It replaced the Bezirksligas and Oberligas as the highest level of play in German football competitions.

During the war years, the Dresdner SC became a dominating force in German football, with two championships, in 1943 and 1944, a lost final in 1940 and two cup wins in 1940 and 1941.

The VfB Leipzig was the other team from the league with a national title, winning the German Cup in 1936.

However, none of them played more than a few games before the arrival of the Red Army, and the end of the war terminated all competitions.

With the end of the Nazi era, the Gauligas ceased to exist and the region found itself in the Soviet occupation zone.