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East Germany at the Olympics

November 18, 2023

The German Democratic Republic (GDR), often called East Germany, founded a separate National Olympic Committee for socialist East Germany on 22 April 1951 in the Rotes Rathaus of East Berlin. This was the last of three German Olympic committees of the time. It was not recognized by the IOC for over a decade.

East Germany at the
Olympics
IOC codeGDR
NOCNational Olympic Committee of the GDR
Medals
Ranked 11th
Gold
192
Silver
165
Bronze
162
Total
519
Summer appearances
Winter appearances
Other related appearances
 Germany (1896–1936, 1992–)
 United Team of Germany (1956–1964)

Participation edit

Timeline of participation edit

Date Team
1896–1912   Germany (GER)
1920–1924 denied participation
1928–1936     Germany (GER)
1948 denied participation
1952   Saar (SAA)   Germany (GER)
1956–1964   United Team of Germany (EUA)
1968–1988   West Germany (FRG)   East Germany (GDR)
1992–   Germany (GER)

Medal tables edit

See also: All-time Olympic Games medal table

History edit

Division of Germany edit

After the division of Germany following World War II, three separate states had been founded under occupation. After the Allies denied attempts made in 1947 to continue the participation of Germany at the Olympics, no German team could participate in the 1948 games. Finally, in 1949, the National Olympic Committee for Germany was founded in the Western Federal Republic of Germany. This was later recognized by the IOC as representing both German states. The small French-occupied Saarland and its NOC (SAA) joined the Federal Republic of Germany after 1955, having not been allowed to join the German counterparts previously.

The East German Nationales Olympisches Komitee für Ostdeutschland authority refused to send their athletes to the 1952 games as participants of an all-German team, demanding a team of their own. This was denied by the IOC.

United German Team edit

They agreed to participate in 1956. German athletes from the two remaining states competed at the Olympic Games in 1956, 1960 and 1964 as the United Team of Germany. While this team was simply called 'Germany' at the time, it is currently designated by the IOC as EUA, 'Équipe unifiée d'Allemagne'.

Success of East Germans edit

The socialist GDR erected the Berlin wall in 1961, during the Cold War. They renamed their NOC to Nationales Olympisches Komitee der DDR in 1965. It was recognized as an independent NOC by the IOC in 1968. Following this, the GDR ceased participation in the United German team and sent a separate East German team from 1968 to 1988, other than absences in the summer of 1984 in being part of the Soviet-led boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics.

While the GDR, a small state with a population of about 16 million, has a short history, and even a shorter history at the Olympics, it was extremely successful. From 1976 to 1988, it came second in all three of their summer Olympics, behind the Soviet Union, and well ahead of larger West Germany. This was improved upon at five winter games, with 4 second-place rankings and a first in the 1984 Winter Olympics.

It is widely believed that doping (predominantly anabolic steroids) allowed East Germany, with its small population, to become a world leader in the following two decades. It won a large number of Olympic and world gold medals and records. A number of athletes subsequently failed doping tests and others were suspected of taking performance-enhancing drugs.[1][2] However, in many cases where suspicions existed, no proof of wrongdoing was uncovered. As a result, the majority of records and medals won by East German athletes still stand. Aside from an extensive doping programme, East Germany invested significantly in sport, particularly in Olympic sports. It had an extensive state bureaucracy to select and train promising athletes and world-class coaches.

An important figure in the GDR was Manfred Ewald (1926–2002), member of SED central committee from 1963. He was president of the "Staatliches Komitee für Körperkultur und Sport" (Stako) from 1952 to 1960. In 1961, he became president of the "Deutscher Turn- und Sportbund" (DTSB), governing all sport in the GDR, and in 1973 president of the NOC. He is considered to be the organiser of the "GDR sports miracle". His post-1990 autobiography was titled "I was the Sport". He fell from grace in 1988, having been removed from the office of DTSB. In 2001, he was found guilty of doping.

Germany reunited edit

The German Democratic Republic ceased to exist in 1990, joining the West into a reunified Germany in the process of German reunification. Accordingly, the "NOC of the GDR" joined the "NOC of Germany" on 17 November 1990. German athletes competed at the Olympic Games as a single team again from 1992 onwards. Athletes from the Eastern part of Germany contributed disproportionately to the medals won by Germany, particularly in the first decade after reunification. This is thought to indicate that doping was not the only reason East Germany was so successful (and more successful than West Germany in particular) in the Olympics, with professional training conditions also being significant. The medal tally of reunited Germany after 1990 was more comparable to that of East Germany before 1990 than of West Germany before 1990. For example, of the twenty nine medals Germany won in the 2006 Winter Olympics East German born (containing one-fifth of the population of Germany) athletes won fourteen (six gold). West German athletes won only nine medals (three gold), with six medals won in mixed teams. In recent years, some centres of German top-class sport have relocated to the West, for example winter sports to Bavaria. However, the East is still performing better than the West. Trainers from East Germany (e.g. Uwe Müßiggang) were important in producing sporting success for United Germany. Also, many top-class German athletes who today live in the western part of Germany started their professional sport careers in the East, and can be seen as part of the large-scale exodus of young people from the East to the West since reunification.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Tagliabue, John. - "Political Pressure Dismantles East German Sports Machine" - The New York Times - February 12, 1991
  2. ^ Janofsky, Michael. - "OLYMPICS; Coaches Concede That Steroids Fueled East Germany's Success in Swimming" - The New York Times - December 3, 1991

External links edit

  • "Olympic Results". International Olympic Committee.
  • "East Germany". Olympedia.com.
  • "Olympic Analytics/GDR". olympanalyt.com.
  • GDR Sport System in German

November 18, 2023
east, germany, olympics, german, democratic, republic, often, called, east, germany, founded, separate, national, olympic, committee, socialist, east, germany, april, 1951, rotes, rathaus, east, berlin, this, last, three, german, olympic, committees, time, rec. The German Democratic Republic GDR often called East Germany founded a separate National Olympic Committee for socialist East Germany on 22 April 1951 in the Rotes Rathaus of East Berlin This was the last of three German Olympic committees of the time It was not recognized by the IOC for over a decade East Germany at theOlympicsIOC codeGDRNOCNational Olympic Committee of the GDRMedalsRanked 11thGold 192 Silver 165 Bronze 162 Total 519Summer appearances196819721976198019841988Winter appearances196819721976198019841988Other related appearances Germany 1896 1936 1992 United Team of Germany 1956 1964 Contents 1 Participation 1 1 Timeline of participation 2 Medal tables 2 1 Medals by Summer Games 2 2 Medals by Winter Games 2 3 Medals by summer sport 2 4 Medals by winter sport 3 History 3 1 Division of Germany 3 2 United German Team 3 3 Success of East Germans 3 4 Germany reunited 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksParticipation editTimeline of participation edit Date Team1896 1912 nbsp Germany GER 1920 1924 denied participation1928 1936 nbsp nbsp Germany GER 1948 denied participation1952 nbsp Saar SAA nbsp Germany GER 1956 1964 nbsp United Team of Germany EUA 1968 1988 nbsp West Germany FRG nbsp East Germany GDR 1992 nbsp Germany GER Medal tables editSee also All time Olympic Games medal table Medals by Summer Games edit Games Athletes Gold Silver Bronze Total Rank1896 1912 as part of nbsp Germany GER 1920 Antwerp did not participate1924 Paris1928 1936 as part of nbsp nbsp Germany GER 1948 London did not participate1952 Helsinki1956 1964 as part of nbsp United Team of Germany EUA 1968 Mexico City 226 9 9 7 25 51972 Munich 297 20 23 23 66 31976 Montreal 267 40 25 25 90 21980 Moscow 345 47 37 42 126 21984 Los Angeles did not participate1988 Seoul 259 37 35 30 102 21992 Present as part of nbsp Germany GER Total 153 129 127 409 11 Medals by Winter Games edit Games Athletes Gold Silver Bronze Total Rank1924 1936 as part of nbsp nbsp Germany GER 1948 St Moritz did not participate1952 Oslo1956 1964 as part of the nbsp United Team of Germany EUA 1968 Grenoble 57 1 2 2 5 101972 Sapporo 42 4 3 7 14 21976 Innsbruck 59 7 5 7 19 21980 Lake Placid 53 9 7 7 23 21984 Sarajevo 56 9 9 6 24 11988 Calgary 53 9 10 6 25 21992 Present as part of nbsp Germany GER Total 39 36 35 110 14 Medals by summer sport edit SportGoldSilverBronzeTotal nbsp Athletics383635109 nbsp Swimming38322292 nbsp Rowing337848 nbsp Canoeing147930 nbsp Gymnastics6131736 nbsp Cycling66416 nbsp Boxing52613 nbsp Shooting38516 nbsp Wrestling2327 nbsp Diving2237 nbsp Sailing2226 nbsp Weightlifting14611 nbsp Judo1269 nbsp Football1113 nbsp Handball1113 nbsp Volleyball0202 nbsp Fencing0101Totals 17 entries 153129127409 Medals by winter sport edit SportGoldSilverBronzeTotal nbsp Luge138829 nbsp Speed skating812929 nbsp Bobsleigh55313 nbsp Biathlon34411 nbsp Figure skating33410 nbsp Nordic combined3047 nbsp Ski jumping2327 nbsp Cross country skiing2114Totals 8 entries 393635110History editDivision of Germany edit After the division of Germany following World War II three separate states had been founded under occupation After the Allies denied attempts made in 1947 to continue the participation of Germany at the Olympics no German team could participate in the 1948 games Finally in 1949 the National Olympic Committee for Germany was founded in the Western Federal Republic of Germany This was later recognized by the IOC as representing both German states The small French occupied Saarland and its NOC SAA joined the Federal Republic of Germany after 1955 having not been allowed to join the German counterparts previously The East German Nationales Olympisches Komitee fur Ostdeutschland authority refused to send their athletes to the 1952 games as participants of an all German team demanding a team of their own This was denied by the IOC United German Team edit They agreed to participate in 1956 German athletes from the two remaining states competed at the Olympic Games in 1956 1960 and 1964 as the United Team of Germany While this team was simply called Germany at the time it is currently designated by the IOC as EUA Equipe unifiee d Allemagne Success of East Germans edit The socialist GDR erected the Berlin wall in 1961 during the Cold War They renamed their NOC to Nationales Olympisches Komitee der DDR in 1965 It was recognized as an independent NOC by the IOC in 1968 Following this the GDR ceased participation in the United German team and sent a separate East German team from 1968 to 1988 other than absences in the summer of 1984 in being part of the Soviet led boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics While the GDR a small state with a population of about 16 million has a short history and even a shorter history at the Olympics it was extremely successful From 1976 to 1988 it came second in all three of their summer Olympics behind the Soviet Union and well ahead of larger West Germany This was improved upon at five winter games with 4 second place rankings and a first in the 1984 Winter Olympics It is widely believed that doping predominantly anabolic steroids allowed East Germany with its small population to become a world leader in the following two decades It won a large number of Olympic and world gold medals and records A number of athletes subsequently failed doping tests and others were suspected of taking performance enhancing drugs 1 2 However in many cases where suspicions existed no proof of wrongdoing was uncovered As a result the majority of records and medals won by East German athletes still stand Aside from an extensive doping programme East Germany invested significantly in sport particularly in Olympic sports It had an extensive state bureaucracy to select and train promising athletes and world class coaches An important figure in the GDR was Manfred Ewald 1926 2002 member of SED central committee from 1963 He was president of the Staatliches Komitee fur Korperkultur und Sport Stako from 1952 to 1960 In 1961 he became president of the Deutscher Turn und Sportbund DTSB governing all sport in the GDR and in 1973 president of the NOC He is considered to be the organiser of the GDR sports miracle His post 1990 autobiography was titled I was the Sport He fell from grace in 1988 having been removed from the office of DTSB In 2001 he was found guilty of doping Germany reunited edit The German Democratic Republic ceased to exist in 1990 joining the West into a reunified Germany in the process of German reunification Accordingly the NOC of the GDR joined the NOC of Germany on 17 November 1990 German athletes competed at the Olympic Games as a single team again from 1992 onwards Athletes from the Eastern part of Germany contributed disproportionately to the medals won by Germany particularly in the first decade after reunification This is thought to indicate that doping was not the only reason East Germany was so successful and more successful than West Germany in particular in the Olympics with professional training conditions also being significant The medal tally of reunited Germany after 1990 was more comparable to that of East Germany before 1990 than of West Germany before 1990 For example of the twenty nine medals Germany won in the 2006 Winter Olympics East German born containing one fifth of the population of Germany athletes won fourteen six gold West German athletes won only nine medals three gold with six medals won in mixed teams In recent years some centres of German top class sport have relocated to the West for example winter sports to Bavaria However the East is still performing better than the West Trainers from East Germany e g Uwe Mussiggang were important in producing sporting success for United Germany Also many top class German athletes who today live in the western part of Germany started their professional sport careers in the East and can be seen as part of the large scale exodus of young people from the East to the West since reunification See also editList of flag bearers for East Germany at the Olympics Olympic competitors for East Germany East Germany at the Paralympics East Germany national athletics teamReferences edit Tagliabue John Political Pressure Dismantles East German Sports Machine The New York Times February 12 1991 Janofsky Michael OLYMPICS Coaches Concede That Steroids Fueled East Germany s Success in Swimming The New York Times December 3 1991External links edit Olympic Results International Olympic Committee East Germany Olympedia com Olympic Analytics GDR olympanalyt com GDR Sport System in German Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title East Germany at the Olympics amp oldid 1150318183, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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