1936 Olympics “Hitler’s Games”

Introduction Militaristic, racist character of Nazi Germany was camouflaged o Exploitation of the Games covered the antisemitic agenda US and other western powers had rejected a proposed boycott of the 1936 Olympics o What would’ve happened had these countries bolstered international resistance?

The 1936 Summer Olympic Games Given approval by the IOC in 1931 o The choice signaled Germany’s return to the world community after WWI Two years later, Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany o Quickly turned Germany from democracy to dictatorship o Gave Nazi claim to control all aspects of German life, including sports o Sports showed superiority In 1933, an “Aryan only” policy was instituted in all German athletic organizations o All others were excluded Banished Jewish athletes began forming their own underground athletic associations

The 1936 Summer Olympic Games Part-Jewish fencer Helene Mayer represented Germany in fencing o Only Jewish athlete to compete for Germany Fun Facts: o 9 Jewish athletes won medals in the Nazi Olympics Mostly Hungarian (5) o 7 jewish Male Athletes from the US went to Berlin During the games, spectators were given a false taste of Germany o Antisemitic signs were covered or taken down o Newspapers toned down their harsh rhetoric

Protest towards the Games Movements to boycott the Games surfaced in o US o Great Britain o France o Sweden o Czechoslovakia o The Netherlands Very intense in the US Organizations boycotted the Games o American Jewish Congress o Jewish Labor Committee

German Imagery August 1-16 Huge sports complex was constructed o Olympic Flags o Swastikas Police detaining Romas o Ministry of Interior o “Clean Up the Streets” XIth Olympiad Inaugurated the torch carrying by relay to the Olympics

Olympic Poster

Olympic Emblem

Jesse Owens