page_title: 1. FC Union Berlin
section_title: Dissolution and split up (1945–1961)
hierarchical_section_title: 1. FC Union Berlin / History / Dissolution and split up (1945–1961)
caption_attribution_description: English: Chart of end-season table positions of Union Berlin in the football league system of Germany and GDR. Data source: RSSSF, wikipedia, f-archiv.de, fussball.de Deutsch: Historische Tabellenplatzierungen von Union Berlin im Fußball-Ligasystem in Deutschland und DDR English: Результаты «Униона» (Берлин) в чемпионате Германии и ГДР. Указаны места в таблице по итогам каждого сезона.
context_page_description: 1. Fußballclub Union Berlin e. V., commonly known as 1. FC Union Berlin, is a professional German association football club based in Köpenick, Berlin. The club emerged under the current name in 1966 but its origins can be traced back to 1906, when its predecessor FC Olympia Oberschöneweide was founded. From 2009 until 2019, they competed in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football. In 2019, after defeating VfB Stuttgart in the relegation play-offs, Union won promotion to the Bundesliga top flight for the first time in the club's history, for the 2019–20 season.
  During the Cold War era, Union was based in the East Berlin sector of the city, joining the common German league structure upon the reunification of the city and the country in 1990.
  The home ground Stadion An der Alten Försterei is the largest single-purpose football stadium in the German capital. It has been home to Union Berlin and its forerunners since it was opened in 1920. The stadium became internationally famous for concerts and events like the annual Weihnachtssingen and the WM-Wohnzimmer in 2014.
  The club has become well known for its enthusiastic and creative fan base and for its chant "Eisern Union".
context_section_description: After World War II, occupying Allied authorities ordered the dissolution of all organizations in Germany, including sports and football associations. A new Municipal Sports Group called SG Oberschöneweide was formed in late 1945 and it played in the City League organized immediately after the war which had four regional departments. The team did not qualify to the newly created Oberliga Berlin (I) in 1946 after a poor season, but was promoted in 1947, won the division title right away and regained club status as SG Union 06 Oberschöneweide during 1948–49.
  The club finished the 1949–50 season in second place in Berlin and qualified to take part in the national final rounds. However, escalating Cold War tensions led Soviet authorities to refuse the team permission to travel to take part. Two Union teams then emerged as most players and coaches fled to the west to form Sport-Club Union 06 Berlin which took part in the scheduled playoff match in Kiel against Hamburger SV, losing 0–7.
  The players remaining in the east carried on as Union Oberschöneweide while a number of players who had fled to the west to form SC organized a third side called Berliner Ballspiel-Club Südost. The western team was a strong side until the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961, drawing huge crowds to matches in the Olympiastadion. The division of the city led to a change of fortunes for the club which plays today in the lower divisions before meager crowds.
caption: Historical chart of Union Berlin league performance after WWII
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