Field handball was introduced for men at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, but dropped after that.

(Indoor) handball was introduced for men at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.

Women's handball competition was introduced at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.

[3] When the Soviet Union broke up in 1991 they played one last tournament in 1992 as the Unified Team, which they won for the men and got a bronze medal for the women.

German Democratic Republic and West Germany were created after World War II.