1936 Summer Olympics

Categories: 1936 Summer Olympics

The Games of the XI Olympiad were held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin's bid was preferred over Barcelona by the IOC in April, 1931. Although awarded before the Nazi Party came to power in Germany, the government saw the Olympics as a golden opportunity to promote their Nazi ideology. Film-maker Leni Riefenstahl, a favorite of Hitler, was commissioned to film the Games. The film, titled Olympia, was arguably a piece of propaganda, but originated many of the techniques now commonplace to the filming of sports. She was also the first to introduce the Olympic torch to the ceremonies. To ensure victories, the German government provided anabolic steroids and testosterone supplements to its atheletes. While Germany dominated the games, the many triumphs by citizens of other nations was seen as a rebuke to racist Nazi philosophies. In particular, the black sprinter and long jumper Jesse Owens won 4 gold medals. The tale of Hitler snubbing Owens at the ensuing medal ceremony is, however, untrue. Hitler had personally congratulated a few German and Finnish athletes at other times, but didn't specifically snub any athlete.

Anti-fascists planned to host a "People's Olympiad" in Barcelona at the Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc ( now Estadi Olímpic Lluis Companys ) as an alternative games to protest the Berlin Olympics but this was cancelled due to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. 61 years later Barcelona will held in at the same Olympic Stadium the 1992 Summer Olympics between July and August 1992

Games of the XI Olympiad
Nations participating	50
Athletes participating	4,066 (3,738 men, 328 women)
Events	129 in 19 sports
Opening ceremonies	August 1, 1936
Closing ceremonies	August 16, 1936
Officially opened by	Adolf Hitler
Athlete's Oath	Rudolph Ismayr
Judge's Oath:	not applicable
Olympic Torch	Fritz Schilgen
Stadium	Olympiastadion

1 Highlights
2 Events
3 Medal count
4 Quotes
5 See also
6 External links
- 6.1 Bibliography

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Highlights

Before the Games, the IOC expelled American Ernest Lee Jahnke, the son of a German immigrant, for encouraging athletes to boycott. He was replaced by United States Olympic Committee president Avery Brundage, who supported the Games.
The olympic torch was first used in 1936
In the cycling match sprint finals, the German Toni Merkens fouled Arie van Vliet of the Netherlands. Instead of disqualification he was fined 100 marks and kept his gold.
Black American Jesse Owens won four gold medals in the sprint and long jump events. His German competitor Lutz Long offered Owens advice after he almost failed qualifying in the long jump and was posthumously awarded the Pierre de Coubertin medal for sportsmanship.
Rie Mastenbroek of the Netherlands won three gold medals and a silver in swimming.
Rower Jack Beresford won his fifth Olympic medal in the sport, and his third gold medal.
The US eight-man rowing team from the University of Washington won the gold medal by coming from behind to defeat the Germans and Italians with Adolf Hitler in attendance.
For the first time the Olympic Flame was brought to the Olympic Town by a torch relay, with the starting point in Olympia, Greece.
The games were the first to have live television coverage, Telefunken and Fernseh broadcast over seventy hours of coverage to specially erected booths throughout the city.
Basketball and handball made their debut at the Olympics, both as outdoor sports. Handball would not appear again on the program until 1972.
German gymnasts Konrad Frey and Alfred Schwarzmann both won three gold medals.
In the marathon two Korean athletes -- Sohn Kee-chung and Nam Sung-yong -- won medals, running for Japan and under Japanese names. Japan had annexed Korea in 1910.
In the quarter-finals of the football tournament, Peru beat Austria by 4 to 2 in over-time, but a replay was ordered as Peruvian fans stormed the pitch during the match. The Peruvian team withdrew in protest, while Austria went on to receive the silver medal.
Three Principles of the People was chosen the best national anthem of the games.
The host country had a stellar year in the equestrian events, winning individual and team gold in all three disciplines, as well as individual silver in dressage.
Basketball was added to the Olympic program. In the final, the United States beat Canada 19-8. The contest was played outdoors on a dirt court in driving rain. Due to the quagmire, the teams could not dribble and the score was held to a minimum. High scorer in the game was Joe Fortenbury for the U.S. with 7 points. There were no seats for spectators and the nearly 1000 attendance had to stand in the rain.
German communist Werner Seelenbinder had planned to win the wrestling event and make a vulgar gesture at Hitler, but instead came fourth.
The Canadian Olympic Team was the only team from a non-fascist country to salute Hitler (in a gesture of friendship) during opening ceremonies.

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Events

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Medal count

Top medal-collecting nations:
(for the full table, see 1936 Summer Olympics medal count)

(Host nation in bold.)

1936 Summer Olympics medal count					Image:Olympic-rings.png
Pos	Country	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Image:Flag Germany 1933.png Germany	33	26	30	89
2	Image:Us flag large 48 stars.png United States	24	20	12	56
3	Image:Hungary flag large.png Hungary	10	1	5	16
4	Image:Italy flag 1861.png Italy	8	9	5	22
5	Image:Finland flag large.png Finland	7	6	6	19
6	Image:France flag large.png France	7	6	6	19
7	Image:Sweden flag large.png Sweden	6	5	9	20
8	Image:Japan flag large.png Japan	6	4	8	18
9	Image:Netherlands flag large.png Netherlands	6	4	7	17

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Quotes

"The sportive, knightly battle awakens the best human characteristics. It doesn't separate, but unites the combatants in understanding and respect. He also helps to connect the countries in the spirit of peace. That's why the Olympic Flame should never die."
(Adolf Hitler, commenting on the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games)</center>

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