{"id":33231,"date":"2026-11-02T17:35:39","date_gmt":"2026-11-02T17:35:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=33231"},"modified":"2026-11-02T17:35:39","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T17:35:39","slug":"stronger-than-the-state-bodybuilders-in-east-germany","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=33231","title":{"rendered":"Stronger than the State &#8211; Bodybuilders in East Germany"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-tracking-skip=\"true\" data-tracking-name=\"rich-text\">\n<p>They made their own dumbbells and trained in attics, cellars or wherever they could find some space. The film tells the story of athletes who were masters of improvisation. &#8220;There were no gyms,&#8221; says sports historian Dr Andreas M\u00fcller. Even the term &#8216;bodybuilding&#8217; was officially taboo. &#8220;In the <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/east-germany-gdr\/t-19035001\">GDR<\/a>, it was called &#8216;physical culture&#8217;.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"placeholder-image master_landscape big\"><img data-format=\"MASTER_LANDSCAPE\" data-id=\"79798925\" data-url=\"https:\/\/static.dw.com\/image\/79798925_${formatId}.jpg\" data-aspect-ratio=\"16\/9\" alt=\"   \" style=\"padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; max-height: 0;\"\/><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><small class=\"copyright\">Image: NDR<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The athletes converted barracks into training rooms, swapped records for weights and bars, and smuggled specialist magazines in from the West to get hold of training programs. They also showed great creativity when it came to obtaining performance-enhancing drugs.<\/p>\n<p>Who were these people? A question even the East German intelligence agency, known as the Stasi, couldn&#8217;t answer in sufficient detail. Undercover agents signed up at sports clubs and trained alongside members; telephone calls were tapped and flats were bugged. ((&#8220;Stasi agents probably had their own keys as well,&#8221; says Gabi Romanik, a pioneer of women&#8217;s bodybuilding.))<\/p>\n<figure class=\"placeholder-image master_landscape big\"><img data-format=\"MASTER_LANDSCAPE\" data-id=\"79798940\" data-url=\"https:\/\/static.dw.com\/image\/79798940_${formatId}.jpg\" data-aspect-ratio=\"16\/9\" alt=\"   \" style=\"padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; max-height: 0;\"\/><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><small class=\"copyright\">Image: NDR<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Weightlifting developed in the shadow of state-organized competitive sport. Competitions in the West were banned, and even tournaments in the eastern bloc were often off-limits to GDR athletes. But still, the bodybuilders managed to evade state control. ((&#8220;I\u2019ll go my own way,&#8221; says Hans L\u00f6we, a legend of GDR weightlifting.))<\/p>\n<p>The <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/stasi\/t-38855790\">Stasi<\/a> grew increasingly exasperated. When the athletes tested the regime by flooding it with emigration applications, even unofficial informants leapt to their defense, claiming that the weightlifters were being treated unfairly, says historian Andreas M\u00fcller. Ironically, the informers eventually became advocates. To prevent high-profile defections and preserve its international sporting image, the GDR regime capitulated by granting the weightlifters prestigious &#8220;Master of Sport&#8221; awards.<\/p>\n<h2>Broadcasting Hours:<\/h2>\n<p><strong>DW English<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>SUN 08.11.2026\u00a0\u2013 00:02\u00a0UTC<br \/>SUN 08.11.2026\u00a0\u2013 03:30\u00a0UTC<br \/><span style=\"clear:none\" xml:lang=\"PT-BR\">SUN 08.11.2026\u00a0\u2013 11:30\u00a0UTC<\/span><br \/>MON 09.11.2026\u00a0\u2013 01:15\u00a0UTC<br \/>MON 09.11.2026\u00a0\u2013 05:02 UTC<br \/>MON 09.11.2026\u00a0\u2013 08:02 UTC<br \/>MON 09.11.2026\u00a0\u2013 16:30\u00a0UTC<br \/>WED 11.11.2026\u00a0\u2013 11:02 UTC<br \/>WED 11.11.2026\u00a0\u2013 18:30 UTC<br \/>THU 12.11.2026\u00a0\u2013 06:30 UTC<br \/>FRI 13.11.2026\u00a0\u2013 15:30 UTC<\/p>\n<p>Lagos UTC +1 | Cape Town UTC +2 | Nairobi UTC +3<br \/>Delhi UTC +5,5 | Bangkok UTC +7 | Hong Kong UTC +8<br \/>London UTC +\/-0\u00a0| Berlin UTC +1\u00a0| Moscow UTC +3<br \/>San Francisco UTC -8\u00a0| Edmonton UTC -7\u00a0| New York UTC -5<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/stronger-than-the-state-bodybuilders-in-east-germany\/a-79666674\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>They made their own dumbbells and trained in attics, cellars or wherever they could find some space. The film tells the story of athletes who were masters of improvisation. &#8220;There were no gyms,&#8221; says sports historian Dr Andreas M\u00fcller. Even the term &#8216;bodybuilding&#8217; was officially taboo. &#8220;In the GDR, it was called &#8216;physical culture&#8217;.&#8221; Image: [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":33232,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Stronger than the State - Bodybuilders in East Germany - World Bodybuilding News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=33231\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Stronger than the State - Bodybuilders in East Germany - World Bodybuilding News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"They made their own dumbbells and trained in attics, cellars or wherever they could find some space. The film tells the story of athletes who were masters of improvisation. &#8220;There were no gyms,&#8221; says sports historian Dr Andreas M\u00fcller. 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