The Nazi Olympics of 1936

The Olympic Games showcase a rare opportunity for the host country to show the world their culture, hospitality, talent, and acceptance of others. The Berlin Olympics of 1936 were no exception. Declared the best of their day, Germany spared no expense to impress the thousands of tourists who flooded the country. By building of a new sports field, an enormous Olympic Stadium, and the first official Olympic Village, Germany was determined to amaze the world. Despite these lavish projects, the Nazi Olympics were, at their very core, a gleaming illusion used to hide a nation on the verge of annihilating a decade of peace.

Hitler and many of the higher Third Reich officials were not happy about hosting the 1936 Summer Olympic games. Only after being persuaded by Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels that the Games could trick the world into believing in a “new Germany” did the Games take place (“Olympics”). Selected before Hitler’s rise to power, the International Olympic Committee chose Berlin as the host city in May of 1931 as a gesture of renewed acceptance after their defeat in World War I (“Party”). Little did they know of the violent path the country would continue on in the coming years.

Leading up to the Games, Germany was becoming less and less tolerant to non-Aryans. German athletes without blond hair, blue eyes, or the necessary family tree found themselves kept out of associations and practice facilities, as well as disqualified from Germany’s Olympic Team (“Triumph”). As rumors of Germany’s intolerance filtered out, several nations considered boycotting the Berlin Games. The United States was at the center of this controversy as many of their athletic unions and groups petitioned the American Olympic Committee from both s...

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...ns, calling them “even more human than before” (“Party”). Though most believed the Games signaled the continuation of peace, some feared it would further stimulate the power and cruelty previously seen in the Nazi nation. Just days after the final ceremonies, Jewish persecution was continued and extended. Less then three years later, a “hospitable” Germany invaded Poland and unleashed a war that ended many of the young lives that had competed on the athletic field (“Olympics”).

Works Cited

"Nazi Olympics: Berlin 1936." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memorial Council, 10 June 2013. Web. 13 Jan. 2014.

"The Nazi Party: The Nazi Olympics." The Jewish Library. The American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, 12 Nov. 2009. Web. 13 Jan. 2014.

"Triumph of Hitler: The Berlin Olympics." The History Place. N.p., 1 Aug. 2001. Web. 14 Jan. 2014.