It replaced the Bezirksliga as the highest level of play in German football competitions.

In this era, the only success to come for a club from Baden was, when the SV Waldhof Mannheim reached the German cup final in 1939, losing to the 1.

In 1939–40, the league played in four different groups with a finals round at the end to determine the Baden champion.

For the 1941–42 season, the Gauliga Baden split into a northern and a southern group with six teams each and a four-team finals round.

The imminent collapse of Nazi Germany in 1945 gravely affected all Gauligas and football in Baden ceased in January 1945 with none of the groups having absolved their full program.