Cycling and Cold War--together, unfortunately

Today the Dutch paper de Volkskrant has a piece on 1970s East German cyclist Wolfgang Lötzsch, about whom someone made a film two years ago (maybe because of a 2004 book). It's a perfect supplement to what I wrote yesterday on the limits to Ostpolitik's ability to change the lives of East Germany's citizens. The best East German cyclist of his generation, Lötzsch was kept from racing (and eventually sent to jail) by the regime because of his refusal to join the communist party. All this happened during the heyday of Ostpolitik and détente. The improved relations between Western and communist governments had no impact whatsoever on his situation at any time until the collapse of the GDR. Bittersweet (emphasis on bitter) is the end of the Volkskrant article, recounting how after German unification Lötzsch moved to the West as a 37-year old, managed to get on a semi-pro team, and in that capacity once stood at the starting line of the Tour of the Mediterranean together with the likes of Indurain and Lemond.