As a former East German athlete doped by the state, I see how our past pain is fuelling the far right | Ines Geipel

In east Germany, our history is shrouded in lies and silence. Until we break their hold, support for extremism will flourish

It was the autumn of 1989. With the fall of the Berlin Wall, East Germans were fighting for their first chance to live in a democracy, after more than half a century of dictatorship, first Nazi then Soviet. There was a touch of magic in this new beginning; the possibility of redemption, confidence, happiness. People wanted to be part of the world again: to be free, to get going again, to do their own thing.

Now, 35 years later, support for the far right in eastern Germany is growing steadily - and its rise seems unstoppable. How did this happen to a society of apparently newly optimistic go-getters?

Ines Geipel is an academic, author and former GDR athlete. Her latest book is Behind the Wall: My Brother, My Family and Hatred in East Germany

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