Editing First Vienna FC (section)

===WWII and play in the Gauliga===
After Austria was united with Germany in the [[Anschluss]] in 1938 the football competitions of the two countries were also merged. First division Austrian teams played in the newly formed [[Gauliga Ostmark]] as part of the league structure established under the [[Third Reich]] in the re-organization of German football in 1933. This led to the appearance of Austrian sides in the national finals of Germany and in competition for the Tschammerpokal, predecessor of today's [[German Cup]]. In 1942, ''Vienna'' captured the divisional title in what was by then known as the Gauliga Donau-Alpenland (Ostmark) and went all the way to the final played on 4 July 1942 in Berlin where they dropped a 0–2 decision to ''[[Schalke 04]]'' the dominant side of German football in the era. ''Vienna'' repeated as divisional champions the following season, but this time advanced only as far as the semi-finals before being put out 1–2 by ''[[1. FC Saarbrücken|FV Saarbrücken]]''. The club did, however, have a successful Tschammerpokal run, winning the 1943 competition by defeating ''[[Luftwaffen-SV Hamburg]]'' 3–2 in extra time to become the second Austrian side to take the cup by following in the footsteps of ''[[Rapid Wien]]'', victors in 1938. A third Gauliga title in 1944 again put the club into Germany's national playoffs where this time they went out 2–3 in the quarterfinals to eventual champions ''[[Dresdner SC]]''. As World War II drew to a close and Allied armies advanced into Germany league play collapsed with ''Vienna'' still in a tight race again looking to repeat as division champions.