The modern Olympic Games is an international sporting event held every four years at different sites throughout the world. Many countries, totaling more than ten thousand athletes, compete against each other in a variety of sports. Began in Athens, Greece, in 1896, the Games were established to promote a more peaceful world. Although an athletic event, numerous countries have used the Olympics as an opportunity to make a political statement. One such Olympics were the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany…The Nazi Olympics. Due to the Spanish Revolution, the Spanish athletes returned home before the finish of the games. Brazil sent two teams, each representing a different political viewpoint. They were both barred from competing. And then there was the host country Germany. In the following pages you will read about a sinister leader of that country trying to prove to the world that the Aryan race was supreme and how he would use the Olympics to prove this idea. You will also read about how one man did as much as anybody to dispel those notions.
The 1936 Olympics was awarded to Berlin in 1931, two years before Adolf Hitler came to power. Obviously, th
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The games were played outdoors, often in the rain. It is true that Hitler did not shake the hand of Owens. In Owens, he saw a fellow athlete that needed help. They were also unaware of the 800 Gypsies that were arrested and interned under police guard in a special Gypsy camp in the Berlin suburb of Marzahn. Under the conditions that he was met with in Berlin, Germany, it was an amazing feat. He also congratulated two more athletes, a German and a Finn. They would never meet again after the Games. Beaming with extreme national pride, Hitler summoned Hans Woellke, the Games first gold medal winner (a shot-putter) and a German, to his box to offer him personal congratulations. They did however write to each other and, after Long was killed in Italy during World War II, Owens continued to write his family. Owens’ achievements had consequences far beyond the arena, for they effectively debunked the myth that Aryan superiority–right in front of Hitler. An alternate event, dubbed the Peoples’ Olympics, was scheduled for Barcelona, Spain. Arriving at Olympic Stadium in Berlin just before the start of the Games where 110,000 spectators awaited anxiously, thirty trumpets blared over loud speakers as Hitler presided over the ceremony. The rule would have affected only three players, all Americans, so it was quickly rescinded. The plan, however, was dismissed due to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in July of 1936. That is six world records in one afternoon, and he did it all in 45 minutes! The following year, he swept the 100 and 200 meters and long jump at the Olympic Trials and headed for Germany as a favorite to win all three.
Approximate Word count =
2712
Approximate Pages =
11 (250 words per page double spaced)
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