A: Plan of Investigation
The purpose of this investigation is to analyze the extent to which Hitler used the Berlin 1936 Olympics as propaganda for the Nazis. This investigation will examine Germanys attempt to exhibit a well developed Germany, the Nazis demonstration of Aryan superiority throughout the Olympics, and the association of the coverage and media usage of the Olympics in Nazi Germany, with Hitler’s intentions. This examination will also include an analysis of the Origin, Purpose, Value and Limitations of the 2 main sources used in this inquiry, Jennifer Gross’s article “1936 Olympic Games” and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museums article “The Nazi Olympics Berlin 1936”.
B: Summary of Evidence
Introduction to situation of Germany prior to the Olympics
• Germany lost World War 1 in 1918.
• Germany faced harsh punishments after losing the war, and treaties like the treaty of Versailles, which put Germany into debt believed to be at initially 269 billion marks (around 32 billion dollars), and terrible conditions for the next couple of years (Crossland, David).
• Severe poverty, and very high unemployment rates (32% at its peak). (Crossland, David).
Demonstrating a Modern Germany
• After being awarded the 1936 Olympics in 1931, Goebbels, the head of German propaganda, along with Hitler, saw the chance to show off Germanys strength. It also was a message of Germany’s return to the world after being out-of-the-way from the global community, due to the results of WW1 (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum).
• Hitler later becomes chancellor.
• Hitler’s aims were to impress the world by showing a modernized peaceful Germany (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum).
• After witnessing Hitler’s racism and dicta...
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...st focused on the body composition and muscle tone of the Aryan athletes (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum). He wanted the athletes to look good, so people could see how the Aryans were different. With 348 participants (Gross, Jennifer) the German team finished first (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum). This was important to Hitler, as he wanted to show that Aryans were top, even with athletics. However, African American athlete Jesse Owens broke many records, which explains why Hitler didn’t shake his hand, as he opposed Hitler’s ideas of Aryan Race superiority (Hall, Allen).
The use of Media also emphasized how Hitler wanted to use Propaganda in the Olympics. Hitler televised the Olympics, however he didn’t televise the wins of Jesse Owens (EarlyTelevision). Over 21 cameras were set up, 100,00 people watched the Olympics on screen (Earlytelvision).
The controversy in Berlin Olympic Games was that the some of the Jews excluded from the Olympic team were actually world class athletes. The athletes left Germany, along with other Jewish athletes, to resume their sports careers abroad.The Nazis also disqualified Gypsies.The Olympics were intended to be an exercise in goodwill among all nations emphasizing racial equality in the area of sports competition. But the Nazis thought that only the Aryans should participate in the Olympics games to represent Germany.Then after that controversy then the committee of the Games wanted to move the Olympic Games to another country.This was because usually the U.S. got the most medals because they sent the most athletes.
Prior to the Nazi takeover of Germany, the nation had been suffering deeply. An economic depression, large-scale unemployment, and the shame of losing World War I had put Germany in a dark place. The Nazi’s were incredibly aware of this, and their propaganda at the time reflected a need to reunite the German people. Propaganda appealed to national pride, and putting ones country before themselves. Of course, a strong united people needed a leader that was just as strong, and the “myth of Hitler” would create that leader. Slogans like “One People, one Fuhrer, one Reich!” promoted national unity, and a Wochenspruch from February 1938 states, “The greatest of all sacrifices is to give one’s life to preserve the existence of the community.” Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the Will comes from this time period and helps form the mythological image of Hitler. Propaganda also focused on the good the Nazi party was doing. It discussed how well the Nazi welfare system was working, newsreels showed happy German people enjoying the benefits of the Nazi regime.
Hitler was furious with Germany’s surrender in World War I, so when he got back to his home in Munich, he was determined to enter politics and become the greatest leader in German history (Smith). He spent all of his time and effort trying to become the chancellor of Germany. Once he was voted into being chancellor, he needed a way to become the leader of all of Germany. Hitler gathered power through many acts of t...
Hitler’s extreme sense of nationalism and his perception that great nations are identified by their military power and their cultural contributions must have weighed heavily on his mind when he considered the state of the Germanic people throughout history. Hitler thought highly of the classical civilizations of Rome and Greece, especially their architectural and artistic contributions to society, yet his own people had few comparable achievements, either artistically or in terms of conquest, which the Romans had also done effectively. Rectifying this, at least for Hitler, required military and political action that dwarfed Germany’s best efforts even during the First World War. Additionally, upon the establishment of a powerful new German empire, Hitler wanted “to create a German culture state where the arts were supreme and where he could construct his buildings, hold art shows, stage operas, encourage artists and promote the music, painting and sculpture he loved.” (Spotts, 9) Hitler’s main aspiration was to create a neo-classical state that would be the dominant power in a new world order; one which placed heavy emphasis on culture, race and the spatial needs of the German people. These ambitions resulted in German rearmament, expansion and the mass murder and internment of Jews, “gypsies,” Slavs and other “inferior” races and peoples.
At the end of World War One, Germany was required to pay a large sum of money to the Allies consequently resulting in the German Depression. The sum Germany had to pay was set after the Treaty of Versailles was enacted at approximately six billion, six hundred million – twenty-two billion pounds, (World War Two – Causes, Alan Hall, 2010). The large amount of reparations that Germany had to pay resulted in a depression and angered the Germans because they thought it was an excessive amount of money to pay, (World War Two – Causes) The Germans hatred of the Treaty of Versailles was of significant importance in propelling the Nazis to power. Germany could not pay their reparations and was forced into a depression, (World War II – Causes). The Treaty of Versailles deprived Germany of its economic production and its available employments, (World War II – Causes). The German Depr...
Germany a country forever plagued by the Nazis and their leader Adolf Hitler. Before World War Two Hitler's Germany hosted the Olympic Games in the capital of Berlin. Hitler found the games as a perfect way to show the world that Aryans or white non-Jewish people are superior to all others. Fortunately Jesse Owens an African American athlete proved Hitler's were illogical, because of his performance at the Berlin Olympics’ Owens took home four gold medals.
In addition, having lost the war, the humiliated Germans were forced by the Allies to sign the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 that officially ended World War I. According to the harsh terms of the treaty, Germany had to hand over many of its richest industrial territories to the victors, and was made to pay reparations to the Allied countries it devastated during the war. Germany lost its pride, prestige, wealth, power, and the status of being one of Europe's greatest nations. (Resnick p. 15)
Numerous elections were held and this allowed Hitler to scheme his way to the top by 'wheeling and dealing'. Although by 1928 hitler's party only has 12 seats in the Reichstag but their was another additional factor which made all the difference. Hitler s efforts and the parties drive to succeed The use of propaganda was a clever tactic of Hitler 's. he promoted ideas to the German people that they wanted to hear and relating to issues that appealed to them. He used this method in his attempt to win them over.
Most people would classify the Berlin Olympic Games of 1936 as just another Olympics, and they would be right because the Games did have the classic triumphs and upsets that occur at all Olympic Games. What most people did not see, beyond the spectacle of the proceedings, was the effect the Nazi party had on every aspect of the Games, including the results. Despite Nazi Germany’s determination to come off as the superior nation in the 1936 Olympics, their efforts were almost crushed by the very people they were trying to exclude. Germany made it very clear prior to the Olympics that they were in fact an anti-Semitic race. Before the Olympics, there were anti-Jewish signs hung around and newspapers had harsh rhetoric.
Hitler wanted to demonstrate two concepts at the 1936 Summer Olympics: 1. An all White Nordic Christian Olympic Team could come in first place. 2. Working Class Participants could raise their status in the world through their own efforts.
...After we consider all these points mentioned we begin to see how everything worked and connected to form one huge disaster for Germany. We start to see how all these things played a part, the reparations led to unemployment that led to no money that led to overprinting of money. How the huge consequence of the reparations led to the unsuccessful paying of it leading to the French invasion of the Ruhr which led to strikes and therefore no products to trade with. How the unstable Weimar government led to extremist parties that damaged the economy further and brought inflation to its highest. The effects were probably the worst, the starvation coupled with the disease epidemic that killed people off and the worthless tonnes of paper notes roaming around the nation. It all in all was a very bad time in Germany one that they always found it hard to recover from.
Severe economic problems arose in Germany essentially due to the punitive provisions of the Treaty of Versailles. “The German government began to print money to pay its bills.” (McKay, 872). In order to make up for the massive debt and reparations connected to the Treaty of Versailles, the government started to print loads of money. The influx of money across Germany due to newly printed bills caused prices to rise. Money became rather worthless with an abundance of it, which hurt many people’s incomes. Hyperinflation soon occurred, which put the economy in a weak position and further contributed to the downfall of the Weimar Republic.
In 1936 the summer olympics ventured to Berlin, Germany the center of Nazi Power. The race laws were put on hold during that two week period, almost to send the rest of the world that Nazi Germany is a great place that is equal for everyone. As the world ventured through Berlin all signs of racism and discrimination were taken down to hide the dark truth. They tried to portray themselves as a nice friend...
In 1935, the U.S. decided to attend the ‘36 Berlin games, even though the United States knew how Hitler was persecuting the Jews. By July 1933, at least 27,000 people had been placed in what Hitler liked to call “detention camps” (Hart-Davis 16). In early 1932 at an IOC meeting in Barcelona, the committee decided to grant Germany the right to the 1936 Olympic Games, which allowed Germany to restore their athletic reputation that they lost because of the outbreak of World War I. All over the world, there was an outcry to boycott or at least change the location of the ‘36 Olympics. The IOC’s first response was that they had granted Germany the Olympic site before the Nazis’ came to power.
Introductory Paragraph: Propaganda is a tool of influence that Adolph Hitler used to abuse the German population by brainwashing them and completely deteriorating an entire race. How does one person get the beliefs of an entire country? Hitler put Joseph Goebbels in charge of the propaganda movement. Goebbels controlled every element of propaganda, there were many varieties of Nazi Propaganda. Propaganda was also being used as a tool to gain the support of the German population for the war, and supporting their government. The Jew’s were the targeted race and were completely pulverized by the Nazi’s. Hitler not only tried to destroy an entire race, he gained complete control of an entire country.