Page 75 - Olympism in Socialism

ensures the development of sports according to
plan. The new Youth Act (1974) clearly lays down
the responsibilities for all government bodies,
including educational institutions and
enterprises. From the Council of Ministers to the
Mayor of even the smallest place, from the
Minister of an industrial ministry to the director
of an enterprise, responsibilities for the
promotion of sports have been precisely defined.
Comprehensive training and medical-care
facilities for sportsmen and sportswomen have
been created. The German College of Physical
Culture (DHFK) in Leipzig, for instance, has
trained about 7,760 graduate sports instructors
(four-year course) and 1,650 sports instructors
(three-year course) as well as more than 1,400
cadres from 61 states of the world. This implies
that about 25 per cent of the capacity of this
institution is available to foreign countries,
especially developing countries, for the training of
sports instructors, coaches, etc. In this way the
GDR’s sports movement meets an
internationalist obligation, too. Every year 1,200
people graduate from eight universities or
pedagogical colleges to become sports teachers at
schools with the ability at the same time to teach
another subject.
The GDR today participates in international
sports and makes an important contribution to
the maintenance of peace, the development of
friendly relations and understanding among the
peoples. The DTSB now maintains wide-ranging
relations and contacts with a large number of
countries in all continents. Particularly close are
its relations of friendship and all-round
cooperation with the sports organizations of the
Soviet Union and the other socialist countries.
The GDR is active in the Olympic movement, in

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