Games of the XI Olympiad
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The 1936 Summer Olympics (
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona at the 29th IOC Session on 26 April 1931. The 1936 Games marked the second and most recent time the International Olympic Committee gathered to vote in a city that was bidding to host those Games. Later rule modifications forbade cities hosting the bid vote from being awarded the games. To outdo the 1932 Los Angeles Games, Reich Führer Adolf Hitler had a new 100,000-seat track and field stadium built, as well as six gymnasiums and other smaller arenas. The Games were the first to be televised, with radio broadcasts reaching 41 countries.Rader, Benjamin G. "American Sports: From the Age of Folk Games to the Age of Televised Sports" --5th Ed. Filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl was commissioned by the German Olympic Committee to film the Games for $7 million. Her film, titled ''
Olympia The name Olympia may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games * ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...
'', pioneered many of the techniques now common in the filming of sports. Hitler saw the 1936 Games as an opportunity to promote his government and ideals of racial supremacy and
antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
, and the official Nazi Party paper, the ''
Völkischer Beobachter The ''Völkischer Beobachter'' (; "'' Völkisch'' Observer") was the newspaper of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) from 25 December 1920. It first appeared weekly, then daily from 8 February 1923. For twenty-four years it formed part of the official pub ...
'', wrote in the strongest terms that Jews should not be allowed to participate in the Games.''Hitlerland''. p. 188.David Clay Large, ''Nazi Games: The Olympics of 1936'', p. 58. German Jewish athletes were barred or prevented from taking part in the Games by a variety of methods, although some women swimmers from the Jewish sports club Hakoah Vienna did participate. Jewish athletes from other countries were said to have been side-lined to avoid offending the Nazi regime. Total ticket revenues were 7.5 million Reichsmark, generating a profit of over one million R.M. The official budget did not include
outlay In production, research, retail, and accounting, a cost is the value of money that has been used up to produce something or deliver a service, and hence is not available for use anymore. In business, the cost may be one of acquisition, in which ...
s by the city of Berlin (which issued an itemized report detailing its costs of 16.5 million R.M.) or outlays of the German national government (which did not make its costs public, but is estimated to have spent US$30 million). Jesse Owens of the United States won four gold medals in the sprint and long jump events, and became the most successful athlete to compete in Berlin, while Germany was the most successful country overall with 89 medals total, with the United States coming in second with 56 medals. These were the final Olympic Games under the presidency of Henri de Baillet-Latour and the final Games for 12 years due to the disruption of the Second World War. The next Olympic Games were held in 1948 (the Winter Games in St. Moritz, Switzerland and then the Summer Games in London, England).


Host city selection

At the 28th IOC Session, held during 1930, in Berlin, 14 cities announced their intention to bid to host the 1936 Summer Olympic Games. The bidding for these Olympic Games was the first to be contested by IOC members casting votes for their own favorite host cities. The vote occurred on 26 April 1931, at the 29th IOC Session held in Barcelona, Spain that year. The vote was held 69 days after the declaration of the Second Spanish Republic and during the final years of the Weimar Republic. This was two years before Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party rose to power in Germany, in 1933. By the time of the 1931 IOC Session, only Barcelona and Berlin were left in contention for the delegate vote. Rome withdrew on the eve of the vote. How other candidates withdrew is unclear, as is the seriousness of intent behind all of the listed candidate cities. The other cities who announced an intention to hold the games, but which withdrew from the race, were Alexandria, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Cologne, Dublin, Frankfurt, Helsinki, Lausanne,
Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
, Nuremberg, Rio de Janeiro, and Rome. Helsinki, Rome, Barcelona and Rio de Janeiro would go on to host the Olympic Games in 1952, 1960, 1992 and 2016, respectively. The selection procedure marked the second and final time that the International Olympic Committee would gather to vote in a city which was bidding to host those Games. The only other time this occurred was at the inaugural IOC Session in Paris, France, on 24 April 1894. Then, Athens and Paris were chosen to host the
1896 Events January–March * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end, as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports that Wil ...
and 1900 Games, respectively. The city of Barcelona held a multi-sport festival at the same time as the 1931 IOC Session. This included a football match between Spain and the Irish Free State, which was watched by 70,000 spectators. The political uncertainty around the declaration of the Second Spanish Republic, which had happened days before the IOC Session, was likely to have been a greater factor in the decision taken by delegates regarding the host city for 1936. Berlin prevailed. After the Nazis took control of Germany, and began instituting anti-Semitic policies, the IOC held private discussions among its delegates about changing the decision to hold the Games in Berlin. However, Hitler's regime gave assurances that Jewish athletes would be allowed to compete on a German Olympic team. One year before the games, the American Olympic Association suggested to change the venue to Rome; they saw Rome as a good replacement because Rome was originally selected to hold the
1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were ori ...
.


Organization

Hans von Tschammer und Osten, as ''Reichssportführer'' (i.e., head of the
Deutscher Reichsbund für Leibesübungen The National Socialist League of the Reich for Physical Exercise (german: Nationalsozialistischer Reichsbund für Leibesübungen, abbreviated NSRL) was the umbrella organization for sports and physical education in Nazi Germany. The NSRL was kn ...
(DRL), the Reich Sports Office), played a major role in the structure and organisation of the Olympics. He promoted the idea that the use of sports would harden the German spirit and instill unity among German youth. At the same time he also believed that sports was a "way to weed out the weak, Jewish, and other undesirables". Von Tschammer trusted the details of the organisation of the games to
Theodor Lewald Theodor Lewald (18 August 1860 – 15 April 1947) was a civil servant in the German Reich and an executive of the International Olympic Committee. He was the President of the Olympic organising committee for the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berli ...
and Carl Diem, the former president and secretary of the ''Deutscher Reichsausschuss für Leibesübungen'', the forerunner of the Reich Sports Office. Among Diem's ideas for the Berlin Games was the introduction of the Olympic torch relay between Greece and the host nation.


Torch relay

The 1936 Summer Olympics torch relay was the first of its kind, following on from the reintroduction of the Olympic Flame 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 filmed the relay for the 1938 film ''Olympia''.


Broadcasting

The games were the first to have live television coverage. The German Post Office, using equipment from Telefunken, broadcast over 70 hours of coverage to special viewing rooms throughout Berlin and Potsdam and a few private TV sets, transmitting from the Paul Nipkow TV Station. They used three different types of TV cameras, so blackouts would occur when changing from one type to another.


Olympic village

The 1936 Olympic village was located at Elstal in Wustermark (at ), on the western edge of Berlin. The site, which is from the centre of the city, consisted of one and two-floor dormitories, a large dining hall, ''Dining Hall of the Nations'', a swimming facility, gymnasium, track, and other training facilities. Its layout was designed and construction overseen by appointed village commander '' Hauptmann''
Wolfgang Fürstner Wolfgang Fürstner (4 April 1896 – 19 August 1936) was a German Wehrmacht captain who was appointed as commander and later vice-commander of Berlin's Olympic village during the 1936 Summer Olympics. Family Wolfgang Fürstner was married to Leo ...
beginning in 1934. Less than two months before the start of the Olympic Games, Fürstner was abruptly demoted to vice-commander, and replaced by '' Oberstleutnant'' Werner von Gilsa, commander of the Berlin Guard-Regiment. The official reason for the replacement was that Fürstner had not acted "with the necessary energy" to prevent damage to the site as 370,000 visitors passed through it between 1 May and 15 June. However, this was just a cover story to explain the sudden demotion of the half-Jewish officer. The 1935 Nuremberg Laws, passed during the period Fürstner was overseeing the Olympic Village, had classified him as a Jew, and as such, the career officer was to be expelled from the '' Wehrmacht''. Two days after the conclusion of the Berlin Olympics, vice-commander Fürstner had been removed from active ''Wehrmacht'' duty, and committed suicide because he realised he had no future under the Nazis. After the completion of the Olympic Games, the village was repurposed for the '' Wehrmacht'' into the Olympic Döberitz Hospital (), and Army Infantry School (), and was used as such through the Second World War. In 1945 it was taken over by the Soviet Union and became a military camp of the union occupation forces. Late 20th-century efforts were made to restore parts of the former village, but little progress was made. More recently, the vast majority of the land of the Olympic village has been managed by the DKB Foundation, with more success; efforts are being made to restore the site into a living museum. The dormitory building used by Jesse Owens,
Meissen Meissen (in German orthography: ''Meißen'', ) is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrecht ...
House, has been fully restored, with the gymnasium and swimming hall partially restored. Seasonally, tours are given daily to small groups and students. The site remains relatively unknown even in Germany, but some tournaments are held at the site in an effort to boost knowledge of the venues. File:Unter den Linden, jobbra a Staatsbibliothek, háttérben a Brandenburgi kapu. Fortepan 17439.jpg, Displaying Nazi symbols and swastika File:Olimpiai Stadion, a női magasugrás eredményhirdetése (1. Csák Ibolya, Magyarország). Fortepan 17417.jpg, Spectators giving the Nazi salute during one of the medal ceremonies as the Nazi flag flies above File:Olympic Fire in Berlin 1936.jpg, The Olympic Fire in Berlin File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-P019183, Berlin, Olympisches Dorf.jpg, The Olympic village File:Olympic Village house of Jesse Owens.jpg, US track team house at the Olympic village, 2015 File:Jesse Owen's Room in Berlin 1936 Olympic Village.jpg, Jesse Owens' room at the Olympic village, 2015 File:Hindenburg_D-LZ129_léghajó_a_Berlini_Olimpia_idején._Fortepan_17447.jpg, LZ 129 Hindenburg flying over the village, with the Olympics logo painted on its underside hull


Venues

Twenty-two venues were used for the 1936 Summer Olympics. Many were located in the Reich Sportsfeld complex. Sailing was held in the Bay of Kiel, which would serve as the sailing venue for the 1972 Summer Olympics held in Munich. The Olympic Stadium would later be part of two FIFA World Cups and then host an
IAAF World Championships in Athletics The World Athletics Championships (until 2019 known as the World Championships in Athletics) are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics (formerly IAAF, International Association of Athletics Federations). Alongside the Ol ...
along with undergoing a renovation in the early 2000s to give new life to the stadium. Avus Motor Road (AVUS) was started in 1907, but was not completed until 1921 due to World War I.Kolumbus.fi profile of German race tracks.
Accessed 17 October 2010.
The track was rebuilt for the 1936 Games. AVUS continued being used after World War II though mainly in Formula 2 racing. The German Grand Prix was last held at the track in 1959. Dismantling of the track first took place in 1968 to make way for a traffic crossing for touring cars that raced there until 1998. BSV 92 Field was first constructed in 1910 for use in football, handball, athletics, and tennis. The Reich Sports Field, which consisted of the Olympic Stadium, the Dietrich Eckert Open-Air Theatre, the Olympic Swimming Stadium, Mayfield, the Hockey Stadiums, the Tennis Courts, and the Haus des Deutschen Sports, was planned for the aborted
1916 Summer Olympics The 1916 Summer Olympics (german: Olympische Sommerspiele 1916), officially known as the Games of the VI Olympiad, were scheduled to be held in Berlin, German Empire, but were eventually cancelled for the first time in its 20-year history due to ...
, but was not completed until 1934.1936 Summer Olympics.
Volume 1. pp. 129–140. Accessed 17 October 2010.
Mayfield was the last venue completed prior to the 1936 Games in April 1936. Deutschland Hall was opened in 1935.
Accessed 17 October 2010.
Mommenstadion opened in 1930.
Accessed 17 October 2010.
Basketball was held outdoors at the request of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2008). "Basketball: Men". In ''The Complete Book of the Olympics: 2008 Edition''. London: Aurum Press Limited. pp. 399–400. The tennis courts were used, which turned to mud during heavy rain at the final. The K-1 1000 m canoeing final was also affected by heavy rain at Grünau that included thunder and lightning. During World War II, Deutschlandhalle suffered heavy aerial bombing damage. After the second world war, the hall was reconstructed and expansion has continued . The Deutschlandhalle in Berlin, where the boxing, weightlifting, and wrestling events took place, was used as a venue, but was increasingly closed for repairs, last in 2009 when it was close for repairs, It was demolished in December 2011. the
Mommsenstadion The Mommsenstadion is a multi-purpose stadium in the locality of Westend in Berlin, Germany, named after the historian Theodor Mommsen. It is currently used mostly for football and hosts the home matches of Tennis Borussia Berlin and SCC Berlin. ...
was renovated in 1987 and was still in use in 2010. The Olympic Stadium was used as an underground bunker in World War II as the war went against Nazi Germany's favor. The British reopened the Stadium in 1946 and parts of the stadium were rebuilt by the late 1950s. As a host venue for the
1974 FIFA World Cup The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the tenth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in West Germany (and West Berlin) between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that the ...
, the stadium had its roof partially covered on the North and South Stands. British occupation of the stadium ended in 1994. Restoration was approved in 1998 with a contractor being found to do the work in 2000. This restoration ran from 2000 to 2004. The modernized Stadium reopened in 2004, with a capacity of 74,228 people. The seating has been changed greatly, especially the sections that were reserved for German and international political leaders. The stadium now plays host to Hertha BSC (1963–present), and is expected to remain the home of the team for years to come. For the
2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...
, the venue was where the final took place between Italy and France. Three years later, the venue hosted the World Athletics Championships.


Games


Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony was held at the Berlin Olympic Stadium on 1 August 1936. A flyover by the German airship '' Hindenburg'' flying the Olympic flag behind it was featured early in the opening ceremonies. After the arrival of Hitler and his entourage, the parade of nations proceeded, each nation with its own unique costume. As the birthplace of the Olympics, Greece entered the stadium first. The host nation, Germany, entered last. Some nations' athletes purposefully gave the Nazi salute as they passed Hitler. Others gave the
Olympic salute The International Olympic Committee (IOC) uses icons, flags and symbols to elevate the Olympic Games. These symbols include those commonly used during Olympic competition—such as the flame, fanfare and theme—as well as those used throughout ...
(a similar one, given with the same arm), or a different gesture entirely, such as hats-over-hearts, as the United States, India, and China did. All nations lowered their flags as they passed the Führer, save the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and the
Commonwealth of the Philippines The Commonwealth of the Philippines ( es, Commonwealth de Filipinas or ; tl, Komonwelt ng Pilipinas) was the administrative body that governed the Philippines from 1935 to 1946, aside from a period of exile in the Second World War from 1942 ...
. (The United States doing this was explained later as an army regulation.) Writer Thomas Wolfe, who was there, described the opening as an "almost religious event, the crowd screaming, swaying in unison and begging for Hitler. There was something scary about it; his cult of personality."''Jesse Owens''. TV documentary. WGBH Educational Foundation. 2012. Presented on YLE TV 1, 9 July 2014. After a speech by the president of the German Olympic Committee, the games were officially declared open by Adolf Hitler who quoted (in German): "I proclaim open the Olympic Games of Berlin, celebrating the Eleventh Olympiad of the modern era." Hitler opened the games from his own box, on top of others. Writer David Wallechinsky has commented on the event, saying, "This was his event, he wanted to be glorified." Although the Olympic flame was first introduced in the
1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...
in Amsterdam, this was the first instance of the torch relay. The Nazis invented the concept of the torch run from ancient
Olympia The name Olympia may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games * ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...
to the host city. Thus as swimmer
Iris Cummings Iris Cummings (born December 21, 1920), also known by her married name Iris Critchell, is an American aviator and former competition swimmer who represented the United States at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. After an active athl ...
later related, "once the athletes were all in place, the torch bearer ran in through the tunnel to go around the stadium". A young man chosen for this task ran up the steps all the way up to the top of the stadium there to light a cauldron which would start this eternal flame that would burn through the duration of the games. But in spite of all the pomp and ceremony, and the glorification of Hitler, all did not go according to plan, and there was a rather humorous aspect in the opening ceremony. U.S.
distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance running comes two d ...
Louis Zamperini Louis Silvie Zamperini (January 26, 1917 – July 2, 2014) was an American World War II veteran and an Olympic distance runner. He took up running in high school and qualified for the United States in the 5,000 m race for the 1936 Ber ...
, one of the athletes present, related it on camera:


Events

129 events in 25 disciplines, comprising 19 sports, were part of the Olympic program in 1936. The number of events in each discipline is noted in parentheses. * Aquatics ** ** ** * * * * * ** Road (2) ** Track (4) * ** Dressage (2) ** Eventing (2) ** Show jumping (2) * * * * * * * * * * * * ** Freestyle (7) ** Greco-Roman (7) Basketball, canoeing, and
handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...
made their debut at the Olympics. Handball did not appear again on the program until the next German summer Olympic games in Munich in
1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...
. Demonstration sports were Art, Baseball,
Gliding Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to remain airborne. The word ''soaring'' is al ...
, and
Wushu Wushu may refer to: Martial arts * Chinese martial arts, the various martial arts of China * Wushu (sport), a modern exhibition of traditional Chinese martial arts * Wushu stances, five key stances utilized in both contemporary wushu and traditio ...
. A team from India gave demonstrations of Kabaddi,
Mallakhamb Mallakhamba or mallakhamb is a traditional sport, originating from the Indian subcontinent, in which a gymnast performs aerial yoga or gymnastic postures and wrestling grips in concert with a vertical stationary or hanging wooden pole, cane, or ...
and other traditional Indian sports but were not part of India's official Olympic contingent.


Notable achievements

Germany had a successful year in the equestrian events, winning individual and team gold in all three disciplines, as well as individual silver in dressage. In the cycling match sprint finals, the German
Toni Merkens Nikolaus Anton "Toni" Merkens (21 June 1912 – 20 June 1944) was a racing cyclist from Germany and Olympic champion. He represented his native country at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, where he won the gold medal in the men's 1000 m ...
fouled Arie van Vliet of the Netherlands. Instead of being disqualified, he was fined 100 ℛℳ and kept his gold. German gymnasts
Konrad Frey Konrad Frey (24 April 1909 in Bad Kreuznach – 24 May 1974 ib.) was a German gymnast best known to be the most successful German male competitor at a single Olympics. With 3 Gold and 6 medals in total at the 1936 Summer Olympics, he had beat ...
and Alfred Schwarzmann both won three gold medals. American Jesse Owens won four gold medals in the sprint and long jump events. His German competitor Luz Long offered Owens advice after he almost failed to qualify in the long jump and was posthumously awarded the Pierre de Coubertin medal for sportsmanship. Mack Robinson, brother of
Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line ...
, won the 200-meter sprint silver medal behind Owens by 0.4 seconds. Although he did not win a medal, future American war hero
Louis Zamperini Louis Silvie Zamperini (January 26, 1917 – July 2, 2014) was an American World War II veteran and an Olympic distance runner. He took up running in high school and qualified for the United States in the 5,000 m race for the 1936 Ber ...
, lagging behind in the 5,000-meter final, made up ground by clocking a 56-second final lap. In one of the most dramatic 800-meter races in history, American John Woodruff won gold after slowing to jogging speed in the middle of the final in order to free himself from being boxed in. Glenn Edgar Morris, a farm boy from Colorado, won gold in the decathlon. British rower
Jack Beresford Jack Beresford, CBE (1 January 1899 – 3 December 1977), born Jack Beresford-Wiszniewski, was a British rower who won five medals at five Olympic Games in succession. This record in Olympic rowing was not matched until 2000 when Sir Steve Red ...
won his fifth Olympic medal in the sport, and his third gold medal. The U.S. eight-man rowing team from the University of Washington won the gold medal, coming from behind to defeat the Germans and Italians with Hitler in attendance. 13-year-old American sensation
Marjorie Gestring Marjorie Gestring (November 18, 1922 – April 20, 1992) was a competitive springboard diver from the United States. At the age of 13 years and 268 days, she won the gold medal in 3-meter springboard diving at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, ...
won the women's 3 meter diving event.
Jack Lovelock John Edward Lovelock (5 January 1910 – 28 December 1949) was a New Zealand athlete who became the world 1500m and mile record holder and 1936 Olympic champion in the 1500 metres. Early life Lovelock was born in the town of Crushingto ...
of New Zealand won the 1500 m gold medal, coming through a strong field to win in world record time of 3:47.8. In the
marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...
, the
ethnic Koreans The Korean diaspora (South Korea: or , North Korea: or ) consists of around 7.3 million people, both descendants of early emigrants from the Korean Peninsula, as well as more recent emigres from Korea. Around 84.5% of overseas Koreans live in ...
Sohn Kee-chung and
Nam Sung-yong Nam Sung-yong (November 23, 1912 – February 20, 2001) was a Korean Olympian who won a bronze medal in the marathon at the 1936 Summer Olympics, completing the run in 2 hours, 31 minutes, and 42 seconds. He was born in Junten (Suncheon), Jap ...
won one gold and one bronze medal; as Korea was annexed by Japan at the time, they were running for Japan. India won the gold medal in the field hockey event once again (they won the gold in all Olympics from 1928 to 1956), defeating Germany 8–1 in the final. However, Indians were officially considered Indo-Aryans by the Germans so there was no controversy regarding the victory.
Rie Mastenbroek Hendrika "Rie" Wilhelmina Mastenbroek (26 February 1919 – 6 November 2003) was a Dutch swimmer and a triple Olympic champion. Biography Born in Rotterdam, she started swimming under the coaching of "Ma" Braun, who had coached her daughte ...
of the Netherlands won three gold medals and a silver in swimming. Estonia's Kristjan Palusalu won gold medals in both Men's heavyweight Wrestling styles, marking the last time Estonia competed as an independent nation in the Olympics until 1992. After winning the middleweight class, the
Egyptian Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...
weightlifter
Khadr El Touni Khedr Sayed El Touny ( ar, خضر التوني; December 15, 1916 – September 22, 1956) was an Egyptian weightlifter. He was ranked number one on the list of history's 50 greatest weightlifters issued by the International Weightliftin ...
continued to compete for another 45 minutes, finally exceeding the total of the German silver medalist by 35 kg. The 20-year-old El Touni lifted a total of 387.5 kg, crushing two German world champions and breaking the then-Olympic and world records, while the German lifted 352.5 kg. Furthermore, El Touni had lifted 15 kg more than the light-heavyweight gold medalist, a feat only El Touni has accomplished. El Touni's new world records stood for 13 years. Fascinated by El Touni's performance, Adolf Hitler rushed down to greet this human miracle. Prior to the competition, Hitler was said to have been sure that
Rudolf Ismayr Rudolf Ismayr (14 October 1908 – 9 May 1998) was a German weightlifter. He won a gold medal at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and a silver medal at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, as well as a silver medal at the 1938 World Cham ...
and Adolf Wagner would embarrass all other opponents. Hitler was so impressed by El Touni's domination in the middleweight class that he ordered a street named after him in Berlin's Olympic village. The Egyptian held the No. 1 position on the IWF list of history's 50 greatest weightlifters for 60 years, until the 1996 Games in Atlanta where Turkey's
Naim Süleymanoğlu Naim Süleymanoğlu ( bg, Наим Сюлейманоглу; 23 January 1967 – 18 November 2017) was a Bulgarian-born Turkish Olympic weightlifter. He was a seven-time World Weightlifting champion and a three-time Olympic gold medalist ...
surpassed him to top the list. Italy's football team continued their dominance under head coach Vittorio Pozzo, winning the gold medal in these Olympics between their two consecutive World Cup victories (
1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...
and
1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...
). Much like the successes of German athletes, this triumph was claimed by supporters of
Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
's regime as a vindication of the superiority of the fascist system. Austria won the silver; a controversial win after Hitler called for a rematch of the quarterfinals match to discount Peru's 4–2 win over Austria. The Peruvian national Olympic team refused to play the match again and withdrew from the games. In the quarter-finals of the
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
tournament, Peru beat Austria 4–2 in extra-time. Peru rallied from a two-goal deficit in the final 15 minutes of normal time. During extra-time, Peruvian fans allegedly ran onto the field and attacked an Austrian player. In the chaos, Peru scored twice and won, 4–2. However, Austria protested and the International Olympic Committee ordered a replay without any spectators. The Peruvian government refused and their entire Olympic squad left in protest as did Colombia. A remarkable story from the track and field competition was the gold medal won by the US women's 4 × 100 m relay team. The German team were the heavy favourites, but dropped the baton at one hand-off. Of notable interest on the US team was
Betty Robinson Elizabeth R. Schwartz (née Robinson; August 23, 1911 – May 18, 1999) was an American athlete and winner of the first Olympic 100 metres for women. Early life Robinson was born in Riverdale, Illinois. She was a student at Thornton Township H ...
. She was the first woman ever awarded an Olympic gold medal for track and field, winning the women's 100 m event at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. In 1931, Robinson was involved in a plane crash, and was severely injured. Her body was discovered in the wreckage and it was wrongly thought that she was dead. She was placed in the trunk of a car and taken to an undertaker, where it was discovered that she was not dead, but in a coma. She awoke from the coma seven months later, although it was another six months before she could get out of a wheelchair, and two years before she could walk normally again. Due to the length of her recovery, she had to miss participating in the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, in her home country.


Participating nations

A total of 49 nations attended the Berlin Olympics, up from 37 in
1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...
. Five nations made their first official Olympic appearance at these Games: Afghanistan, Bermuda,
Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
,
Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
and Liechtenstein. File:1936 Summer Olympic games countries.png, Nations participating for the first time shown in blue. File:1936 Summer Olympics numbers.png, Number of attending athletes from respective participating countries. * , also took part in the Opening Ceremony, but its only athlete (a weightlifter) did not compete.


Medal count

The ten nations that won most medals at the 1936 Games.


Controversies

Hitler saw the Games as an opportunity to promote his government and ideals of racial supremacy. The official Nazi party paper, the ''
Völkischer Beobachter The ''Völkischer Beobachter'' (; "'' Völkisch'' Observer") was the newspaper of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) from 25 December 1920. It first appeared weekly, then daily from 8 February 1923. For twenty-four years it formed part of the official pub ...
'', wrote in the strongest terms that Jewish and Black people should not be allowed to participate in the Games. However, when threatened with a boycott of the Games by other nations, he relented and allowed Black and Jewish people to participate, and added one token participant to the German team—a Jewish woman, Helene Mayer. In an attempt to "clean up" the host city, the German Ministry of the Interior authorized the chief of police to arrest all
Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...
and keep them in a "special camp", the
Berlin-Marzahn concentration camp Berlin-Marzahn Rastplatz was a camp set up for Romani people in the Berlin suburb of Marzahn by Nazi authorities. The Nazis used the Nuremberg Laws related to social misfits, vagabonds, and criminals as a means to intimidate and arrest Romani an ...
.


Political aspects

United States Olympic Committee president Avery Brundage became a main supporter of the Games being held in Germany, arguing that "politics has no place in sport", despite having initial doubts. French Olympians gave a Roman salute at the opening ceremony: known as the ''salut de Joinville'' per the battalion,
Bataillon de Joinville Bataillon is a surname of French origin. Notable people with the surname include: * Jean Eugène Bataillon (1864–1953), French biologist * Joseph Bataillon (born 1949), American judge * Marcel Bataillon (1895–1977), French Hispanicist * Quent ...
, the
Olympic salute The International Olympic Committee (IOC) uses icons, flags and symbols to elevate the Olympic Games. These symbols include those commonly used during Olympic competition—such as the flame, fanfare and theme—as well as those used throughout ...
was part of the Olympic traditions since the 1924 games. However, due to the different context this action was mistaken by the crowd for a support to fascism, the
Olympic salute The International Olympic Committee (IOC) uses icons, flags and symbols to elevate the Olympic Games. These symbols include those commonly used during Olympic competition—such as the flame, fanfare and theme—as well as those used throughout ...
was discarded after 1946. Although
Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
attended only the opening ceremony, an interesting
vexillological Vexillology ( ) is the study of the history, symbolism and usage of flags or, by extension, any interest in flags in general.Smith, Whitney. ''Flags Through the Ages and Across the World'' New York: McGraw-Hill, 1975. Print. The word is a synth ...
fact was noticed: its
flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...
and the
flag of Liechtenstein The national flag of the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: Flagge Liechtensteins) consists of two horizontal bands, one blue and one red, charged with a gold crown in the canton. In use since 1764 and officially enshrined into the nation' ...
were coincidentally identical, and this was not discovered until then. The following year, a crown was added to Liechtenstein's to distinguish one flag from the other. Marty Glickman and
Sam Stoller Sam Stoller (August 8, 1915 – May 29, 1985) was an American athlete who specialized in sprinting and long jumping. He tied the world record in the 60-yard dash in 1936. Stoller is best known for his exclusion from the American 4 × 10 ...
were originally slated to compete in the American 4x100 relay team but were replaced by Jesse Owens and Ralph Metcalfe prior to the start of the race. There were speculations that their Jewish heritage contributed to the decision "not to embarrass the German hosts"; however, given that African-Americans were also heavily disliked by the Nazis, Glickman and Stoller's replacement with black American athletes does not support this theory. Others said that they were in a better physical condition, and that was the main reason behind the replacement. In 1937,
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
released the film ''
Charlie Chan at the Olympics ''Charlie Chan at the Olympics'' (1937) is possibly the most topical Charlie Chan film, as it features actual footage from the 1936 Berlin Olympics. There is also a scene where Charlie crosses the Atlantic in the '' Hindenburg.'' This is the 14th ...
''. The plot concerned members of the Berlin police force helping the Chinese detective apprehend a group of spies (of unnamed nationality) trying to steal a new aerial guidance system. Despite pertaining to the Berlin Olympics, actual Games' footage used by the filmmakers was edited to remove any Nazi symbols. After the Olympics, Jewish participation in German sports was further limited, and persecution of Jews started to become ever more lethal. The Olympic Games had provided a nine-month period of relative calmness.


Antisemitism

The German Olympic committee, in accordance with Nazi directives, virtually barred Germans who were Jewish or
Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
or had such an ancestry from participating in the Games ( Helene Mayer, who had one Jewish parent, was the only German Jew to compete at the Berlin Games). This decision meant exclusion for many of the country's top athletes such as
shotputter The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...
and discus thrower
Lilli Henoch Lilli Henoch (26 October 1899 – 8 September 1943) was a German track and field athlete who set four world records and won 10 German national championships, in four different disciplines. Henoch set world records in the discus (twice), the sho ...
, who was a four-time world record holder and 10-time German national champion, and Gretel Bergmann who was suspended from the German team just days after she set a record of 1.60 meters in the high jump. Individual Jewish athletes from a number of countries chose to boycott the Berlin Olympics, including South African Sid Kiel, and Americans
Milton Green Milton Green (October 31, 1913 – March 30, 2005) was a world record holder in high hurdles during the 1930s. He was born in Lowell, Massachusetts in 1913 and attended Harvard University. He first equaled the world mark of 5.8 seconds in 45-y ...
and
Norman Cahners Norman Lee Cahners (1914–1986) was a major American publisher and philanthropist. The Cahners Publishing Company, which he founded in 1960, had grown into the largest U.S. publisher of trade or business magazines at the time of Cahner's death, th ...
. In the United States, the
American Jewish Congress The American Jewish Congress (AJCongress or AJC) is an association of American Jews organized to defend Jewish interests at home and abroad through public policy advocacy, using diplomacy, legislation, and the courts. History The AJCongress was ...
and the Jewish Labor Committee supported a boycott.


Boycott debate

Prior to and during the Games, there was considerable debate outside Germany over whether the competition should be allowed or discontinued. Berlin had been selected by the IOC as the host city in 1931 during the Weimar Republic, but after
Adolf Hitler's rise to power Adolf Hitler's rise to power began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919 when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He rose to a place of prominence in the early years of the party. Be ...
in 1933, observers in many countries began to question the morality of going ahead with an Olympic Games hosted by the Nazi regime. A number of brief campaigns to boycott or relocate the Games emerged in the United Kingdom, France,
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, Czechoslovakia, the Netherlands, and the United States. Exiled German political opponents of Hitler's regime also campaigned against the Berlin Olympics through pro-Communist newspapers such as the ''
Arbeiter-Illustrierte-Zeitung ''Arbeiter-Illustrierte-Zeitung'' or ''AIZ'' (in English, ''The Workers Pictorial Newspaper'') was a German illustrated magazine published between 1924 and March 1933 in Berlin, and afterward in Prague and finally Paris until 1938. Anti-Fascism a ...
''. The protests were ultimately unsuccessful; forty-nine teams from around the world participated in the 1936 Games, the largest number of participating nations of any Olympics to that point.


France

Fencer Albert Wolff qualified for the French Olympic Team but boycotted the 1936 Summer Olympics, withdrawing from France's national team on principle because he was Jewish. He said: "I cannot participate in anything sponsored by Adolf Hitler, even for France."


Spain

The Spanish government led by the newly elected left-wing Popular Front boycotted the Games and organized the People's Olympiad as a parallel event in Barcelona. Some 6,000 athletes from 49 countries registered. However, the People's Olympiad was aborted because of the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War just one day before the event was due to start.


Soviet Union

The Soviet Union had not participated in international sporting events since the
1920 Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1920; nl, Olympische Zomerspelen van 1920; german: Olympische Sommerspiele 1920), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIe olympiade; nl, Spelen van ...
. The Soviet government was not invited to the 1920 Games, with the Russian Civil War still raging, and they did not participate in the
1924 Olympics 1924 Olympics may refer to: *The 1924 Winter Olympics, which were held in Chamonix, France *The 1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de ...
and forward on ideological grounds. Instead, through the auspices of the Red Sport International, it had participated in a left-wing workers' alternative, the Spartakiad, since 1928. The USSR had intended to attend the People's Olympiad in Barcelona until it was cancelled; the Soviets did attend the Spartakiad-sponsored
1937 Workers' Summer Olympiad The 1937 Workers' Summer Olympiad was the sixth edition of International Workers' Olympiads. The games were held from 25 July to 1 August at Antwerp in Belgium. They were originally planned for Barcelona 1936, but cancelled due to the outbreak of ...
in Antwerp, Belgium. The Soviet Union started competing in the Olympics in
1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...
, when Soviet leaders realized that they could use the event to fulfil their political and ideological agenda.


Turkey

Halet Çambel and Suat Fetgeri Așani, the first
Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...
and Muslim women athletes to participate in the Olympics (fencing), refused an offer by their guide to be formally introduced to Adolf Hitler, saying they would not shake hands with him due to his approach to Jews, as stated by Ms. Çambel in a ''Milliyet'' newspaper interview in 2000.


United States

Traditionally, the United States sent one of the largest teams to the Olympics, and there was a considerable debate over whether the nation should participate in the 1936 Games. Those involved in the debate on whether to boycott the Olympics included
Ernest Lee Jahncke Ernest Lee Jahncke (October 13, 1877 – November 16, 1960) was United States Assistant Secretary of the Navy from 1929 to 1933. He was the first, and until the 2002 Winter Olympic bid scandal the only person ever to have been expelled from t ...
, Judge
Jeremiah T. Mahoney Jeremiah T. Mahoney (June 23, 1878 – June 15, 1970) was an American lawyer and jurist. He served on the New York Supreme Court and as president Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). As president of the AAU, he advocated for the United States to boyco ...
, and future
IOC President The president of the International Olympic Committee is head of the executive board that assumes the general overall responsibility for the administration of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the management of its affairs. The IOC E ...
Avery Brundage. Some within the United States considered requesting a boycott of the Games, as to participate in the festivity might be considered a sign of support for the Nazi regime and its antisemitic policies. However, others such as Brundage (see below) argued that the Olympic Games should not reflect political views, but rather should be strictly a contest of the greatest athletes. Brundage, then of the United States Olympic Committee, opposed the boycott, stating that Jewish athletes were being treated fairly and that the Games should continue. Brundage asserted that politics played no role in sports, and that they should never be entwined. Brundage also believed that there was a "Jewish-Communist conspiracy" that existed to keep the United States from competing in the Olympic Games. Somewhat ironically, Brundage would be later accused of being a Soviet dupe for his controversial stance on the Soviet sports system that allowed them to circumvent the amateur rules. On the subject of Jewish discrimination, he stated, "The very foundation of the modern Olympic revival will be undermined if individual countries are allowed to restrict participation by reason of class, creed, or race." During a fact-finding trip that Brundage went on to Germany in 1934 to ascertain whether German Jews were being treated fairly, Brundage found no discrimination when he interviewed Jews and his Nazi handlers translated for him, and Brundage commiserated with his hosts that he belonged to a sports club in Chicago that did not allow Jews entry, either. Unlike Brundage, Mahoney supported a boycott of the Games. Mahoney, the president of the Amateur Athletic Union, led newspaper editors and anti-Nazi groups to protest against American participation in the Berlin Olympics. He contested that racial discrimination was a violation of Olympic rules and that participation in the Games was tantamount to support for the Third Reich. Most African-American newspapers supported participation in the Olympics. The Philadelphia ''Tribune'' and the '' Chicago Defender'' both agreed that black victories would undermine Nazi views of Aryan supremacy and spark renewed African-American pride. American Jewish organizations, meanwhile, largely opposed the Olympics. The
American Jewish Congress The American Jewish Congress (AJCongress or AJC) is an association of American Jews organized to defend Jewish interests at home and abroad through public policy advocacy, using diplomacy, legislation, and the courts. History The AJCongress was ...
and the Jewish Labor Committee staged rallies and supported the boycott of German goods to show their disdain for American participation. The JLC organized the World Labor Athletic Carnival, held on 15 and 16 August at New York's Randall's Island, to protest the holding of the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany. Eventually, Brundage won the debate, convincing the Amateur Athletic Union to close a vote in favor of sending an American team to the Berlin Olympics. Mahoney's efforts to incite a boycott of the Olympic games in the United States failed. US President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
and his administration did not become involved in the debate, due to a tradition of allowing the US Olympic Committee to operate independently of government influence. However, several American diplomats including
William E. Dodd William Edward Dodd (October 21, 1869 – February 9, 1940) was an American historian, author and diplomat. A liberal Democrat, he served as the United States Ambassador to Germany from 1933 to 1937 during the Nazi era. Initially a holder of ...
, the American ambassador to Berlin, and
George Messersmith George Strausser Messersmith (October 3, 1883 – January 29, 1960) was a United States ambassador to Austria, Cuba, Mexico, and Argentina. Messersmith also served as head of the US Consulate in Germany from 1930 to 1934, during the rise of the N ...
, head of the US legation in Vienna, deplored the US Olympic Committee's decision to participate in the games.


Last surviving competitor

Upon the death of Joan Langdon on March 15, 2022,
Iris Cummings Iris Cummings (born December 21, 1920), also known by her married name Iris Critchell, is an American aviator and former competition swimmer who represented the United States at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. After an active athl ...
became the last surviving competitor of the 1936 Summer Olympics.


Gallery

File:Olympics in Berlin 1936.jpg, File:Olympic bell Berlin.JPG, File:Tableau Résultats JO 1936-1.JPG, File:Tableau Résultats JO 1936-2.JPG,


See also

*
Olympic Games Decoration The German Olympic Decoration (german: Deutsche Olympia-Ehrenzeichen or Deutsches Olympiaehrenzeichen) was a civil decoration of Nazi Germany awarded to administrators of the IV Olympic Winter Games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the Games of th ...
* ''Race'' (2016 film) * National Socialist League of the Reich for Physical Exercise


Notes


References


Further reading

* Barry, James P. ''The Berlin Olympics.'' World Focus Books. * Grix, Jonathan, and Barrie Houlihan. "Sports mega-events as part of a nation's soft power strategy: The cases of Germany (2006) and the UK (2012)." ''British journal of politics and international relations'' 16.4 (2014): 572–596
online
* Hilton, Christopher. ''Hitler's Olympics: The 1936 Berlin Olympic Games.'' (2006) * Krüger, Arnd. ''The Nazi Olympics of 1936,'' in Kevin Young and Kevin B. Wamsley (eds.), ''Global Olympics: Historical and Sociological Studies of the Modern Games.'' Oxford: Elsevier 2005; pp. 43–58. * Krüger, Arnd, and William Murray (eds.), ''The Nazi Olympics: Sport, Politics and Appeasement in the 1930s.'' (Univ. of Illinois Press 2003). * Lehrer, Steven. ''Hitler Sites: A City-by-city Guidebook (Austria, Germany, France, United States).'' McFarland, 2002. * Large, David Clay. ''Nazi games: the Olympics of 1936'' (WW Norton & Company, 2007). * Mandell, Richard D. ''The Nazi Olympics'' (University of Illinois Press, 1971). * Rippon, Anton. ''Hitler's Games: The 1936 Olympics.'' (2012
excerpt
* Socolow, Michael J. ''Six Minutes in Berlin: Broadcast Spectacle and Rowing Gold at the Nazi Olympics.'' Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2016. * Walters, Guy, ''Berlin Games – How Hitler Stole the Olympic Dream.'' (2006
excerpt


External links

*
Complete official IOC report. Part I

Complete official IOC report. Part II
* United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Online Exhibition: Nazi Olympics: Berlin 1936
* United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Library Bibliography: 1936 Olympics




at ''Lebendiges Museum Online''. In German
1936 Olympics and the Struggle for Influence on C-SPAN

The 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany

Nazi Games
at PBS International {{Authority control Olympic Games in Germany Summer Olympics by year
Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...
Olympic Games Articles containing video clips International sports boycotts August 1936 sports events Racism in sport