Olympic Stadium and its Ties to the Nazis

The Olympic Stadium in Berlin was built for the 1936 Summer Olympic Games. Hitler used the stadium to promote the National Socialist Germany. During the games, any signs showing the oppression and discrimination of Jews were taken down to focus on the portrayal of the Third Reich. The Nazis used the Olympic Games to showcase the new Germany. The Nazis were trying to sugar-coat their party to gain respect from other countries. They even temporarily removed newspapers that were anti-Jewish. The Nazis symbolized the Nazi racial myth that the Aryan culture was superior throughout the games. Inside the stadium, there was special seating for Hitler and other top Nazis.

Non-Aryans including Jewish people and Gypsy athletes were not allowed to participate in the games, even those who were well-known, world class athletes. This caused a stir from many countries of the world. The United States and other countries, as well as individuals, tried to boycott the games. The Nazis decided to allow a part-Jewish athlete to participate in the games, but no other Jews from Germany were allowed. Jewish people from other countries did participate in the games. The boycott movement failed and the games went on.

The Nazis succeeded in camouflaging their hate. Very few reporters understood that Berlin was sugar0coating to hade the racist and violent oppressive regime. After the games were over, Hitler and the other Nazis went right back to oppressing the Jewish people.

The Olympic Stadium is now used for both sporting events and other cultural events, including concerts and festivals.


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References

Berlin.de. (n.d.). Berlin’s Olympic Stadium. In Politics and the constitution. Retrieved from http://www.berlin.de/berlin-im-ueberblick/politik/olympiastadion.en.html

Olympic Stadium [Photograph]. (n.d.). Retrieved from Berlin.de website: http://www.berlin.de/berlin-im-ueberblick/politik/olympiastadion.en.html

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. (2012). Nazi Olympics, Berlin. In Holocaust encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005680