twenty years back, fc schalke 04 dominated german football during the nazi era and was often held up for propaganda purposes as an example of the new germany. as the reich expanded through conquest, teams from austria, poland, czechoslovakia, alsace-lorraine and luxembourg were incorporated into the gauliga. after the anschluss, the forced union of austria with germany, vienna's rapid wien captured the tschammerpokal in 1938 and the german national championship in 1941, the latter with a 4–3 win over schalke, who had been three goals ahead with just fifteen minutes to play in the game.