The Nazi Games: Berlin 1936

Gr 7 Up—How did the extravagance of the Olympic Games start? When did the "torch run" commence? From modest origins, the modern Olympics ballooned to excess beginning in 1936 when Germany hosted the games. Nazi Germany wanted to earn the respect of all nations while attempting to prove Aryan supremacy and mask a severely racist society. Hitler connected Teutonic culture to the ancient Spartans, who lionized perfection in the human form and loyalty to the state. But objections from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and countries critical of Nazi practices threatened to torpedo the games because the exclusion of blacks and Jews was against the Olympic charter. In America, Olympic committee member Avery Brundage opposed a threatened boycott after visiting the Berlin Olympic site and believing Germany's false claim that Jews would be included. He later rose to become America's Olympic chairman, despite supporting the Nazi games. Multimedia blossomed that year, too. Live radio broadcasts in 28 languages and nascent television transmission foretold the current frenzy of Olympic coverage. Details discussed here reveal why the IOC now promotes globalized, nationalized, politicized Olympics.