Let’s not make a fuss about it: I’m crazy about the former GDR. It’s not a political thing by any means. It’s not the cheap (beer) prices either … although they do have an influence on my general perception on the region. But it’s the mixture between the remnants of old times in Germany, mixed with Soviet architecture, fresh history, a continental climate, friendly people, beautiful stadiums and the indestructible German Fankultur.
My knack for the GDR lead me to Berlin once more. From there on, the S-Bahn took me and my two partners in crime for a 45 minute drive through the western part of the city. Passing through well-off area’s like Charlottenburg and past the beautiful Wannsee before breaching the city limits. And just like that we found ourselves in the former GDR. The train runs all the way to Potsdam, but we got off one stop earlier in Babelsberg.
Filmstadt
Babelsberg is the largest district of Potsdam, the capital of Brandenburg, often referred to as Filmstadt (Film City) since it houses the world’s oldest European film studio, producing films since 1912. In the years that lead up to, and during WWII , the studio churned out around 1 000 feature and propaganda films under the direction of Hitler’s propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels. During the GDR era the studio produced around 800 films for television and theatre. After the fall of the Berlin Wall the studio was privatised and now continues to produce and co-produce films. The most notable ones being Valkyrie, Inglorious Basterds (co-production) and The Monuments Men (co-production) among others.
Sport-Club Jugendkraft 03
The club was founded in 1903 as Sport-Club Jugendkraft 03 and changed names numerously during the interbellum. Following WWII the Allied authorities dissoluted all organisations in the country, including sports and football associations. The club merged with SG Drewitz and re-organised as BSG Motor Babelsberg, playing the majority of their seasons in the second tier of the DDR-Liga. As most DDR-clubs, they adopted a strong Marxist ideology which still stands strong up to this day.
After the unification they adopted the name Sportverein Babelsberg 03 and climbed their way through the Oberliga Nord and Regionalliga Nordost, increasing their budget by tenfold in the process. The club saw its highlight in 2001 as they reached the 2.Bundesliga. It was a short stay. In three years, the club got caught in a negative financial spiral and plummeted down to the Oberliga again, declaring bankruptcy in 2004. The adoption of a supporterd bankruptcy plan however, made sure they could keep on playing and rebuilding a strong side which got them back to the RL Nordost.
“Where are the hoppers?”
From the S-Bahn station, the Karl-Liebknecht Straße leads you towards the stadium with the same name. From this side of the street you quickly notice the modern O-Block; terraces. Luckily, once past the turnstiles, we noticed that 3/4 of the stands were terraces and the majority of them carried that old-fashioned look which we all love.
The Marxist nature of the club can be found anywhere; ranging from free entrance for refugees, political flyers, merchandise, anti-fascist graffiti pieces, pre match music and how the fans dress. It was quite obvious from the beginning that we didn’t look the part. In some parts of the world, we would fit right in. In Babelsberg we stood out … positively, we hoped.
Today’s opponent was the current number two in the league FSV Zwickau, so on paper we had a nice match on our hands. The terraces facing the grandstand were bathing in the afternoon sun as the match kicked off in a friendly atmosphere. Zwickau showed up with about 300 away fans who took the stand behind one of the goals. Their support was strong both vocally and visually. Adjacent to their stand we found the Babelsberg Filmstadt Ultras with a nice array of flags and chants as well. What struck us is the fact that they sang a number of French songs as well. Highly unusual for an east German side, but we didn’t bother. Furthermore, across our stand, right next to the mainstand, there was a banner saying Sportlich Elegant with about 20 well dressed gentlemen behind it, if you know what I mean.
The highlights were scarce as far as the first half goes, the players headed to the dressing rooms with no one on the scoresheet. To bomb you with a spoiler: that wasn’t going to change in the second half. But around the one hour mark, the atmosphere on the pitch got moodier between the players as several push and shoves broke out between both sets of players, completely killing the little tempo the match had. Needless to say, this had its effect on the stands where both sets of supporters repeatedly clashed (vocally) with eachother. Numerous supporters climbed the fences and challenged each other into invading their respective end. The Sportlich Elegant lads also wanted in on some action, but we felt that their location in the stadium made that they got ignored, so they kept a low profile. The police were having a quiet day in the buffer section between both sets of fans and let them go on about their business until, just five minutes before the end, they prepared to empty the away section and send them off to the buses. A very progressive approach.
Later on it seemed that one of the substitute players yelled “Scheiß Türke!” (Shit Turks) to (one of) the players of SV Babelsberg. Profiling themselves as a Marxist Antifa team, one can imagine the reactions.
After the match the tension was still in the air. As me and my friends headed for a last bathroom stop before catching the S-Bahn back to Berlin, one of us noticed a small mob in the bathroom, knocking on the stall doors yelling “Wo sind die Hopper?” (Where are the groundhoppers?). A couple of minutes later, he got circled by a number of them, but luckily the remaining two of us didn’t mess around doing our business in the toilet and they left as quickly as they came.
Does this create a bad image of SV Babelsberg 03? In my opinion it doesn’t. It’s only a bit paradoxal to be tolerant to all races, beliefs, sexes, and give refugees free entrance but to act reluctant towards groundhoppers. That said, all the other contacts we had with the fans were friendly and spontaneous. I remember a chat with an old bloke at the urinoirs about how I held my beer with my teeth while doing my thing and being thanked ten times by a young father carrying his son who dropped his scarf when I picked it up for him.
If you’re ever in Berlin, like GDR style stadiums and are into leftist politics and don’t mind them interfering with the beautiful game, then a visit to the beautiful Karl Liebknecht-Stadion is definitely a must. If an angry mob surrounds you, send them our best.
NO FOOTBALL COLOURS 