With a title like "Secrets of the Dead", you would expect more death than you find in this episode. Only two dead folks are mentioned--and their deaths are inconclusive. So I do question why the film appeared in "Secrets of the Dead" and not in some other form. Regardless, it's a very fascinating episode--especially if you remember the DDR's dominance in sports in the 1970s and 80s.
This show is about the illegal performance-enhancing drugs used by the East Germans. Unlike individuals who took steroids and other drugs, however, the DDR's use of these drugs was systematic and wholly endorsed by the state. So, while individuals in the West might have used drugs here and there, it seemed like ALL the East Germans were doping. And, when it came to the Olympic games, this relatively small nation began dominating--beating out much larger nations like West Germany and the United States. The athletes, for the most part, were unaware that they were being drugged and the show discusses the many long-term effects on them--such as women developing secondary male sexual characteristics (such as hairy bodies and HUGE muscles), heart and liver problems and possibly a few deaths. Only after the fall of the Berlin Wall did the pervasiveness of the problem come to light--though many throughout the world already assumed this doping had occurred as it was seemingly known by everyone though they could not prove it.
What I found interesting about this film is that the reactions of the athletes today to their begin drugged. Some were quite upset--as it tainted their medals and left many scars. Others, sadly, seemed to have little problem with it and were proud of their performances--even though it is doubtful many of them would have won medals at all. Overall, an interesting documentary--but one that seldom talks about the dead and their secrets.
This show is about the illegal performance-enhancing drugs used by the East Germans. Unlike individuals who took steroids and other drugs, however, the DDR's use of these drugs was systematic and wholly endorsed by the state. So, while individuals in the West might have used drugs here and there, it seemed like ALL the East Germans were doping. And, when it came to the Olympic games, this relatively small nation began dominating--beating out much larger nations like West Germany and the United States. The athletes, for the most part, were unaware that they were being drugged and the show discusses the many long-term effects on them--such as women developing secondary male sexual characteristics (such as hairy bodies and HUGE muscles), heart and liver problems and possibly a few deaths. Only after the fall of the Berlin Wall did the pervasiveness of the problem come to light--though many throughout the world already assumed this doping had occurred as it was seemingly known by everyone though they could not prove it.
What I found interesting about this film is that the reactions of the athletes today to their begin drugged. Some were quite upset--as it tainted their medals and left many scars. Others, sadly, seemed to have little problem with it and were proud of their performances--even though it is doubtful many of them would have won medals at all. Overall, an interesting documentary--but one that seldom talks about the dead and their secrets.