The Oberliga or DDR-Eishockey-Oberliga was the top level of
ice hockey in
East Germany. From 1949 to 1970, the increasingly popular sport of ice hockey saw the creation of a variety of leagues, with the Oberliga at the top level. However, in 1970 funding for all but two ice hockey teams (
SG Dynamo Weißwasser and
SC Dynamo Berlin) was abruptly ended by the Politburo. Some of the de-funded teams went on to participate in the DDR-Bestenermittlung, an unofficial continuation of the former "Gruppenliga" (the second league below the Oberliga until 1970).[1]