1936 Berlin Olympics

Reichssportfeld

• The Olympics took place in a sports compound called Reichssportfeld.

• This consisted of 2 main stadiums and 150 other buildings to hold various events.

• The largest stadium was called Olympiastadion which held 50,000 people.

• Construction took place between 1934 and 1936.

Controversy

• Many controversies were involved with the 1936 Olympics.

• One of the main controversies was the fact that Hitler would not allow Jews to compete for Germany in the games

• Another Controversy was the fact that many western democratic nations feared for the safety of their athletes.

• Also, Germany was questioned for major human rights violations.

Restrictions on Jews

• By December 1933 all people of the Jewish faith were banned from all sporting activities in Germany.

• Jews were not allowed to use any facilities in which would help them to compete athletically or physically.

• In January of 1936, to avoid the IOC from taking the Olympics, some anti-Jewish laws were temporarily lifted.

• Though, this did not help to stop any religious or racial persecution.

Boycott threats

Once the Nazi party took over, most western democracies questioned the morality of supporting a Nazi hosted Olympics.

“Many of the liberal and left-wing political groups that denounced Hitler's fascist dictatorship linked their opposition to the Berlin Olympics with the wider economic boycott of Germany.”

Opening ceremonies and introduced rituals(features of the olympics)

• “Everyone who saw the opening ceremony agreed that it had been magnificently planned and executed…”

• The Nazis introduced the torch relay, which only after became a Olympic ritual. Also the 5 rings now known as the logo were also introduced by the Nazis.

German Preparation

• The Nazis had their athletes training full time for the Olympic game to prove the Aryan supremacy on the world stage.

• Lutz Lang was among the finest of the German athletes. He also fit the description of an Aryan with blonde hair and blue eyes.

James Cleveland Owens

• Born September 12, 1913 in Lawrence County, Alabama

• When Owens was 9 his father moved to Cleveland, Ohio

• Grandson of a former Slave

• His nickname “Jesse” was given by a teacher who had mistaken his name as “J.C.” because of his southern accent.

• Owens later attended Ohio State University where he became a track and field national champion.

Jesse owens events

• Owens competed in many events in the 1936 Olympics

• Some events he competed in were 100m sprint, long jump, 200m dash, and 4x100m relay team

Owens in Competition

• Owens was considered an inferior athlete by the Nazis because he was not Aryan.

• His chief German rival was Lutz Lang.

• In a very close long jump final, Owens defeated Lang.

• After the competition, Lang was the first to congratulate Owens.

Medals won

• Owens won gold medals in

• 100m sprint• 200m dash• Long jump• 4x100m relay

Hitler/Owens• On the first day Hitler would only

shake hands with German medalists.

• Some speculate this was to avoid shaking hands with African-American Cornelius Johnson.

• The International Olympic committee urged Hitler to shake hands with all medalists

• Hitler did not attend anymore medal presentations, therefore never shaking the hand of Jesse Owens.

Propaganda• The Nazis saw the event as a way to promote their

ideology. They built four grandiose stadiums, swimming pools, an outdoor theatre, a polo field, and an Olympic Village that had 150 cottages for the male athletes. Throughout the Games, the Olympic complex was covered in Nazi banners. Leni Riefenstahl, a famous Nazi propaganda film-maker, filmed these Olympic Games and made them into her movie Olympia.

• These Games were the first ones televised

German success• German Gold Medalists include:• Hans Woellke • Karl Hein • Gerhard Stöck • Gisela Mauermayer • Tilly Fleischer • Willi Kaiser • Herbert Runge • Ernst Krebs • Ludwig Landen • Paul Wevers • Toni Merkens • Ernst Ihbe • Carl Lorenz • Peter Bischoff • Hans-Joachim Weise • Cornelius van Oyen • Josef Manger

• Ludwig Stubbendorff • Rolf Lippert • Kurt Hasse • Heinz Brandt • Marten von Barnekow • Heinz Pollay • Friedrich Gerhard • Hermann von Oppeln-Bronikowski • Alfred Schwarzmann • Konrad Frey • Men’s and Womens Gymnastics

Mens Handball• Gotthard Handrick • Gustav Schäfer • Willi Eichhorn • Hugo Strauß • Men’s Rowing

Germany and USA Medal Count

• Germany finished the Olympic games with the most medals at 89.

• 33 Gold• 26 Silver• 30 Bronze

• The United States finished second in the medal count with 56 medals.

• 24 Gold• 20 Silver• 12 Bronze

Was it a success?

The Olympics were a success for Hitler because after all the other countries saw Germany as a country that had got its pride back and was a great country again. After the Olympics the world thought the Nazi regime was not as bad as they thought. However, Hitler hid the true nature of the regime: he took down all the anti-semitic posters and told the SA not to beat up anyone. So it was a great success for Nazi propaganda.