[3][4] Hans-Jürgen Kreische of Dynamo Dresden was the league's top scorer with 14 goals, the second of a record four top scorer finishes for Kreische,[5] while Jürgen Croy of BSG Sachsenring Zwickau won the seasons East German Footballer of the year award.
[6] On the strength of the 1971–72 title Magdeburg qualified for the 1972–73 European Cup where the club was knocked out by Juventus in the second round.
[9] Vorwärts had been quite a popular club with East Berlin football supporters, but was seen as an obstacle to the ambitions of BFC Dynamo.
[10] The relocation was allegedly driven by Erich Mielke, who wanted to create better sporting conditions for BFC Dynamo in East Berlin, and his fellow Politburo member and SED First Secretary in Bezirk Frankfurt Erich Mückenberger, who anticipated a boost for the Frankfurt/Oder region.
[11] The 1971–72 season saw two newly promoted clubs FC Karl-Marx-Stadt and ASG Vorwärts Stralsund.