To many in the West, East Germany during the Cold War often seemed a paradoxical mix of cutting-edge science and out-of-date shoddiness. On the one hand were Zeiss lenses, the Fernsehturm TV tower in Berlin and extraordinary athletes such as swimmer Kristin Otto (and 519 Olympic medals for the nation between 1956 and 1988). On the other were Trabants, grim housing schemes and widespread doping. When it came to aviation, the German Democratic Republic (GDR) relied heavily on Soviet manufacturers.