E
chapter 10
Sports and Society in the Rivalry
between East and West
Jutta Braun
I
n a speech after the fi rst free elections for the Volkskammer in the GDR
on 18 March 1990, Wolfgang Schäuble, the West German minister of
the interior, whose mandate included sports, declared that the successes
achieved by East German sport had to be “rescued” for unifi ed Germany.^1
Schäuble’s sentiments echoed those of the West German sports organi-
zations who hoped to get a glimpse into the secrets of the East German
“sports miracle” (Sportwunder) after the fall of the Berlin Wall so that
they could adopt some of its elements.^2 West German sports policy was
focused in particular on the Olympic victories with which the GDR had
been able to make a name for itself over decades. Politicians and sports
associations did not realize until much later—and too late in the eyes of
many experts—that the real “legacy” of GDR sport was an ailing recre-
ational sport apparatus that was clearly in need of a complete overhaul.^3
This history of sports in divided Germany was shaped by entangle-
ments and diff erences that extended well beyond the Olympic Games.
Especially in the world of soccer, there were signifi cant diff erences, but
also links and interactions between East and West that are quite relevant
aspects of social history.^4 Similar fashions and trends also emerged in
popular sports in East and West alike, but they took on diff erent hues and
forms of expression that were particular to each system.
Competing for Victory: Elite Sports in the 1970s and 1980s
The Olympics and the East German “Sportwunder”
During the Cold War, the Olympic Games, more so than any other major
sporting event, were considered to be the ultimate venue for the rivalry
