The Berlin Olympics

Paper Summary:

On May 13, 1931, the International Olympic Committee, headed by Count Henri Baillet-Latour of Belgium, awarded the 1936 Summer Olympics to Berlin. This paper examines the political and social situation of Germany at the time, under the leadership of Adolph Hitler. It shows how he used the two weeks that the whole world would be watching, to turn Germany into a showcase and soften his anti-semitic policies.
The paper also discusses the games themselves and the controversies surrounding Hitler's apparent snubbing at the victories of black American athletes.

From the Paper:

"Of course, the Games were not without controversy in the several years prior to 1936. As Hitler assumed power and the Nazis formed a one-party dictatorship, there were efforts to remove the Games from Berlin for political reasons. The United States was especially vehement about moving the games. But, the International Olympic Committee, in trying to prove their rationale for awarding the games to Berlin, claimed that the Games would be under the auspices of the German government, and not the Nazi party,. Perhaps some people forgot that in Germany now these two were one and the same thing. Still, the Games were in the hands of the German Olympic Organizing Committee, headed by a Dr. Lewald, its president, and Dr. Diem, its secretary-general. Both were pre-Nazi Germans, and were not in good standing with the Nazi party, but somehow they managed to retain control."

More papers on The Berlin Olympics:

• Comparison Essay # 65294 : "Olympic Games Documentary Films"
• Essay # 32472 : "The Berlin Blockade as the Beginning of the Cold War"
• Term Paper # 139117 : "How Sports Contributes to Racial Inequality"

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