The 1936 Olympics: The History Of The 1936 Olympics

When The International Olympic Committee was deciding where the 1936 Olympic Games should be, no one expected that having the games in Berlin, Germany would bring such a fuss. The Nazi party rose to power two years prior to the olympic games. When the Olympic Committee released that the location of the olympics would be in Berlin, Germany, people weren’t too happy about it. Nazism was known for their racism and harsh ways (“Berlin” ). When the games were announced, countries debated whether or not they should attend. Avery Mononey, the president of the American Olympic Foundation, questioned on whether or not the United States should send a team. Mononey made up his mind and decided to attend the 1936 Olympics, although, not everyone agreed

Germany used Zeppelins/ blimps to quickly send the latest news to nearby European cities. This was also the first olympic games to host a torch relay. Basketball was a new olympic sport, and the United states ended up taking the gold. Canoeing was also a new sport added to the Olympics. Although , there were differences the 1936 games, it also had a lot of new traditions and

The Nazis agreed to not show prejudice against non- aryans, but failed to go with the agreement. Non- Aryans consisted of Jews, part Jewish , Romni (Gypsy), and African Americans ; These athletes were not allowed to be on any German athletic team(“Lamberg 5”). The Nazis temporarily took down racist posters and dialled down their prejudice feelings towards non-aryans. They did this to seem like a more peaceful country .

African American Jesse owens really proved that it doesn 't matter what race you are , or where you come from, that you can achieve anything. Jesse owens was born on September 12, 1923 in Oakville, Alabama. Jesse owens was the youngest of ten children. His mothers name was Mary Emma Fitzgerald, and his fathers name was Henry Owens (“Barnes”). His parents worked as sharecroppers (“Broden”).

Lille, Jesses older sister, moved to Cleveland, Ohio and said that there was more opportunities in the north. Henry Owens and his two older sons worked in Cleveland to save money so their whole family could eventually move north (“Broden”).

Jesse started school at nine years old due to the lack of education opportunities in the south for blacks. Jesses birth name was James Cleveland , but he was called ‘JC’ . When the teacher asked what his name was she thought he said ‘Jesse’ instead of ‘JC’ because of his southern accent