The 1938 World Cup scandal: When five Austrian players were forced to play for Hitler’s Nazi Germany
Nine players who had previously represented Austria found themselves defending Germany’s shirt - the Nazi sports project was a disaster.
The third edition of the World Cup was held in France in 1938, and unfolded with Europe living under a shadow and on the brink of war. As Adolf Hitler’s Nazi forces pushed its expansionist agenda, soccer — the world’s most popular sport — became a stage for political messaging, power plays, and the illusion of Nazi superiority.
Austria annexed by the Nazis
The turning point came on March 12, 1938, when Nazi Germany carried out the Anschluss - the annexation of Austria into the Third Reich. Overnight, one of the strongest national teams in the world — Austria’s famed Wunderteam — ceased to exist as an independent squad. By the end of the month, the Austrian Football Association informed FIFA that it had dissolved itself.
Austria’s Wunderteam was widely considered one of the best sides on the planet and a legitimate contender to lift the title. But the annexation forced its players to plays for the German national team, whether they wanted it or not. Most of them didn’t - especially star player, Matthias Sindelar.
A friendly match between Germany and Austria was arranged for April 3- two months before the World Cup was due to kick off. It turned out to be anything but a friendly - a clash steeped in tension and bad blood. Over 60,000 fans packed into Vienna’s Prater Stadium to cheer on a team that, just 22 days after the Anschluss, technically lo longer existed.
Sindelar intentionally missed a handful of clear chances during the first half before scoring twice in the second, leading Austria to a 2–0 win. The result stunned Hitler and the Nazi officials watching from the VIP box in the stands.
Nine Austrian’s in Germany’s World Cup squad
When the World Cup got underway on June 4, Germany’s 22-man squad featured nine players who had previously represented Austria. Admira Wacker forward Wilhelm Hahnemann, Rapid Vienna goalkeeper Rudolf Raftl and former Austria teammate Hans Mock, who had been handed the captain’s armband, were obliged to perform the Nazi salute when the team lined up before every game.
In the end Sindelar didn’t make Germany’s World Cup squad. He was sidelined “for physical reasons”. But former Austria internationals Hahnemann, Raftl, Hans Mock, Hans Pesser, Willibald Schmaus, Stefan Skoumal, Franz Wagner, Josef Stroh and Leopold Neumer were at coach Sepp Herberger‘s disposal.
Germany opened their campaign against Switzerland in Paris on June 4. Four Austrian nationals were in the starting XI: Rudolf Raftl, Wilhelm Hahnemann, Hans Mock and Hans Pesser. Jupp Gauchel fired Herberger‘s into the lead on 29 minutes but André Abegglen leveled it up just before half-time. It remained 1-1 after 90 minutes and even after extra-time, when Pesser was sent off.
Humiliated by the Swiss in the replay
A replay was set for June 9. This time, Germany coach Herberger included five Austrians in his line-up: Raftl, Hahnemann, Leopold Neumer, Stefan Skoumal and Josef Stroh. In the rematch at Colombes Stadium, Germany jumped ahead early, seemingly validating the regime’s expectations. But Switzerland mounted a stunning comeback, winning 4–2 in one of the tournament’s biggest upsets.
The political fallout was immediate. French fans responded by singing La Marseillaise every time a German player touched the ball, turning the stadium into a symbolic act of resistance.
The Nazi sports project had collapsed in the first round. The team built as a propaganda tool was dumped out of the World Cup without winning a single match. Months later, World War II broke out, and the 1942 and 1946 tournaments were canceled.
The 1938 World Cup is remembered as the tournament where the Nazi regime tried to turn soccer into propaganda, only for the sport itself to deliver a humiliating defeat to the political narrative of the Third Reich.
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