Sport heroes fear for privileges

This is an English summary. The full article is only available in German.

By Klaus Blume

It is surprising how quickly the sports community has embraced the change. But in interviews with GDR sport stars, you find the're tiptoeing around one question: What becomes of their privileges? Everything the common GDR citizen has been demonstrating for - free travel, cars (not after 18 years of waiting, but after 18 months), journeys to the Carribean (not to socialis brother countries), building lots - has been available to them, because the sport stars were in the first row of the propaganda game.

But this seemingly idyllic world will now come to an end. GDR sport starts won't sell a system any longer - they'll sell drinks, cars, TV sets and bubble gum like their western colleagues. It's all about market value now, not myth.