-solving processes for the years between 1945 and 1975.
The underlying formulations of questions take into consideration both institutional aspects (Who were the persons involved in the city council and the sportive self-government?), in terms of content (Are differences of the ruling parties discernible? Which topics ruled the public discussion?) and procedure-concerned (How did decisions concerning sports arise? How large was the influence of the sports clubs?) aspects of sports-political acting. To what extent politics and/or city council determine the room for manoeuvre and whether and how sports organizations or rather the sportive population exert pressure on politics are central questions.
In the first part the prevailing conditions for Cologne's sports policy are explained. Apart from the legal, constitutional limits of the municipal ordinance there are traditions, political party culture, social conditions and persons influencing the decision processes. The consideration of the committees and persons who are involved in sports organizations, parties, council and administration is connected with the question about the real 'power centre of sports-political acting'. This work shows the reconstruction of the sports organizations and the municipal administration under the influence of the British military government, the organization of everyday life of the clubs and the reconstruction/new building of sports infrastructure as well as the structural and personal developments at the municipal administration level, Cologne council policy and the self-government of sports up to 1975. Concrete sports-political development processes are discussed in detail on the basis of four topical areas: The building of sports halls and fields, the sports budget, leisure sports and the sports university of Cologne as a municipal foundation.