The government of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) conducted a decades-long program of coercive administration and distribution of performance-enhancing drugs, initially testosterone esters, later CDMT (sold under the brand name of Turinabol), to the country's elite athletes. The aim of the program, which began in the 1960s, was to bolster East Germany's state image and prestige by winning medals in international competition such as the Olympic Games. The system was extremely formalised and heavily based on secrecy. Scholars and athletes have noted the pervasiveness of operations, the secrecy surrounding them, and the extent of abuse that athletes suffered because of them. While doping brought East Germany impressive results in sporting events, it was often devastating to the health of the athletes involved.
The program has been described in numerous accounts by the athletes, and by the East German government's secret records opened in 1993 that revealed the scale of the program. Various performance-enhancing drugs first became available in 1966 for male athletes and 1968 for females. Beginning in 1974, doping became a blanket policy imposed by the GDR sports federation. Athletes were often sworn to secrecy, deceived, or simply not informed about the drugs they were taking. While virtually no East German athlete ever failed an official drug test, Stasi files show many produced positive results at the Kreischa laboratory (German:Zentrales Dopingkontroll-Labor des Sportmedizinischen Dienstes), a facility approved at the time by the IOC. Documents revealed state-sponsored programs involving hundreds of scientists carrying out doping research on thousands of athletes. Particular attention was paid to doping women and adolescent girls because they gained the greatest performance boost from doping. In addition to doping research, research on evading doping detection was carried out.
In the 1990s, a special division of the German criminal police, the (ZERV), was charged with investigating doping crimes. Many sports directors, club officials, and some athletes were charged. For example, two former Dynamo Berlin club doctors were convicted of administering hormones to underage female athletes between 1975 and 1984. The East German Minister of Sport, Manfred Ewald, and the country's top sports doctor, Manfred Höppner, were convicted as accessories to "intentional bodily harm of athletes, including minors." More recently, former East German athletes who were administered drugs and suffered adverse effects have been able to seek financial compensation. Scholars have referred to the damaging side effects of steroid consumption to highlight that the GDR's regime was abusive and corrupt.
The program allowed East Germany to consistently score near the top of the Olympic medal rankings, placing second overall in both 1976 and 1980. These results were used in propaganda, claiming that a country of merely 17–18 million had managed to defeat world powers through talent and hard work. When the scale of the doping was revealed, the United States and Great Britain appealed to the IOC for the redistribution of medals. However, the IOC executive board announced that it had no intention of revising the Olympic record books. In rejecting the petitions, the IOC made it clear that it wanted to discourage any such appeals in the future.
History
Sports as a tool to gain legitimacy
After the building of the Berlin Wall, the East German government wanted to gain international recognition. High-level sports was targeted by as a possible tool to achieve it. Manfred Ewald, who became minister of Sports in 1961, initiated the doping system.Dimeo, P. Hunt, T. Horbury, R. (2011), "The individual and the State: A Social Historical Analysis of the East German 'Doping System'" Sport in History, Texas, University of Texas, p.227 The first and major sports reform adopted by the government was the 1969 high-performance directive called Leistungssportbeschluss. The aim of the reform was the division of disciplines into two main categories, Sport 1 and Sport 2.Dennis, M. Grix, J. (2010) "Beside the Iron Curtain: Football as a Cite of Contestation in the East German Sports 'Miracle'" Sports in History, United Kingdom, University of Wolverhampton. p.454 Disciplines stamped Sport 1 were supported and developed by the state because such sports, including swimming, rowing, and track and field, had the potential for Olympic glory. Disciplines stamped Sport 2 on the other hand held no particular interest in the eyes of the state. Indeed, sports like karate offered no potential for Olympic glory, and many suffered from the directive as resources were shifted away to finance Sport 1 disciplines.Dennis, M. Grix, J. (2010) "Beside the Iron Curtain: Football as a Cite of Contestation in the East German Sports 'Miracle'", Sports in History, United Kingdom, University of Wolverhampton. p.455
The GDR made huge efforts to identify talented athletes. Most children competed in youth sport centers and were scouted by the government; the best prospects were selected for intense Olympic training. These children were expected to deliver great victories, and the state was willing to use any means at its disposal to ensure such outcomes. Advances in medicine and science led to widespread use of steroids, amphetamines, human growth hormones and blood boosting behind the scenes in training centers for professional athletes. The Sportvereinigung Dynamo (English: Sport Club Dynamo)Pain And Injury in Sport: Social And Ethical Analysis, Section III, Chapter 7, Page 111, by Sigmund Loland, Berit Skirstad, Ivan Waddington, Published by Routledge in 2006, ASIN: B000OI0HZG was particularly singled out as a center for doping in East Germany.
The 1970s marked the formalisation of the doping system. Although various performance-enhancing drugs became available in 1966 for male athletes and 1968 for females,Dimeo, P. Hunt, T. Horbury, R. (2011), "The individual and the State: A Social Historical Analysis of the East German 'Doping System'" Sport in History, Texas, University of Texas, p.229 formalisation occurred after the remarkable performance of East Germany in the 1972 Summer Olympics, in which the GDR placed third in the medal rankings. Thanks to its strengthened doping program, the East German state was able to claim that a country of merely 17–18 million had managed to defeat world powers through talent and hard work.Dimeo, P. Hunt, T. Horbury, R. (2011), "The individual and the State: A Social Historical Analysis of the East German 'Doping System'" Sport in History, Texas, University of Texas, p.220
After 1972, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) improved doping detection. As a result, in 1974, the East German state created the , also known as the "uM group". Working with cutting-edge research, uM's goals were to improve the effects of doping and prevent any exposure of doping. Anabolic drugs became commonly available and East German athletes began consuming them frequently. Predominant amongst these drugs were anabolic-androgenic steroids, such as Oral Turinabol, which was produced by state-owned pharmaceuticals firm Jenapharm.
In the following years, the country managed to assert dominance over different disciplines, and multiple records were set by East German athletes. The 1980s gradually brought a climate of suspicion around the athletes. The IOC, which had begun to have doubts over their performance, reinforced doping controls as suspicion grew ever stronger.Dimeo, P. Hunt, T. Horbury, R. (2011), "The individual and the State: A Social Historical Analysis of the East German 'Doping System'" Sport in History, Texas, University of Texas, p.228 However, its investigations were severely hampered by a lack of tools and expertise.
The East German doping system ended in the 1990s with the fall of the Berlin Wall. Multiple athletes and individuals came forward with information on the doping system, and a series of trials were held for the principle figures involved. Approximately 1,000 people were invited to testify in the trials, and 300 did so.Dimeo, P. Hunt, T. Horbury, R. (2011), "The individual and the State: A Social Historical Analysis of the East German 'Doping System'" Sport in History, Texas, University of Texas, p.235
Systematic state doping
Jean-Pierre de Mondenard, an expert in performance-enhancing drugs, contended that while doping existed in other countries, both communist and capitalist, the difference in East Germany was that it represented state policy.
From 1974 on, Manfred Ewald, head of the GDR sports federation, imposed blanket doping. That year, a "highly centralized, clandestine program" called State Research Plan 14.25 was created, and the uM working group (abbreviation of , or 'supportive means'/'supportive substances') began overseeing distribution of drugs to athletes across all sports. The person in charge of the doping system was Dr. Manfred Höppner, a recognised East German sports doctor. He was made head of the uM group, which delivered the drugs to the federations. Each federation had its distinct uM group, as variety and doses differed with each discipline.Dimeo, P. Hunt, T. Horbury, R. (2011), "The individual and the State: A Social Historical Analysis of the East German 'Doping System'" Sport in History, Texas, University of Texas, p.230
Scholars and athletes have noted the pervasiveness of uM working group operations, the secrecy surrounding them, and the extent of abuse that athletes suffered because of them. The state research program was "clandestine activity that demanded the collaboration of sports physicians, talented scientists and coaching experts under the watchful eye of the GDR Government". The well-documented involvement of the GDR's Ministry of State Security (Stasi) in the doping program highlights the lengths to which the state went to ensure its secrecy. Athletes were often sworn to secrecy, deceived, or simply not informed about the drugs they were taking; they were told that they were being given "vitamins". Shot put athlete Birgit Boese was just twelve years old when she became part of the doping program. She was instructed by her coach not to tell anyone about the pills she was given, not even her parents. Ewald, the federation head, was quoted as having told coaches: "They're still so young and don't have to know everything."
Olympic success
At the time, East German athletic results constituted an immense success. Not until the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo had East Germans won more medals than their West German counterparts. Four years later, the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City hosted two separate German teams with a common flag and anthem, in which East German athletes surpassed the West German (FRG) medal count: the GDR, a country of 17 million, won nine gold medals. The performance was repeated on 'enemy territory' at the 1972 Olympics in Munich; subsequently, the GDR never fell below third in the unofficial ranking. In Munich, the total medal count was 20. In the 1976 Olympic Games, it doubled again to 40, making East Germany second in the medal count. The GDR would repeat the performance yet again four years later.
The total count by GDR participants at Winter and Summer Olympics from 1956 to 1988 amounted to 203 gold, 192 silver and 177 bronze medals;Sport Under Communism: Behind the East German 'Miracle', p.29 the GDR-only era from 1968 to 1988 returned 192 gold, 165 silver and 162 bronze. Doping significantly helped to achieve victories for the state, bringing the relatively small nation to prominence on the world stage. Today, all victories by East German athletes are tainted by their widespread drug use.
Effects on athletes