Drugs in Elite Sport in the German ‘Doping’ Republic

Abstract

The contribution of illegal and unethical performance-enhancing substances towards the triumphs of GDR athletes is a bitterly contested issue. For some the widespread central doping programme is emblematic of a ruthless totalitarian state, for others this kind of criticism is symptomatic of a failure to appreciate the positive aspects of GDR sport and society. As we discuss in Chapter 7, the official explanation for sporting success focused on the mutual benefits of the intertwining of elite and popular sport in a socialist society that, unlike the capitalist variant, was typically characterised by equal and ample opportunities for all citizens to develop their intellectual and physical capacities. SED leaders Ulbricht and Honecker hailed the GDR commitment to making sports and physical culture an everyday need for everyone and, as we have seen, this right is enshrined in the GDR Constitution. Doping was antithetical to this mission. A pamphlet issued in 1978 for explaining the GDR sports system to a wide audience denied accusations that the sports miracle was achieved through ‘the poison of doping’ and unashamedly asserted that the GDR, in conjunction with the other socialist states, was one of the leaders in the fight against the doping ‘nightmare’ characteristic of commercialised sport in the capitalist countries.¹ Not only did officials such as Ewald deny any significant role for doping in GDR sporting success but they also lauded the state’s fight for a drug-free sport both domestically and internationally.