Career
However, he is best known for his role as the architect of his East Germany"s state-sponsored system of using illicit performance-enhancing drugs to turn his country into an Olympic powerhouse between 1972 and 1988. He was captured by the Red army in 1944. He was awarded the Olympic Order by the International Olympic Committee in 1983.
On July 18, 2000, in Berlin, both Ewald and Doctor Manfred Hoeppner, who served as East Germany"s top sports doctor, were convicted of being accessories to "intentional bodily harm of athletes, including minors." Both received probation.
During the trial Doctor Hoeppner testified that they had approval from the highest level of the government of the German Democratic Republic.
