A report commissioned by the German Ministry of Sports and carried out by researchers from the Humboldt University of Berlin and the University of Münster – Doping leakage in Germany from 1950 to the present – appeared in various German newspapers.
The report was heavily redacted due to legal and privacy concerns, but was clear enough in stating that doping was widespread on both sides of the divide during the Cold War and continued after reunification.
The revelations of West German doping dropped like a bombshell, and the reverberations went around the world.
A report claims that West Germany’s shock comeback win over Hungary in the 1954 World Cup final – a match often referred to as the “Miracle of Bern” – was fueled by meth, the energy-boosting methamphetamine.
In the 1950s, the drug was thoroughly studied in Freiburg for its doping properties.
Questions have also been raised about West Germany’s 1966 FIFA World Cup, where they reached the final but lost 4-2 to England.
The report revealed that Fifa official Mihailo Andrejevic had informed German Athletics Federation president Max Danz in a letter that three German national team players had been found to have “fine traces” of ephedrine – a central nervous system stimulant.
No action was taken and some speculated that the players may have ingested ephedrine in cold medicine.
During the 1972 and 1976 Olympics in Munich and Montreal, respectively, organized consumption of illicit stimulants was common among top West German athletes, the report added.
While most German sports federations agreed to cooperate and share documents, according to the report, it was notable that the German Athletics Federation refused to hand over the minutes of its presidential meetings, while “the former president of the federation was unwilling to allow access to documents related to doping that he has.”
The report also states that the German Football Association only offered access to researchers under the most unacceptable conditions, while the security services refused access to possible doping-related documents from both West and East Germany.
More than a decade later, the original report, even with redactions, is only available as a physical copy at the request of the German government.
The Federal Institute of Sports Sciences (BISp) said the original 804-page report did not “meet the requirements of good scientific work in form and content” and demanded that it be revised.
A later, 43-page version has become more publicly available., external
The University of Freiburg told BBC Sport it was “committed to a consistent, unreserved and transparent clarification of the past in relation to sports medicine at Freiburg”, describing the resignation of Paoli and her team of investigators and their failure to submit a final report in relation to it. as “very regrettable”.
The university did some parts of the team’s temporary work are available online., external
Germany announced in July, external that it intends to bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2040. If successful, the event will mark 50 years since reunification.
But like the future, the country’s past is contested.
The Cold War had its victor, and victors often have the freedom to shape history and stories as they see fit. But the secrets of West Germany at least partially emerged and changed the scenario.
East Germany doped its athletes on an eerie industrial scale that saw thousands drugged without clear consent to gain a sporting advantage – but the situation in the West was much less ambiguous.
Those in West Germany were granted freedom beyond the wildest dreams of East Germans, but it is becoming increasingly clear that many have chosen exactly the same methods as the enemy.
For some, anything to gain an edge in the battle for Cold War medals was fair game.
