Page 90 - Olympism in Socialism

With the foundation of the GDR on October 7,
1949, new and better conditions were provided
for the expansion of sports relations between the
GDR and the USSR. In late 1951 the USSR sports
leaders offered to the GDR sports organization the
opportunity of studying in the Soviet Union the
thirty-year-old experience of socialist physical
culture. The creative utilisation of this experience
was a decisive starting-point from which GDR
sports has successfully developed. Of particular
importance were:
● The utilization of effective methods to promote
and widely develop sports in enterprises,
cooperative farms, towns and villages as well
as the cooperation of sports organizations
with government bodies and other social
organizations. At that time in the majority of
the GDR’s nationally-owned enterprises
sports clubs were established which served as
centres for the working people and the youth;
● The creation of most suitable organizational
forms for sports for children and youth and
for adults as well as for junior and competitive
sports;
● The preparation and implementation of sports
programmes attractive to the mass of people
and promoting fitness, such as, the Sports
Badge of the GDR, etc.;
● The development of sport science and the
training of experts, which was realized, in the
first place, by further expanding the German
College of Physical Culture (DHfK) in Leipzig
as a central institution for teaching and
research.
Subsequently the cooperation was further
extended with exchange of views with regard to
the history and theory of physical culture,
teaching by Soviet guest lecturers at the Leipzig

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