Germany surprises everyone and wins the Football World Cup
As a pariah nation after the Second World War, Germany was excluded from the 1950 FIFA World Cup. West Germany – which claimed to be the only state representing the German nation – was admitted to the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland, and promptly lost 8–3 to the mighty Hungarians, widely considered to be the best team in the world. Despite this inauspicious start, the West Germans reached the final, only to find that they once again faced a Hungarian team that had just posted its 32nd victory in a row. The game appeared to have been decided after Germany conceded two early goals in the final held in Bern on 4 July 1954. Nevertheless, an equalizer in the tenth minute gave them fresh hope, and Helmut Rahn scored the winning goal in the 84th-minute to secure a 3–2 victory.
The returning “heroes of Bern” were met by wild crowds. Led by manager Sepp Herberger and Captain Fritz Walter, the team was seen as representative of German society at large and taken to embody typical German virtues such as camaraderie, diligence, discipline, team spirit and perseverance. Victory in the World Cup was taken as signalling a new start for the young state and helped many West Germans to identify with it. Indeed, many saw the German World Cup victory as the actual birth of the Federal Republic. The “Miracle of Bern” was followed soon after by the “Economic Miracle” and showed that West Germany might indeed succeed where previous German states had failed.
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