My cousin was chosen as a diver in the GDR as a kid. He had to take "vitamin pills" provided by his coach. Given the knowledge we have now we assume he was given hormones to prevent him from growing, as the smaller size would've been an advantage. He is way shorter than his brother and parents. He also lost nearly all his hair in his early twenties, which may have been a side effect as this is also not typical in his part of the family.
Sad story. I suppose this coach would had been told by the drug "state provider" that these pills are fine etc. So he might even assumed he is doing kind of safe doping... But still should inform this kid he is not given vitamins. He could also work under some pressure too or was just "hipnotised" by the idea of positive results...
I was swimming at the Montreal Olympic stadium pool. Outside the stadium there is some bronze commemorative plaque with the name of every winner from every discipline at the 1976 Olympic Game. Let say that East Germany was pretty dominant at the swimming, specially the women.
Yes. They were dominant. The androgenic treatment and anabolic steroids worked well for them. Swimming was(is) one of the disciplines where the conversion of using performance enhancing drugs to result is high.
i just think of all the clean athletes that were denied even being competitive because of these dirty athletes. The board was tilted and nobody did anything about it. Sad really and then one person like Ben Johnson got caught and he got thrown under the bus for years of doping by other nations including the USA
Thank you, what do you think about Tizanidine used by Bahrain Victorius in the last Tour de France?, it is not in the dope list but you just can get it by medical prescription
Tizinadine itself doesn't affect performance. It is muacle relaxation drug. However it might have been used together with other substances that are not detectable. I suppose it could be an indicator of some more sophisticated doping programme...
? Manfred Ewald "being a former member of Hitler Youth": all in his generation in Germany are/were former members of Hitler Youth as all kids were required to join....(from 1936 till the end of the war)
@@RoadBikersPoznan A fact used as a dramatic emphasizing effect to describe his "evil". But thereby a whole generation of people who were children at that time are taken hostage in a narrative where they all must be "evil". Quite unfair.
@@eblita3698 no one claim that being part of HJ equals "evil". It was used more to draw a background. Every HJ member was subject of indoctrination - you cannot dismiss this fact. And this brainwashing was an evil. This insane, collective ideology shaped society. It might have impact most of kids in various ways. Please read a book "Race against Stasi" - there is a an example of how deeply Manfred glorified the national success over faith of individuals. This didn't came from nowhere. It was "injected" to him. After Dieter Wiedemann finished the race as third or so Ewald used demolishing words towards him explaining how he failed and disrespected the whole nation.
@@RoadBikersPoznan I sure do dismiss this “fact” as you call it as it is a disruption of reality. Many millions of Germans of the next generation, weren’t indoctrinated to evil the way your definition would put it, although they were forced to join Hitler Youth in their childhood. Not Nazis for the rest of their lives. He was just that kind of bad guy anyway that you’ll find anywhere at any time. It’s not fair to spread the narrative that the people back then in Hitler Youth were/became Nazis per definition. That would mean that every German now is a descendent of a Nazi. That’s not okay 😊
@@eblita3698 For young kids spotting the propaganda was almost impossible. They were easily onboarded to danger ideas. It wasn't like HJ was some scouting organization to which you had alternatives. Schools were also nazified and anti-nazi teachers sanctioned. Nazi race-science was taught in the classrooms. Other nations almost dehumanized and poor German kids were convinced to think of themselves as super-human beings. The only hope was that their parents gave them right education earlier. Long years of propaganda (mind shaping) doesn't vanish just like that after the war is over. You are not completely different person after all. If you are trying to plot and defend the thesis that "majority of Hitler Jugent were not influenced by the ideology" I am much of the opinion it is untrue. I know from autopsy how totalitarian systems works as I grew up in communist country.
Correct. Thanks. It is dark history what was done in GDR times. However I wouldnt be surprised if there are "smarter" doping programmes conducted by sports ministries in countries like China...
@@RoadBikersPoznanI was one of the guinea pigs they were experimenting on. It was back in 1979. I was 9 and they started the treatment of STS 646 and other "candies". I dont dont what it was. I still suffer to this day the healthproblems. What does a child know about doping, when even no word for that excisted in GDR.
Sure. But keep in mind the body building wasn't an Olympic game so we can't be sure how GDR would approach this kind of competition. Endurance sports were always more scientific requiring more balanced "treatment" where training periodization and mix of stimulants, steroids and blood enhancements came into play.
What was the purpose of all this doping? Achieving international fame for DDR? To spread communism? To make the citizens of DDR proud of their country and work harder for the success of it? Or something else entirely?
DDR had no history. It was an artificial country governed by Moscow. The communist elites were using sport to build the new identity for part of the German nation. From there the pressure was coming. Each success legitimated the government and the doping programme was just one of the "tools".
Let's remember that West Germany started their programme of doping a good four years earlier to co-incide with the Olympic Games in München in 1972. Let's also remember that only one single athlete in the whole lifetime of the GDR was ever accused and affirmed to have doped. And how does that tally with the number of athletes in other countries, notably the USA? MsG
