The club has since developed into a flagship with massive power of identification and is an integral element in the everyday lives of many people in the region. Boasting over 100,000 club members, VfB is by far the biggest sport club in Baden-Württemberg and one of the ten biggest clubs nationwide. Huge sporting successes, such as five German championship wins, have played a major role in seeing the club take up a position amongst the front-runners in the all-time Bundesliga table, whilst also acquiring a positive reputation on the international stage.
The fascination emanated by VfB is additionally based on accompanying diverse activities, emotions and history surrounding the club and the matches, which still continues today. The club has always boasted legendary players, such as Robert Schlienz, the Förster brothers or the so-called ‘Magisches Dreieck’ (Magic-Trio) of Krassimir Balakov, Fredi Bobic and Giovane Elber, within their ranks, who went on to characterize whole generations. Exactly those traditions and memories make VfB Stuttgart a vibrant and comprehensible cultural institution for people throughout the country.
Confronting the past: Club launches 'VfB members 1932 – 1945' project
On 27 January 2019, VfB Stuttgart carried out the symbolic act of readmitting club members that had been excluded or removed due to political or religious reasons between the years 1932 and 1945.
However, given the lack of source material available from the time, it was not possible to discover the names of the members affected.
Nevertheless, VfB Stuttgart remain committed to shedding light on the club's role during the National Socialist period and, with that in mind, appeal to everyone to support the club in its research project 'VfB members 1932 – 1945'.
The objective of this project is to gain as comprehensive a collection of information as possible in order to appropriately remember the people who left, or were forced to leave, the club because they were Jews or because of their political views.
The first phase of the project will initially involve gathering any and all information, including members' names and curricula vitae, as well as source material about the club, from the period in question. Information will be treated as confidential, filed in VfB's central archive and processed for further independent academic evaluation, which - dependent on the requisite quality and quantity – will follow as the project's second phase.
Questions or information can be sent to the following email address: archiv@vfb-stuttgart.de.
Chronicle
Here you can click through the history of VfB
