Olympics in Germany. Olympiad in Germany, 1936

In the revival of modern Olympic games, French public figure, teacher Pierre de Coubertin played a key role. In modern history, the first competitions were held in 1896, in Athens. The right to conduct XI games in 1931 was given to Germany. This was a landmark event for the Germans, which marked the return of the country to the world community after the defeat in the First World War.

A Brief Historical Reference

First of all, it should be said that in Germany, due to the extremely rapid development of history, there has never been a single unchanging national team. Together with other states, the country took part in competitions in Athens. In the next four Olympic Games, Germany's participation was relatively smooth. But later the situation changed somewhat. In 1920, the Germans were not allowed to compete in Antwerp and in 1924 in Paris. The cause was the inflaming of the First World War. The situation in the interwar period improved somewhat. The Germans received not only the opportunity to take part in competitions, but also to become their masters. Summer games were in Berlin, winter games in the same year in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

Summer Games in Berlin

The decision that the Olympics would be held in fascist Germany was made in 1931 - a couple of years before the Nazis came to power. International competitions the Germans tried to use as a means of propaganda. According to their idea, foreign sportsmen who participated in the games had to feel their insignificance. But that did not happen. The 1936 Olympics in Germany are often referred to as "Owen games". It was this American athlete who was able to win four gold there and become the most successful athlete of those competitions. The Nazi government, thus, had to recognize the moral defeat. Nevertheless, despite all the political upheavals, there were also positive moments. For example, the opening of games in Berlin was broadcast live on television.

Competition as propaganda of Nazism

The German government has tried to do everything to make the Olympics in Germany become a demonstration to the whole world of the achievements that the country achieved under Hitler. Josef Goebbels, Minister of Propaganda, supervised all preparatory activities. The entire course of the International Games was thought out in great detail and decorated with an unprecedented scale up to that time. In the shortest possible time, facilities were built that corresponded to the most modern at that time technical and sporting requirements, including, among others, the Berlin stadium for 100 thousand spectators. Accommodation of male participants was carried out in a specially constructed Olympic Village. It should be noted, later it became a model for all subsequent such objects. In the Olympic village was well thought out infrastructure: there were medical stations, post office, bank, concert halls, a Finnish sauna. Athletes were located outside the village in comfortable apartments. For the duration of the games, anti-Semitic propaganda was stopped. Nevertheless, in addition to the Olympic, in the streets of Berlin as a decoration used Nazi symbols. All the old buildings were renovated, the city was put in order.

Winter Olympics in Germany

Competitions were held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It should be said that this Bavarian town appeared precisely thanks to the Olympics. A year before this grand event, the two settlements - Partenkirchen and Garmisch - merged. To this day the city is divided by railway, and its parts are connected by pedestrian and automobile tunnels, which pass under the rails. The Olympics in Germany in 1940 could be held there. But the games were canceled because of the start of the Second World War.

Boycott of International Competitions

The domination of the ideology of the Nazis, the abolition of civil liberties and rights, the brutal persecution of the Social Democrats, Communists and other dissidents, and anti-Semitic laws left no doubt about the dictatorial nature and the aggressive, racist nature of the Hitler regime. The construction of concentration camps was active, two of which already contained prisoners in Sachsenhausen (near Oranienburg) and Dachau (near Munich). By 1935, the German government introduced universal military service. On March 7, 1936, Nazi soldiers entered the Rhineland (demilitarized at that time). This event was a direct violation of the Treaty of Versailles. In June 1936, the Paris International Conference was held. All its participants recognized that holding competitions on German territory is incompatible with the principles of the games themselves. As a result of the conference, the call for a boycott was formulated. The International Olympic Committee, responding to the demand, sent a special commission to Berlin. When assessing the situation, experts found nothing that in any way contradicted the Olympic principles.

Scale of competitions

Summer Olympics in Germany took 49 teams. About 4 thousand sportsmen, including more than 300 women, fought in 129 kinds for medals. The most numerous team was represented by Germany. There were 406 athletes in it. The second in terms of the number of participants was the US team with 312 athletes. The Germans participated in all kinds of competitions. To calm the public opinion in the team was one half-Jewish - Helen Mayer, fencer. She won Olympic gold in 1928, in 1932 moved to the United States. But at the games in Berlin she played in the German team. After the competition, Mayer returned to America, and her uncle Nazis were sent to a concentration camp, where he died in a gas chamber. The Summer Olympics in Germany in 1936 took place without the participation of the Soviet Union. At the competitions in Berlin there were about three million people, including about two million tourists from different countries. According to various estimates, more than 300 million people watched the games. Summer Olympics in Germany, as already mentioned, was the first ever international competition that was broadcast live. In Berlin, large screens (25 in total) were installed for collective viewing of games.

Goebbels' hoax

Everyone who came to Berlin in 1936, including numerous journalists who represented the media almost all over the world, saw Nazi Germany as a peace-loving, forward-looking, cheerful country whose people adored Hitler. And anti-Semitic propaganda, about which so many world publications wrote, seemed a myth. Then there were very few discerning journalists who noticed the whole farce. For example, William Shearer became an American reporter, and later a well-known historian. A few days after the completion of the games, he wrote that the Berlin shine was only a facade that covered the despotic, racist criminal regime. When the Olympics in Germany in 1936 ended, Hitler continued to implement his inhuman plans for German expansion, the harassment and persecution of Jews was resumed. And already in 1939, the first of September, the "peace-loving and hospitable" organizer of the International Games began the Second World War, in which tens of millions of people died.

Competition results

The undisputed winner of the games in terms of the number of medals won was the German team. Germany's athletes took 89 medals, including gold medals - 33, silver - 26, bronze medals - 30. The best of the team was recognized as Conrad Fry - gymnast. He won one silver, three gold and two bronze medals. According to many historians, the successful performance of German athletes is due to the use of synthetic testosterone, which was developed in 1935. The second place in the International competitions was the American team. Athletes from the United States won 56 medals: 12 bronze medals, 20 silver medals and 24 gold medals. The world public remembered for a long time the scope with which the Olympics took place in Germany. 1938-th became a confirmation. On April 20 (Hitler's birthday), a documentary film "Olympia" was released on the screens. The premiere was dedicated to the International Games in Berlin. Filmed a film by Leni Refenstahl. In "Olympia" was realized a number of film effects, directing and camera techniques, which later began to be used in their works and other masters of the movie genre. Despite the fact that "Olympia" is considered by many connoisseurs to be the best tape about sports, when watching it you can not help noticing that the whole film has become a kind of "hymn" to the Nazi movement and Hitler personally.