Dynamo; the Stasi Sports Organisation

[Greg Collins]

A couple of next-to-last-model Kampfsport badges (ignore the top badge- I'll discuss that in another thread). These are bronze and silver, although the silver has, apparently, been coloured by the tree-sap resin coating.

[Greg Collins]

All three Dzierzynski Sportler badges from SG Adlershof. The top badge was given between 1969-1989; the other two from 1988-1989.

[Greg Collins]

A gold and silver Bestenermittlung (good determination) badge... I don't have a date on these. These were for police, and you can see the police "star" joined to the D.

[Greg Collins]

Some Dynamo stick pins. The various locations had specific pins, while the plain "D" pins were general. The "Sports Club" pin was for Berlin.

[Greg Collins]

Last, for now, a Dynamo flag complete with paper label and hung, unceremoniously, on my clothes line.

[deValcourt]

Greg, all I have are a fairly good number of Dynamo bagdes and other items from Russia, Ukraine and one or two other places. I didn't know the club had spread to East Germany, but then since everything inthe KGB just took up shop their after the GPW and called themselves Stasi, it makes sense that the club would follow. I'll post some of them one day when I can take pictures.

Regardless, you have quite the collection there.:thumbsup I don't think I have any documents for my badges and pins - though I do have a "Dynamo" Press badge and several pieces from the 1950s that I like. It is an interesting organization.

Phillip

[Christophe]

Hi Greg and Phillip,

Even if the name - Dynamo - is similar, I believe these are different organisations in East Germany than in Kiev, or any other place in Russia. I don't think they have connections, do they ?

Nice collection, BTW. I will search for such items when back in Berlin.

Cheers.

Ch.

[Greg Collins]

From what I can understand from the experts in our community, the Dynamo (or Dinamo in some countries) was THE sports organization for the Internal Ministry/Police/Security; I know this is true of the USSR, the DDR, Bulgaria and Romania. Having said that, some of the aforementioned agencies took more of a controlling interest in some countries than others. The Dynamo in the DDR was probably the most active in this way, with the Berlin Dynamo being under the direct control of Erich Mielke who, incidentally, was known to have the best footballers from all the Dynamo clubs moved to the Berlin club.

It has, since 1989, been uncovered that the Stasi was in direct control of the DDR's Olympic doping program from the beginning. Add to that several athletes, including ice skating sensation Katerina Witt, have been implicated as Stasi informers. All this was done through the Dynamo.

In my opinion, no Stasi collection can be considered complete without a fair representation of the Dynamo.

As far as connections between the Dynamos of the other Warsaw Pact nations... I doubt it. I believe any "connection", if one existed, would be indirect/informal and as a result of a "connection" between KGB/MfS/MVR (KDS)/Securitate members.

[Christophe]

Just found this on Wikipedia, interesting reading to be brought as information :

"Dinamo, also Dynamo, (Russian and Ukrainian: Динамо, Belarusian: Дына́ма) was the oldest sports and physical training society of the Soviet Union, created in 1923. The name given to the society was supposed to mean "Power in Motion" from Greek: δύναμις; dynamis -power, and Latin: motio, -motion. Not coincidentally, this term was first coined earlier by a German inventor Ernst Werner von Siemens (1816 - 1892) for the electrical generator. Dynamo, together with Armed Forces sports society and Voluntary Sports Societies made up the universal system of physical education and sports of the USSR. 45 sports disciplines were cultivated in the society in 1971. It had some 6,000 sports constructions and 43 Children and Youth Sport Schools.

The "Dinamo" society was officially created on April 18, 1923 on Felix Dzerzhinsky's initiative[1] and under the sponsorship of the State Political Directorate (GPU), the Soviet political police, the predessesor of other later created Soviet security structures such as KGB, NKVD and MVD. For the rest of the society's history in the Soviet period, it maintained some connection with the state security apparatus. Many prominent athletes who competed under the Dinamo flag were formally ranked MVD or KGB officers drawing corresponding salaries.

The name of the society also became well-known internationally through many clubs in various sports, initially created under the auspecies of the Soviet Dynamo society (only a partial list of sports includes football (soccer), ice hockey, basketball, volleyball, handball) or just bore the name "Dynamo", with many such clubs attaining much international acclaim, such as in football: FC Dinamo Bucureşti, FC Dynamo Kyiv, FC Dynamo Moscow, FC Dinamo Tbilisi, FC Dinamo Minsk, FC Dinamo Brest, NK Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia), Sportvereinigung Dynamo (Germany: including Berliner FC Dynamo and Dynamo Dresden), in ice hockey: HC Dynamo Moscow, Dynamo Kyiv (now Sokil Kyiv), HC Dinamo Minsk, and Dinamo Riga. When, following the Second World War, the pro-Soviet governments were installed in much of the Eastern Europe, the similarly named clubs were created in many countries of what became an Eastern bloc. Many clubs, now transformed into the regular private clubs of their respective national leagues, still function under their original Dinamo or Dynamo name but their history is the only connection with the old Dynamo society.

In 1937 the Dynamo sports society was awarded the Order of Lenin."

Cheers.

Ch.

[deValcourt]

Go Dinamo! Here's a funny little pennant (10x8cm) I picked up somewhere a few years ago to eventually hang with all of the Dinamo pins and badges I have. Christophe, I don't have anything that goes back to 1923, but several of the badges are definitely 1950s if not a bit earlier.:)

If I had to guess, I'd say this one is from a Moscow team supporter in Poland.

As for the other photo, I know this is off the German track, but this is a photo of an enigmatic (to me) Dinamo hockey jersey from the 1990s in Moscow (definitely my favorite jersey design). My reason for doing so is to see if anybody can decipher what "РОСГОССТРАХ" and the "РГС" abbreviation of the former - the motto(?) on the jersey means. I get "Fear the Russian State" from the shortened words. Am I close?

Phillip