Training Socialist Citizens: Sports and the State in East GermanyOffering a counterbalance to previous scholarship on elite Olympics sports and doping scandals, this study analyzes how the East German government used participatory sports programs, sports festivals, and sports spectatorship to transform its population into new socialist citizens. It illuminates the power of the East German dictatorship over its population, the ways that citizens participated in, accommodated to, and resisted state goals, and the governmenta (TM)s ultimate failure to create eager socialist citizens. It also highlights the orchestration of participation in modern dictatorships, the role of mass participatory sports as both a valuable political tool and a popular leisure activity, and elements of continuity and change in twentieth-century German history. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
The Postwar Reconstruction of Sports | 31 |
Chapter Two Training New Socialist Citizens through Sports | 65 |
Chapter Three Voluntary Campaigns and Socialist Society | 107 |
The Gymnastics and Sports Festivals | 135 |
Other editions - View all
Training Socialist Citizens: Sports and the State in East Germany Molly W. Johnson Limited preview - 2008 |
Training Socialist Citizens: Sports and the State in East Germany Molly Wilkinson Johnson No preview available - 2008 |
Common terms and phrases
According actions activities Association athletic August became Bennewitz Berlin building celebrated centralized citizens collective Committee communist competitions construction continued contributions cyclists Democratic democratic centralism demonstrate Deutschen Deutsches Turn East German East German government efforts emphasized encouraged enterprise exercises facilities Finze first Friedensfahrt German sports Germany’s goal Gymnastics and Sports highlighted individual interview interview by author leaders Leipzig letter March mass mass mobilization movement Nazi official Olympic organizers participation particularly Party Physical Culture planned play political popular population pride productivity programs promote remembered represent Republic reveal Schur Show SML-Dokumente socialism socialist society Soviet sponsored Sportfest sports clubs Sports Festival Sports Medal stadium state’s success Täve tion traditions Ulbricht Union University Press victory voluntary West workers World wrote York youth