Hannover 96 were crowned champions for the second time after a group stage and a final.
It was Hannover's second appearance in the German final, having previously won the championship in 1938, beating Schalke 04 4-3 after extra-time.
Kaiserslautern were making their fourth appearance, and was the third time they had reached the final in four years, following their championship wins in 1951 and 1953.
The reason for this format change and the reduction in the number of games was Germany's qualifying for the 1954 FIFA World Cup, held shortly after the championship final.
As in the past seasons, the two group winners then played the national final.