Germany

Germany is a country in Central Europe. Berlin is the capital and largest city. Between 1949 and 1990, the country was divided into East and West Germany.

History of hockey in Germany
The first ice hockey games in Germany were played in 1897. In 1901, the sports club, Berliner Schlittschuhclub, created an ice hockey section. The first indoor ice rink opened in Berlin in 1909.

Germany joined the Ligue Internationale de Hockey sur Glace (the present day IIHF) on September 19, 1909. After World War I, Germany was excluded from the IIHF between 1920 and 1926. During that time, German club teams continued to compete at the Spengler Cup. After World War II, the Germans were again excluded from the IIHF. They were reinstated as the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) in 1951. The German Democratic Republic (East Germany) became a member of the IIHF in 1954. The East German Ice Hockey Federation had been founded back in 1949. In 1963, the German Hockey Union (DEB) was founded in West Germany. After the reunification of Germany in 1990, the DEB became the sole federation nationwide.

The first national championship was contested in 1912. Prior to that, the City of Berlin Championship had been contested been 1909 and 1912. The national championship was contested until 1948, when the Oberliga was founded as the new top level league. It was replaced by the Ice hockey Bundesliga in 1958. The Bundesliga operated as the top level league until 1994, when the Deutsche Eishockey Liga was founded. Berliner Schlittschuhclub has won the most German championships, with 20, the last of them coming in 1976. The Oberliga operated as the second tier of German hockey between 1958 and 1973, before the 2nd Bundesliga was founded as the second level league in 1973. Since then, the Oberliga has operated as the third tier of German hockey. The Regionalliga was founded as the Gruppenliga in 1961, and took on its present name in 1966. From 1961-1973, it was the third level of German hockey, before being dropped to the fourth level for the 1973-74 season. The German Cup has been held annually since the 2002-03 season.

The men's national team made its international debut at the 1910 European Championships held in Les Avants, Switzerland, taking the silver medal. They participated in the individual European Championships a total of eight times between 1910 and 1932, winning the silver medal four times and the bronze medal twice. At the LIHG Championships, which were contested between 1912 and 1914, they won the gold medal twice and the silver medal once. At the combined European Championships, they won the gold medal twice, the silver medal once, and the bronze medal five times. In 1930, they participated in the first World Championship, winning the silver medal. They won the silver medal again at the World Championships in 1953, and won the bronze medal once, in 1934. At the 2010 World Championships, held in Germany, they took fourth place, their best finish since winning the silver medal in 1953. The German national team made its debut at the Olympics in 1928, and have made an appearance at every Olympics since then, winning the bronze medal in 1932 and 1976.

The women's national team first appeared on the international scene in 1988, playing a doubleheader against Switzerland, losing the first game 6-5, and tying the second game 2 all. They participated in all five Women's European Championships, held between 1989 and 1996, winning the bronze medal at the 1989 edition. They participated in the first Women's World Championship in 1990, finishing in seventh place. Their best finish at the Women's World Championships was fifth in 2001 and 2005. The women's national team has appeared twice at the Olympics, finishing sixth in 2002 and fifth in 2006. The women's U18 national team has participated in the Women's World U18 Championships since 2008, finishing as high as fourth in 2010 and 2012.

The junior national team has competed in the World Junior Championships every year since 1977. Their best finish was fifth place in the top division in 1981, in which they were the hosts.