1936 Summer Olympics

1936 Summer Olympics

The 1936 Summer Olympics were held in Berlin, the capital of Germany, from August 1st to August 16th, 1936. These games, officially called the Games of the XI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event. Berlin was chosen to host the Olympics over Barcelona in 1931.

To make these Olympics special, Adolf Hitler built a huge new stadium and other sports arenas. The 1936 Games were also the first to be televised, allowing people in 41 countries to watch. A filmmaker named Leni Riefenstahl made a famous movie about the games called Olympia.

Jesse Owens from the United States became a star by winning four gold medals. Overall, Germany won the most medals, but the United States also did very well. These were the last Olympics before the Second World War; the next games didn’t happen until 1948.

Host city selection

Many cities wanted to host the 1936 Summer Olympics. At first, 14 cities said they wanted to host the games. But only two cities were left to choose from: Barcelona and Berlin. The other cities that wanted to host but decided not to were Alexandria, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Cologne, Dublin, Frankfurt, Helsinki, Lausanne, Montevideo, Nuremberg, Rio de Janeiro, and Rome.

Leaders voted to choose the host city. Berlin won with 43 votes, and Barcelona got 16 votes. Later, when a new government came to power in Germany, some people worried about holding the games there. But they decided to keep the games in Berlin.

Organization

Hans von Tschammer und Osten was the main person in charge of organizing the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. He believed sports could help bring people together. He asked Theodor Lewald and Carl Diem to help with the details. One of Carl Diem’s ideas was to bring the Olympic flame from Greece to Berlin using runners, which was done for the first time in these Olympics.

The 1936 Olympics were the first to be shown live on television and the first to be filmed in color. The Olympic village where athletes stayed was in Elstal, near Berlin. It had rooms for athletes, a big dining hall, a swimming pool, and places to practice sports.

Venues

Twenty-two places were used for the 1936 Summer Olympics. Many were in the Reich Sportsfeld area.

Sailing happened in the Bay of Kiel. This place also had sailing events during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. The Olympic Stadium later hosted big sports events, like two FIFA World Cups and an IAAF World Championships in Athletics. After repairs in the early 2000s, the stadium is still used today.

The Avus Motor Road (AVUS) started building in 1907 but finished in 1921 because of World War I. It was rebuilt for the 1936 Games and kept being used for racing after World War II, mostly in Formula 2. The last German Grand Prix was there in 1959. The track was taken down in 1968 to make space for a new road.

Other places included BSV 92 Field, which opened in 1910 for football, handball, athletics, and tennis. The Reich Sports Field, with its Olympic Stadium and other buildings, was first planned for the 1916 Summer Olympics but didn’t finish until 1934. Some places, like Deutschland Hall and Mommenstadion, opened in the 1930s and were used for different events.

Games

Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony was held at the Berlin Olympic Stadium on August 1, 1936. Early in the ceremony, the German airship Hindenburg flew over the stadium carrying the Olympic flag. Athletes from each country marched in, wearing their own special costumes. Greece, where the Olympics began, entered first, and Germany, the host country, entered last.

After a speech by the president of the German Olympic Committee, Adolf Hitler officially opened the games. This was the first time an Olympic torch relay was used. A young man ran through the stadium to light a special flame that burned throughout the games.

Events

There were 129 events in 25 different activities across 19 sports at the 1936 Olympics. Some new sports, like basketball and handball, were included for the first time. Other sports, such as baseball and gliding, were shown as demonstration sports.

Notable achievements

Germany did well in equestrian events, winning several gold medals. American Jesse Owens won four gold medals in running and long jump events. Other notable performances included a young American diver, Marjorie Gestring, who won gold at age 13, and an Egyptian weightlifter who set new records.

India won the gold medal in field hockey. Swimmer Rie Mastenbroek from the Netherlands won three gold medals. Many athletes from different countries achieved great feats during these games.

Participating nations

A total of 49 nations attended the Berlin Olympics, up from 37 in 1932 Summer Olympics. Five nations joined for the first time: Afghanistan, Bermuda, Bolivia, Costa Rica and Liechtenstein.

Nations that came back to the games were Bulgaria, Chile, Egypt, Iceland, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Peru, Romania and Turkey.

Two nations that were in the games in Los Angeles in 1932 did not return in Berlin in 1936: Ireland and Spain.

At this time, Australia and New Zealand were part of the British Empire, as they had not yet joined the Statute of Westminster 1931. India and Bermuda were also part of the British Empire, but not dominions. And The Philippines were a territory and commonwealth of the United States.

Haiti joined the Opening Ceremony, but its only athlete did not compete.

Medal count

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

* Host nation (Germany)

Political aspects

Hitler wanted to use the Games to show off his government. Some people said that Jewish and black people should not be allowed to join. But after other countries threatened not to come, Hitler changed his mind. He let everyone join, including a Jewish German woman named Helene Mayer.

There were discussions about whether the Games should happen because of unfair treatment of Jewish people in Germany. Some countries thought about not going, but forty-nine teams took part. This was more than any Olympics before.

Some athletes decided not to go because they disagreed with Hitler’s actions. For example, a French fencer named Albert Wolff chose not to participate. In Spain, a different event called the People’s Olympiad was planned but could not happen because of a war.

In the United States, there was a debate about whether to go to the Games. Some people thought it was wrong to support Hitler’s government, while others believed sports should stay out of politics. The United States decided to go, but some athletes, like Milton Green, chose not to participate.