2.5
Sport
GDR encouraged sport to improve health, productivity and at an elite level, to increase prestige and a sense of national identity
There was a programme to encourage sport at the local level and elite level
The elite was identified at a young age, through scouts and enrolling them in special schools
The hope was to produce elite, disciplined communist athletes who could demonstrate the superiority of communism in both sports and outside of sport
Elite Athletes
1964 Olympics the East german athletes won 23 medals in an all-German team.
1988 Seoul Olympics the GDR had 102 medals whilst the FRG only 40 medals
The athletes were known as ‘diplomats in tracksuits’
Doping
as early as 1964 the athletes were given steroids
The doping programme cost around 400 million Ostmarks by 1989
Gender Equality
The GDR ensured that women participated
in 1980 they won 46% of all the medals
Women were given Oral-Turninabol which was a fast steroid
female athletes were able to devote all of their time to a punishing training programme supported by the state
This led to many of the women athletes being physically and mentally scarred, so much so Heidi Krieger even got a sex change
Mass Participation
9 million people took part in 1963 sports festival
340,000 children participated in mass table tennis
In 1992 just after the GDR’s demise found that only 11.3% of sports field were adequate for use
The sports encouraged were the ones that did not require facilities like jogging and football