This lesson explores the complexity of the 1936 Olympics hosted by Germany under Adolf Hitler’s rule. The lesson discusses athletes’ and countries’ debates over boycotting or participating in the Olympic Games. This lesson also explores Jesse Owens’ experience competing in track and field as an African American athlete under Jim Crow laws in the United States and under Nazi rule in Germany.
Have students watch (link 2) the first 3min 53sec of the linked video to learn some context about the 1936 Olympic Games. Have students pair up and come up with questions about the history and the topic. Ask students to share their questions with the class- the majority will be answered with the readings.
At the time of the 1936 Olympics, Germany was under the control of Adolph Hitler’s Nazi regime. Nazis believed in the superiority of what they called the “Aryan race”—the white people of Germany—and the inferiority of Jewish and nonwhite peoples. The Nazis had enacted the Nuremberg Laws in September of 1935 excluding Jews and other minority groups from German citizenship and many rights including employment and interfaith relationships. There was antisemitic and racist propaganda everywhere promoting Aryan superiority and ‘othering’ Jews and other minority groups.
When the Nazis were preparing for the Olympic Games to be hosted in Berlin, there was an interest in presenting the City and the Nazi regime in a positive light and so they announced an Olympic Pause, during which the campaign against Jews and other ‘undesirables’ was suspended. Berlin was made to look more welcoming and unified by having buildings fly the Olympic or Nazi flag, and hiding hateful propaganda for the two weeks of the Games. The German Olympic team even included Helene Mayer, a fencer and the daughter of a Jewish man, to try to appease international audiences and portray tolerant treatment of Jewish athletes. It was crucial for Germany to portray itself in an acceptable and respectable way, as there were international visitors and this would be the first time the Olympics would be televised. With cameras and microphones, access to the Games worldwide was unlike ever before.
Though some of the antisemitic imagery was hidden during the Olympic Games, the Nazi belief in white superiority was not at all secret, and Hitler hoped his Aryan athletes would prove the mythology by winning gold medals. Jewish German athletes were not allowed to compete and Jewish athletes from other countries were dissuaded from participating. Many nations decided to boycott the Olympic Games as a form of protest against the Nazi regime. Notably, the Soviet Union did not participate. Spain even organized a simultaneous alternative event, the People’s Olympiad, which had athletes from 49 countries register. This event was cancelled due to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War just days before it was set to begin.
The United States was full of debate whether to participate in the Berlin Olympics or to boycott. The US Olympic Committee President Avery Brundage opposed a boycott on the grounds that the Games and sports in general, should not be political. It should be noted that Brundage had strong racist and antisemitic views that came to light over second half of the 20th century, which institutions are grappling with today. For example, Brundage expelled African American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos from the 1968 Olympic Games after they raised their fists in solidarity with the Black Power movement during their medal ceremony. The Amateur Athletic Union, Jewish Labor Committee and American Jewish Congress all called for a boycott in protest of the Nazi regime. Many Jewish athletes decided to abstain from participating. For African Americans this was a different and very complex debate.
African Americans were experiencing significant racism and discrimination in the United States. The Jim Crow Laws enforced racism throughout the country and excluded African Americans from many places and rights all people in the US were said to enjoy. Because of this, some writers for newspapers like the Philadelphia Tribune and the Chicago Defender as well as many Black athletes argued that competing in the Games was a form of protest. Their success would not only disprove the Nazi belief in white superiority but would challenge white supremacy at home in the US. Other journalists, such as for the New York Amsterdam News and prominent African American leader Walter White, the Secretary for the NAACP, did support a boycott. In a letter that was written but never sent, White urged Jesse Owens to boycott the Games because of the Nazi hatred towards Black people, warning:
“…it is my firm conviction that the issue of participation in the 1936 Olympics, if held in Germany under the present regime, transcends all other issues. Participation by American athletes, and especially by those of our own race which has suffered more than any other from American race hatred, would, I firmly believe, do irreparable harm.” (December 4, 1935)
Jesse Owens did go on to participate in the Olympic Games and made history as a 4-time gold medal champion. He was one of 18 African Americans that went to Berlin on the United States Olympic team.
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The United States ultimately decided to participate in the Olympic Games. What do you think of this choice?
How could participating in the Olympics be seen as approval of the Nazi leadership? How could participation be seen as protest?
How could the Nazis utilize the media attention around the Olympic Games to further their ideology and goals?
Think about…
The United States decided to replace two Jewish runners, Marty Glickman and Sam Stoller, with two Black athletes, Jesse Owens and Ralph Metcalfe, the morning of their competition. Play this interview with Marty Glickman to hear about his experience – what might have been the outcome if he and Stoller competed and won?
Under these impossible circumstances, what do you think was the responsibility of athletes: to compete or to protest? What are the pros and cons of each choice?
To what extent should sports be political, if at all? Understanding that athletes are not politicians, is it fair to have an expectation that athletes use their platforms to discuss public matters? Think about when you think athletes should make their voices heard.
How do we see athletes engaged in politics or political movements today?
Jesse Owens was born in Danville, Alabama, in 1913. His parents were sharecroppers—farmers who worked on land they rented from a white landowner. Owens’ grandparents had been enslaved. Looking for more opportunity in the North, Owens’ family moved to Ohio when he was nine as part of the Great Migration.
Owens was a star on his high school track team, and many universities recruited him when he graduated. He chose Ohio State University. While a student at OSU, he was not allowed to live in the dorms and was ineligible for scholarships because of his race, so he worked a variety of jobs to support himself and his family while he set record after record on the track.
He was chosen to be part of the U.S. Olympic track and field team that would compete at the 1936 Games in Berlin, Germany. The Nazis hoped the Olympics would help prove their theory of racial superiority: they expected Aryan German athletes to win all the gold medals. But Jesse Owens, along with nine other African American athletes, infuriated the Nazis by receiving medals for their performances. Owens won four gold medals and was an international celebrity, for Germans and non-Germans alike. Even though he was a champion, Hitler would not shake his hand, as the host country’s leader traditionally would.
Despite being an Olympic hero, Owens continued to experience racism at home that all African Americans in the United States faced. He found many barriers and challenges within the sporting world. He took part in several professional events where he was paid to race. This meant that he was no longer an amateur athlete and could not compete in future Olympic Games. Once he was no longer a future Olympian, Owens lost all of his sponsorship deals. Owens was quoted in 1972 saying:
“After I came home from the 1936 Olympics with my four medals, it became increasingly apparent that everyone was going to slap me on the back, want to shake my hand or have me up to their suite. But no one was going to offer me a job.”
Owens never lost faith in the power of sports to overcome racism and give African Americans a chance to succeed. He worked throughout the 1940s, 50s, and 60s to promote youth sports and helped organize the first Junior Olympics. In 1955, President Dwight D. Eisenhower made Owens a Goodwill Ambassador- promoting exercise and American democracy around the world. Through his work with the Boys’ Clubs in Chicago, Owens helped hundreds of young African American athletes achieve their goals. On his death in 1980, Owens was celebrated as a sports legend and American hero (source, source).
Teachers may choose to add a virtual or in person tour of the Holocaust Memorial Plaza to enhance student understanding of the lesson and historical context. Note that a tour will add an additional 45 minutes to 1.5 hours to the lesson, depending on the tour chosen.
In order to do an IWalk tour, have students download the IWalk app (instructions found here). If the class will visit the Memorial Plaza in person, have students walk around the Plaza and visit different features as they complete the tour. Please note the IWalk can also be completed virtually.
We recommend students complete the History of the Holocaust OR Propaganda and Antisemitism IWalk and explore the different elements of the Plaza including the Six Pillars, train tracks from Treblinka, and Theresienstadt tree. Students can also listen to Museum Without Walls recording about the 1964 Memorial.
Teachers may choose to have students respond to a selection of these questions in class or for homework.
Think about the context in which the Olympics took place. How much did the rest of the world know about the Nazi’s hateful ideology at the time of the Games?
Think about the type of media that had been around all of Berlin before and after the Olympic pause. What did this imagery teach people to think about Jews and other minority groups? How did this imagery ‘other’ them?
Teachers may choose to use these suggestions for in class assignments or for homework.
Students can host a debate about boycotting or participating in the Games. Would you go to protest in Germany or protest by staying home?
Have students further research Jesse Owens and his life at home. As a young black man in the segregated United States, what were the challenges he faced before the Olympics? After the Olympics?
Have students do more research on German athlete Gretel Bergmann (aka Margaret Lambert). What was her story?
Have students read the full letter from NAACP Secretary Walter White. Think about his position and write a response to him.