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This is What Life was Like in Communist East Germany

Tim Flight December 18, 2019 25 min

Berlin Wall - Checkpoint Charlie — A man peers over the newly-built Berlin Wall in August 1961. The Guardian

35. The Soviet Union loved sports, and so East Germany became a surprising sporting powerhouse

East and West Germany play a soccer match for the only time in Hamburg, 1974. These Football Times

The Soviet Union saw international sporting competitions as an important marketing opportunity. Soviet citizens winning medals and trophies made a good advert for socialism, both helping it spread and encouraging talented immigrants. Thus the GDR heavily subsidized sports clubs and tried to nurture sporting talents at a young age. This scheme proved very successful. East German football teams competed valiantly in European competitions, and the national team played at the 1974 World Cup. East German athletes also punched above their weight at the Olympics, taking a whopping 47 gold medals at Moscow 1980.

Written by

Tim Flight

I am a freelance historical and literary writer based in West Yorkshire, UK. I read for a funded PhD in English at the University of Oxford (Magdalen College) and graduated in 2016. I am a former lecturer in Medieval English Literature at Royal Holloway, University of London. My publications include peer-reviewed articles in academic publications, and pieces in mainstream magazines such as History Today and Fortean Times. For more information, please see www.drflight.co.uk