The 1936 Summer Olympics torch relay was the
first of its kind, following on from the reintroduction of the
Olympic Flame
The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olymp ...
at the
1928 Games. It pioneered the modern convention of moving the flame via a relay system from Greece to the Olympic venue.
Leni Riefenstahl
Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl (; 22 August 1902 – 8 September 2003) was a German film director, photographer and actress known for her role in producing Nazi propaganda.
A talented swimmer and an artist, Riefenstahl also became in ...
filmed the relay for the award-winning but controversial 1938 film ''
Olympia''.
Organization
The Olympic flame was introduced to the modern Games in 1928 when it burnt atop a pillar above the stadium in Amsterdam. Four years later the same was repeated in Los Angeles. At both of these events the flame was lit on site at the stadium.
Carl Diem
Carl Diem (24 June 1882, Würzburg – 17 December 1962, Cologne) was a German sports administrator, and as Secretary General of the Organizing Committee of the Berlin Olympic Games, the chief organizer of the 1936 Olympic Summer Games.
...
used the idea of the torch relay devised for the
1936 Summer Olympics in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
by a Jewish archaeologist and sports official,
Alfred Schiff . The Berlin Olympic Games were organized by the
Nazi Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...
under the guidance of
Joseph Goebbels. The process was ratified by the
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
and has been repeated at all the Games that have followed.
Diem and the organizing team realized that there would need to be very detailed plans in order to successfully complete the relay to a standard that would satisfy both themselves and the ruling
Third Reich
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. At the time they were unsure about exactly how they could use the sun's rays to start the fire as well as how to create a torch that would remain alight whatever the conditions. Research was therefore required into the specialist technologies that would be needed. The route itself would need development and the path down from Olympia was deemed too difficult to access. The organising committees therefore agreed that new roads would be built to ensure that the relay got off to the best possible start.
Political significance
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
saw the link with the ancient Games as the perfect way to illustrate his belief that classical Greece was an
Aryan forerunner of the modern German Reich.
The event was designed to demonstrate the growing influence and power of the Third Reich. It was internationally viewed as a great success,
sufficient for it to be replicated in all Games thereafter.
Leni Riefenstahl
Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl (; 22 August 1902 – 8 September 2003) was a German film director, photographer and actress known for her role in producing Nazi propaganda.
A talented swimmer and an artist, Riefenstahl also became in ...
, a film-maker admired by Hitler,
filmed the relay for the 1938 release ''
Olympia''. While the film is often seen as a prime example of
Nazi propaganda
The propaganda used by the German Nazi Party in the years leading up to and during Adolf Hitler's dictatorship of Germany from 1933 to 1945 was a crucial instrument for acquiring and maintaining power, and for the implementation of Nazi polici ...
,
it has also been hailed as one of the greatest films of all time
and won many awards upon its release.
Relay elements
Torch
Sculptor
Walter Lemcke
Walter E. Lemcke (19 August 1891 – 1955) was a German sculptor who mainly worked in bronze. He produced numerous sculptures for Nazi Germany, including the eagles holding swastikas that flanked the entrance of the Ministry of Aviation in Be ...
designed the 27 cm wood and metal torches. German manufacturer
Krupp produced 3,840 copies for the runners, over 500 more than would be needed. It was designed with two fuses to help it cope with different weather conditions and could stay alight for ten minutes, longer than each section of the route.
Route
On 20 July 1936
the Olympic flame was lit in Greece by a concave mirror made by German company
Zeiss.
The Nazi Party wanted to demonstrate their organisational prowess and enhance their influence on various countries along the route of the relay. The torch travelled through south-eastern and central European countries to demonstrate and enhance their influence.
The
National Olympic Committees (NOCs) of the countries along the route all agreed to support the relay which would pass through Greece, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Austria, and Czechoslovakia and then Germany.
These countries would fall under Nazi domination as the
second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
began just over three years later.
In Austria, a country that would be annexed into the Third Reich less than two years after the relay, the torch was met by major pro-Nazi public demonstrations.
In all the torch was transported over 3,187 kilometres by 3,331 runners in twelve days and eleven nights from Greece to Berlin. Much of the route was split into kilometre-long sections and it was anticipated that each runner would traverse that distance in five minutes, though some leeway was given to allow for difficult terrain and sparsely populated areas.
The names of most of the torch bearers, all of whom were male,
were not recorded.
Route in Greece
July 20:
*
Olympia,
Ladon,
Vytina
Vytina ( el, Βυτίνα, ''Vytína'') is a mountain village and a former municipality in Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece. It is considered a traditional settlement. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Gortynia ...
July 21:
*
Tripoli
Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to:
Cities and other geographic units Greece
*Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...
,
Argos
Argos most often refers to:
* Argos, Peloponnese, a city in Argolis, Greece
** Ancient Argos, the ancient city
* Argos (retailer), a catalogue retailer operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland
Argos or ARGOS may also refer to:
Businesses
...
,
Corinth
Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government refor ...
,
Eleusis,
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
July 22:
*
Thebes,
Livadeia
Livadeia ( el, Λιβαδειά ''Livadiá'', ; grc, Λεβάδεια, Lebadeia or , ''Lebadia'') is a town in central Greece. It is the capital of the Boeotia regional district. Livadeia lies north-west of Athens, west of Chalkida, south-ea ...
,
Delphi,
Amfissa,
Bralos
Bralos or Brallos ( el, Μπράλ ς) is a village located on the slopes of Mount Kallidromon in Phthiotis, Greece. It is part of the municipality Amfikleia-Elateia. The town can be found along European route E65, and is served by Bralos railw ...
,
Lamia
LaMia Corporation S.R.L., operating as LaMia (short for ''Línea Aérea Mérida Internacional de Aviación''), was a Bolivian charter airline headquartered in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, as an EcoJet subsidiary. It had its origins from the failed ...
July 23:
*
Domokos
Domokos ( el, Δομοκός), the ancient Thaumacus or Thaumace (Θαυμακός, Θαυμάκη), is a town and a municipality in Phthiotis, Greece. The town Domokos is the seat of the municipality of Domokos and of the former Domokos Province. ...
,
Farsala
Farsala ( el, Φάρσαλα), known in Antiquity as Pharsalos ( grc, Φάρσαλος, la, Pharsalus), is a city in southern Thessaly, in Greece. Farsala is located in the southern part of Larissa regional unit, and is one of its largest towns. ...
,
Larissa,
Elassona
Elassona ( el, Ελασσόνα; Katharevousa: gr, Ἐλασσών, Elasson) is a town and a municipality in the Larissa regional unit in Greece. During antiquity Elassona was called Oloosson (Ὀλοοσσών) and was a town of the Perrhaebi ...
,
Servia,
Kozani
Kozani ( el, Κοζάνη, ) is a city in northern Greece, capital of Kozani regional unit and of Western Macedonia. It is located in the western part of Macedonia, in the northern part of the Aliakmonas river valley. The city lies above sea ...
July 24:
*
Veria
Veria ( el, Βέροια or Βέρροια), officially transliterated Veroia, historically also spelled Berea or Berœa, is a city in Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the regional unit of ...
,
Gidas,
Philippi,
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
,
Langadas
Lagkadas ( el, Λαγκαδάς, ) is a town and municipality in the northeast part of Thessaloniki regional unit, Greece. There are 41103 residents in the municipality and 7764 of them live in the town of Lagkadas.
Lagkadas is located northeast o ...
,
Serres
Sérres ( el, Σέρρες ) is a city in Macedonia, Greece, capital of the Serres regional unit and second largest city in the region of Central Macedonia, after Thessaloniki.
Serres is one of the administrative and economic centers of Northe ...
July 25:
*
Sidirokastro
Sidirokastro ( el, Σιδηρόκαστρο; Bulgarian and Macedonian: ''Valovišta''; tr, Demirhisar) is a town and a former municipality in the Serres regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipal ...
Route in Europe
July 25 (Bulgaria):
*
Kula,
Kresna
Kresna ( bg, Кресна ) is a town and the seat of Kresna Municipality in Blagoevgrad Province in Bulgaria.
It is located in the southwestern part of Bulgaria.
Geography
The town of Kresna lies in Sandanski–Petrich Valley at the north en ...
,
Gorna Dzumaja,
Dupnitsa
Dupnitsa, or Dupnica ( bg, Дупница (previously ), ), is a town in Western Bulgaria. It is at the foot of the highest mountains in the Balkan Peninsula – the Rila Mountains, and about south of the capital Sofia. Dupnitsa is the second l ...
,
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...
,
Slivnitsa
July 26 (Yugoslavia):
*
Caribrod,
Pirot,
Niš
Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names in other languages) is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District. It is located in southern part of Serbia. , the city proper has a population of 183,164, while ...
,
Ražanj
Ražanj () is a village and municipality located in the Nišava District of southern Serbia. The municipality consists of 23 settlements having a total population of 9,150 inhabitants, with 1,245 inhabitants living in Ražanj itself. The municip ...
,
Pojate
Pojate ( sr-cyr, Појате) is a village located in the municipality of Ćićevac, Serbia. According to the 2011 census, the village has a population of 846 inhabitants.
References
Populated places in Rasina District
{{RasinaRS-geo-s ...
,
Paraćin
Paraćin ( sr-Cyrl, Параћин, ) is a town and municipality located in the Pomoravlje District of central Serbia. It is located in the valley of the Velika Morava river, north of Kruševac and southeast of Kragujevac. In 2011 the town had a p ...
,
Ćuprija
Ćuprija (Serbian Cyrillic: Ћуприја, ) is a town and municipality located in the Pomoravlje District of central Serbia. The population of the town is 19,380, while the municipality has 30,645 inhabitants.
History
The Romans founded the ...
,
Jagodina )
, image_shield = Jagodina-grb.png
, image_flag = FLAG Jagodina.png
, image_skyline =
, image_caption =
, image_map = File:Municipalities of Serbia Jagodina.png
, map_caption = Location of Jagodina w ...
,
Kragujevac
July 27 (Yugoslavia):
*
Topola
Topola ( sr-cyrl, Топола, ) is a town and municipality located in the Šumadija District of central Serbia. It was the place where Karađorđe, a Serbian revolutionary, was chosen as the leader of the First Serbian Uprising against the Ottom ...
,
Oplenac
The St. George's Church in Oplenac ( sr-cyrl, Црква Светог Ђорђа на Опленцу, Crkva Svetog Đorđa na Oplencu), also known as Oplenac (Опленац), is the mausoleum of the Serbian and Yugoslav royal house of Karađorđ ...
,
Mladenovac
Mladenovac ( sr-cyr, Младеновац, ) is a municipality of the city of Belgrade. According to the 2011 census results, the municipality has a population of 53,050 inhabitants, while the urban area has 23,314 inhabitants.
Name
Its name stems ...
,
Belgrade,
Zemun
Zemun ( sr-cyrl, Земун, ; hu, Zimony) is a municipality in the city of Belgrade. Zemun was a separate town that was absorbed into Belgrade in 1934. It lies on the right bank of the Danube river, upstream from downtown Belgrade. The developme ...
,
Inđija
Inđija (, ; hu, India) is a town and a municipality located in the Srem District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2011, the town has total population of 26,025, while the municipality has 47,433 inhabitants. It is located ...
,
Novi Sad
Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pan ...
,
Stari Vrbas,
Bačka Topola
Bačka Topola ( sr-Cyrl, Бачка Топола, ; hu, Topolya, ) is a town and municipality located in the North Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The municipality is composed of 23 local communities and has a po ...
July 28 (Yugoslavia):
*
Subotica,
Horgoš
Horgoš ( sr, Хоргош, Horgoš; hu, Horgos) is a village located in the municipality of Kanjiža, North Banat District, Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2011 census, it has a population of 5,709 inhabitants. A border crossing between Serbia and H ...
July 28 (Hungary):
*
Szeged
Szeged ( , ; see also other alternative names) is the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat of Csongrád-Csanád county. The University of Szeged is one of the m ...
,
Kiskunfélegyháza
Kiskunfélegyháza (; german: Feulegaß) is a city in Bács-Kiskun County, Hungary.
Geography
Kiskunfélegyháza is located in the middle of the Great Hungarian Plain, southeast from Budapest. M5 motorway, Highway 5, 451, Budapest–Cegléd–Sz ...
,
Kecskemét
Kecskemét ( , sk, Kečkemét) is a city with county rights central part Hungary. It is the eighth-largest city in the country, and the county seat of Bács-Kiskun.
Kecskemét lies halfway between the capital Budapest and the country's th ...
, Sári,
Soroksár
Soroksár (german: Markt) the 23rd district of Budapest, Hungary.
List of mayors
Twin towns - twin cities
* Törökbálint – Hungary
* Nürtingen – Germany
* Odorheiu Secuiesc – Romania
* Tvardica – Bulgaria
* Tongzhou (Beijing ...
,
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
July 29 (Hungary):
*
Tát
Tát (german: Taath) is a town in Komárom-Esztergom County, Hungary.
Twin cities
* Buseck, Germany
* Molln, Austria
* Obid, Slovakia
* Căpleni, Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Cen ...
,
Szőny
Szőny was a town in Hungary. Since 1977, it has been part of the city of Komárom.
History
The Roman legion Legio I Adiutrix was based here from 86 AD to the mid-5th century and took part in several Parthian wars.
The town was known as Briget ...
,
Győr
Győr ( , ; german: Raab, links=no; names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia region, and – halfway between Budapest and Vienna – situated on one of ...
,
Moson
Moson ( German: Wieselburg, Slovak: Mošon) was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary, situated mostly on the right (south) side of the Danube river. Its territory is now divided between Austria and Hungary, except a sm ...
,
Rusovce
Rusovce ( hu, Oroszvár, hr, Rosvar german: Karlburg, Rossenburg, Kerchenburg) is a borough in southern Bratislava on the right bank of the Danube river, close to the Austrian border.
History
In the 1st century, there was a Roman settlement n ...
July 29 (Austria):
*
Kittsee,
Hainburg,
Aschbach-Markt,
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
,
Stockerau
Stockerau () is a town in the district of Korneuburg in Lower Austria, Austria. Stockerau has 15,921 inhabitants, which makes it the largest town in the Weinviertel.https://statistik.at/wcm/idc/idcplg?IdcService=GET_PDF_FILE&RevisionSelectionMetho ...
July 30 (Austria):
*
Maissau
Maissau is a municipality in the district of Hollabrunn in Lower Austria, Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a ...
,
Horn
Horn most often refers to:
*Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound
** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments
*Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...
, Göpfrür,
Waidhofen,
Heidenreichstein,
Reingers
July 30 (Czechoslovakia):
*
Nová Bystřice
Nová Bystřice (, german: Neubistritz) is a town in Jindřichův Hradec District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,200 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zo ...
,
Jindřichův Hradec
Jindřichův Hradec (; german: Neuhaus) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 21,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument rese ...
,
Soběslav
Soběslav (; german: Sobieslau) is a town in Tábor District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 6,800 inhabitants. The historical town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.
Admi ...
,
Tábor
Tábor (; german: Tabor) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument reservation.
Administrative parts
The followi ...
,
Benešov
Benešov (; german: Beneschau; also known as Benešov u Prahy) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. The town is known for the Konopiště Castle.
Administrative parts
Villages of Baba, ...
,
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...
July 31 (Czechoslovakia):
*
Straskov,
Terezín
Terezín (; german: Theresienstadt) is a town in Litoměřice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,800 inhabitants. It is a former military fortress composed of the citadel and adjacent walled garrison town ...
,
Teplice
Teplice () (until 1948 Teplice-Šanov; german: Teplitz-Schönau or ''Teplitz'') is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 49,000 inhabitants. It is the second largest Czech spa town, after Karlovy Vary. The hi ...
,
Petrovice
Route in Germany
Runners per country
Lighting of the cauldron
Two urns in the centre of Berlin, within two long rows of large
swastika flags, were lit by 400m-runner
Siegfried Eifrig
Siegfried Eifrig (6 February 1910 – 23 June 2008) was a German track and field athlete who ran the last leg of the inaugural Olympic Torch, Olympic Torch rally in the 1936 Summer Olympics.
Biography
Eifrig was born in Berlin, Germany. As a memb ...
on 1 August 1936.
The urns burnt for the duration of the Games and served as the starting point for the final relay runner.
Fritz Schilgen
Fritz Schilgen (8 September 1906 – 12 September 2005) was a German athlete and the final torchbearer of the first Olympic torch relay at the 1936 Summer Games.
Biography
Schilgen was born in 1906 in Kronberg im Taunus, near Frankfurt, the s ...
, a three time 1500m champion, was suggested by former German athletics president
Karl Ritter von Halt
Dr Karl Ritter von Halt, born Karl Ferdinand Halt (2 June 1891 – 5 August 1964) was a sport official in Nazi Germany and in the German Federal Republic. He was born and died in Munich.
Biography
Karl Ritter von Halt was a track and field a ...
as the final runner. Schilgen, viewed as a "symbol of German sporting youth",
was accepted by the three advisory boards. One of these, the aesthetics commission, included film-maker Riefenstahl on the panel.
References
{{Olympic torch relays
Torch Relay, 1936 Summer Olympics
Olympic torch relays
1936 in Germany