World records and a shower of gold medals - GDR athletes won at the time, historic victories at the Olympic Games. Many of the successes, however, have a dark sheen, because the state distributed doping en masse.
The GDR's national football team even achieved the incredible: playing to a draw with Brazil at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. The small country is up against the proven football superpower. In the following matches, the players from East Germany exceeded all expectations: the team became the first German team to win an Olympic gold medal in football. To this day, this is the only Olympic victory of a German men's football team.
GDR athletes are the great pride of the nation. They were even called "diplomats in sports teams", Yuta Brown, historian at the Center for Modern History "Leibnitz", says in an interview with DV. (CSI) in Potsdam. The state then supported the athletes with a lot of money and pushed them to the limit of human capabilities. But after the end of the GDR, sports clubs disbanded, many athletes disappeared from the limelight or became unemployed.
But this is not the only reason for the decline of many sports heroes. An investigation reveals that athletes in the GDR systematically doped or were forced to do so. As a result, many record holders bid farewell to their former glory, and many of the “heroes” of the GDR are quickly forgotten.
Doping drama: are the successes real?
During the 40 years of its existence, thousands of athletes from the GDR took part in the Olympic Games and won hundreds of Olympic medals. With this, the small country makes a strong impression on the world stage. The dark side of the shiny medals surfaced years later: performance-enhancing drugs had shot athletes beyond the limits of what was possible.
The organization “Help for victims of doping“ claims that since the mid-1970s, some 15,000 athletes have been forced into the state's doping program. Many of the doping victims were still minors. The subsequent revelations were shocking and led to a collapse in the image of the sports prodigy from the GDR.
Ideological war during the Olympics
Gold medals for the GDR mean more than sporting success - they are a piece of the puzzle of a high self-esteem. After World War II, Germany was divided into two countries: the socialist German Democratic Republic (GDR) in the east and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) in the west.
While the FRG shines as a rising economic power, the smaller GDR struggles for international recognition. "It wasn't just about meters and seconds, it was about representing a better Germany," says Uta Braun. In return, the GDR rewarded the athletes with money, cars and apartments. Each winner of the honorary ladder personifies the triumph of socialism.
A football defeat
At the 1974 FIFA World Cup held in West Germany, a match was played between the teams of West and East Germany. The GDR surprisingly won 1-0 in the preliminary round, East Germany triumphed, and the losing Western team became the object of ridicule among its compatriots.
Despite the loss, the team manages to benefit from the defeat: fully motivated by the loss, Franz Beckenbauer and company play better, finish second in their group, fall into an easier group for the next stage of the tournament – with Poland, Sweden and Yugoslavia. Thus, the Bundesteam reaches the final, wins it and becomes world champion.
At the same time, the GDR is suspended in its group by the Netherlands, Brazil and Argentina.
The early 1980s was a peak period for state doping in the GDR. At the time, however, East and West German athletes did not directly compete against each other in at least two major events: initially, the FRG boycotted the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics, and four years later – in 1984 the GDR joined the Eastern Bloc boycott of the Los Angeles Olympics.
No place in the Hall of Fame
State doping in the GDR and the rivalry between East and West Germany explain the fading glory of many GDR athletes. This can also be seen in the German Sports Hall of Fame, a virtual site honoring German athletes and sports personalities. Only a few athletes from the GDR appear there. The public still argues about many East German sports legends. Are they real heroes or have their successes been achieved thanks to the use of doping?
It is an indisputable fact that doping in the GDR was organized by the state. He is an integral part of the East German sporting wonder. It is also a fact that some of the athletes involved still claim to be innocent and defend their successes. They feel unfairly accused and struggle to have their achievements recognized. However, medals and records tell only part of their heroic stories.