A distinctive feature of many totalitarian regimes is the increased attention to polish and ceremonial. Ceremonies and holidays were of particular importance in Nazi Germany. Among all the solemn Nazi events, perhaps the most magnificent and spectacular was the Berlin Olympics in 1936.

The historic Berlin stadium is today perceived by many not so much as an arena for sports battles, but as a monumental reminder of the Nazi era. It was here, at the Olympiastadion, that Hitler carried out a grandiose propaganda action and, to the pompous music of Richard Wagner, opened the 1936 Summer Olympics in front of a crowd of 100,000.

The 1936 Berlin Olympics are probably the most controversial in the history of the Games. After World War I, in 1920 and 1924, Germany was not allowed to participate in the Olympic Games. However, this regrettable fact did not bother Hitler much - he was convinced that it would be simply humiliating for German athletes to compete with "inferior non-Aryans". Bruno Matlitz, a spokesman for the Nazi Party, confirmed this position in a letter to members of German sports clubs, defining the Olympic Games as "overrun by French, Belgians, Poles and Negro Jews."

Despite such beliefs of the Nazis, on May 13, 1931, the International Olympic Committee granted Germany the right to host the 1936 Games.This step was explained by the fact that at that time Germany was not yet under Nazi rule, and the IOC decided that such a step would help return Germany into the ranks of civilized countries. Problems arose after 1933, when Hitler's pronounced nationalist and anti-Jewish views became public policy.

Goebbels made every effort to persuade the Fuhrer to reconsider his attitude towards the Olympic Games. He argued that hosting the Olympics would show the world community the revived power of Germany and provide the party with first-class propaganda material. In addition, the competition will allow the undoubtedly strong German team to demonstrate "Aryan" athleticism to other peoples. The Fuhrer was persuaded. The Fuhrer agreed. 20 million Reichsmarks were allocated for the Games, i.e. US $ 8 million.

However, in 1934, serious controversy erupted in the world over the expediency of holding the Games in Berlin. They were especially stormy in the United States. Jewish, Catholic, religious and secular organizations united in their condemnation of the German Games. As IOC President Avery Brandage said in 1933:

"The very foundations of a modern revitalized Olympic movement will be undermined by allowing individual countries to restrict participation in the Games for reasons of origin, faith or race."

The emblem of the Berlin Olympics.

Guests who visited Berlin in 1936 thought that German anti-Semitism was just a myth. All anti-Jewish posters, brochures and books temporarily disappeared from the streets and stalls. German newspapers were prohibited from publishing anti-Semitic stories and articles for the entire period of the Games. Berliners were even ordered to refrain from negative public statements about Jews from June 30 to September 1. To create an impression of the liberalism of the Third Reich, even one half-Jewish woman (very incidentally of "Aryan" appearance), fencing champion Helena Mayer, was allowed to participate in the Games as part of the German team.

The management and residents of Berlin showed generous hospitality to the visiting athletes and guests. In particular, the consumption of eggs for Berliners has been temporarily curtailed so that guests can eat without restrictions. The laws against homosexuals were temporarily suspended. The entire city was lavishly decorated with swastikas and other Nazi symbols, which gave it a festive and majestic look. Military mobilization was also hidden from prying eyes. Here is an instruction from the Ministry of Propaganda regarding the Olympic Village:

"The northern section of the Olympic Village, originally used by the Wehrmacht, should not be called barracks, it will now be called the" northern section of the Olympic Village. "

The world press was delighted. Only two or three of the most astute reporters were able to peer behind the beautiful façade - but they did not see the full picture either. In the northern suburbs of Berlin, the Oranienburg concentration camp was already filled with Jews and other objectionable people.
The opening ceremony of the Games was well remembered by everyone who saw it. Cannons were firing throughout the city. Hitler personally released 20,000 carrier pigeons at the Sportpalast stadium. Above the stadium, the Hindenburg Zeppelin circled almost 304 meters long with a giant Olympic flag in tow. In the middle of all this splendor, athletes from 49 countries of the world marched in front of the assembled crowds of spectators.

In general, the results of the XI Olympiad in Berlin were positive for the Reich. Huge financial investments in physical training and sports have yielded results: the German team won 33 gold medals, leaving all other teams far behind. The Nazis believed that the racial "superiority" of the Aryans had found another confirmation.
Nevertheless, although many Nazi prejudices seemed to be confirmed, some of them came into clear conflict with reality. Half-Jewish fencer Helena Mayer took second place, while Jewish athletes from other countries won gold and silver medals. In such a paramilitary sport as fencing, the primacy of the Jews was very unpleasant for the Nazi leaders. But Meyer's invaluable contribution to Nazi propaganda more than made up for this nuisance. Standing on the podium, she gave a Nazi salute in her entire uniform, and at a reception in honor of the Olympic winners she shook hands with Hitler. She was captured in her documentary "Olympia" and Leni Riefenstahl.
In general, the awards were distributed as follows.

No. Country Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Third Reich 33 26 30 89
2 USA 24 20 12 56
3 Hungary 10 1 5 16
4 Italy 8 9 5 22
5 Finland 7 6 6 19
6 France 7 6 6 19
7 Sweden 6 5 9 20
8 Japan 6 4 8 18
9 Netherlands 6 4 7 17

Olympic awards.

Discussion of the project.

This is what Berlin looked like in the year of the Games.

Erwin Kazmir, one of the best swordsmen in Germany.

On February 6, 1936, 80 years ago, the Winter Olympics opened in the Third Reich. About how the Nazis came up with the Olympic torch relay, who called Hitler "one of the best creative spirits of our era" and when German waitresses were tested for syphilis ...

Photo: Olympic Games 1936, Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Apparently bored Adolf Hitler at a hockey match between teams from Great Britain and Hungary during the 1936 Winter Olympics.

ROGUE COUNTRY

In 1894, on the initiative of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the International Olympic Committee was founded. “Sport is outside politics,” the baron said, naively believing that no international conflicts would interfere with the competition. However, already at the beginning of the 20th century, due to the First World War, the Olympic Games, which were supposed to be held in Berlin, were canceled. The construction of a sports complex in the German capital was suspended, and German athletes donned military uniforms.

After the end of the war, the Germans were isolated - in particular, the athletes of the losing country were forbidden to participate in international competitions. However, this fate befell not only Germany, but also its allies - Austria, Hungary, Turkey, Bulgaria.

Most of all, the current situation did not like the German politician Karl Diem. “Sport leads to the manifestation of national character when it manifests itself at the level of international competitions,” said Dim. Regretting that due to the impossibility of participating in the Olympics, young people are not interested in physical education, he organized the "German Games" - national competitions held on the Olympic model. “The Germans have been denied the right to take part in international competitions, and I would not be surprised if they don’t want to exercise this right in the future,” Karl Diem wrote. - For us, the = German Games should be sufficient compensation. The Imperial Committee for Physical Culture proposes them as an expression of national unity, as an excuse for our youth to show their physical strength and agility, which can be a reason for their pride. "

Photo: Olympic Games 1936, Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Members of the U.S. Olympic team march behind the American flag at a snow-covered ski stadium during the opening ceremony of the 4th Winter Olympic Games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, February 6, 1936. The games were attended by 668 athletes from 28 countries.

Subsequently, Dim will actively speak with heartfelt speeches to members of the Hitler Youth and regularly publish sports reports in the weekly "Das Reich", controlled by the Reich Minister of Education and Propaganda of Germany, Joseph Goebbels.

DO NOT ALL AGREE

In 1928, the Olympic Committee decided that it was necessary to "return" German athletes to the international sports arena. In the upcoming Games in Amsterdam, Germany took second place, and soon applied for the right to become the host of the 1936 Games. Barcelona, ​​Rome and Budapest still claimed this title, but after a while the last two capitals dropped out of the "competition". The International Olympic Committee had to choose between Germany and Spain: 43 votes were cast in favor of Berlin, 16 - in favor of Barcelona. At the same time, the German Olympic Committee expressed a desire to host the 1936 Winter Olympics. Garmisch and Partenkirchen, two Bavarian cities, became the Olympic capital.

By the way, not all Germans were happy about this outcome: the country was in a crisis, and the Olympics required serious expenses.

In 1933, Adolf Hitler came to power, and National Socialism became the official ideology. It is known that the Fuhrer was not eager to hold the Olympics, in which purebred athletes compete with "non-Aryans". However, Joseph Goebbels managed to convince Hitler, explaining to him that the Games would raise the status of the Third Reich in the international arena. In addition, the Reich Minister of Education and Propaganda stated that every soldier must be a good athlete.

Photo: Olympic Games 1936, Garmisch-Partenkirchen. German Chancellor Adolph Hitler and Henri de Baye-Latour, President of the International Olympic Committee, at the opening of the IV Winter Olympic Games in 1936

Adolf Hitler decided to hold the most expensive and memorable Olympics in the entire history of the Games.

"JEWS AND DOGS NO LONGER ENTRANCE"

After the Nazi seizure of power, the international community demanded that the Olympic Committee not hold the Games in a country where Jews and Negroes are considered racially inferior. Some famous athletes - for example, the Frenchmen André Joly-Brunet and Pierre Brunet, the American John Shi - refused to participate in the Olympics.

The historical story goes: once the president of the International Olympic Committee, Henri de Baye-Latour, told the Fuehrer that the signs near the toilets in Garmisch and Partenkirchen "Jews and dogs are not allowed" do not correspond to Olympic traditions. Hitler retorted that it was not worth teaching the owners how to watch the house. “Sorry, but when the flag with five rings is hung in the stadium, this is no longer Germany, this is Olympia, and we are the owners in it,” Henri de Baye-Latour said indignantly.

And Hitler ordered the plates to be removed during the competition.

MANN CONDEMNS

The public did not back down: sports, religious, cultural organizations from different countries of the world were in favor of holding the Games in Barcelona. Then the members of the International Olympic Organization went to Germany to find out if the Hitler regime did not contradict the values ​​of the Olympics. Before the "check", the calculating Nazis removed all anti-Semitic slogans and agreed with the Jewish athletes to declare: no one is infringing on their rights. In addition, the Hitler government decided to include in the German Olympic team fencer Helena Mayer, born to a German mother and a Jewish father.

At the Summer Olympics in Berlin, Mayer will win a silver medal. In gratitude for the fact that, despite her origin, she was given a chance to participate in competitions, Helena will put on a sports uniform with a swastika, and at the awards ceremony, she will throw up her hand in a Nazi salute. For this, Mayer will be harshly condemned by the writer and Nobel laureate Thomas Mann.

Photo: Olympic Games 1936, Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Norwegian champion Birger Ruud jumps a record 71 meters in a training attempt

The Nazis also told representatives of the International Olympic Organization that a Jew, Rudy Bal, would participate in their hockey team at the Winter Games. However, the followers of the Fuhrer modestly kept silent about the fact that the hockey player agreed to play for the Third Reich only in exchange for permission to leave the country with his family immediately after the closure of the Olympics.

The aged Baron Pierre de Coubertin also arrived in Germany. Fascinated by the German scale of preparations for the Games and the cleanliness of Berlin streets, the baron said that Germany should remain the host of the Olympics.

Hitler was called "one of the best creative spirits of our era" by Coubertin, and then even expressed a desire to bequeath the rights to his many books to the Third Reich.

THE WAITERS ARE LOOKING FOR SYPHILIS

On February 6, 1936, the IV Winter Olympic Games opened in the Third Reich. Shortly before the opening, the Nazis "rid" Garmisch and Partenkirchen (united by a special decree of Hitler into one city) from unwanted elements - beggars and gypsies. Prostitutes with sexually transmitted diseases were expelled from the cities, even all the waitresses and dancers were checked for syphilis. “How much work, time, benevolence and personal sacrifices it took last year from thousands of Germans and friends of the German people,” wrote about the preparations for the Winter Olympics = Imperial Sports Magazine = Third Reich. “It was a real battle that has now become a thing of the past, paving the way for the decisive battles of the coming year.”

The opening ceremony began with a parade of 28 participating countries (Soviet athletes did not participate in the Olympics). Delegations went to the stadium to the sound of the anthem of their state.

The opening of the Winter Games was solemnly announced by Adolf Hitler. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, the words of the Fuhrer were met with loud applause. “My whole skin got goose bumps when many thousands of people chanted together = Heil Hitler! =. And I also succumbed to the general delight, ”the wife of the American skier Albert Washburn will write later.

TO THE SIDE OF AUSTRIA

“At the end of the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games, the teams had to once again pass in front of the government tribune,” writes Andrey Vasilchenko, candidate of historical sciences. - And then a sensation awaited the audience. When the Austrian team passed by Hitler (recall that Hitler was a native of Austria), they gave him not an Olympic, but a National Socialist greeting. An eyewitness from among the Germans recalled: The faces of the Austrian athletes addressed to him seemed to say: you and our Fuhrer too! And that was not a nice formality. "

As noted by many observers, Hitler responded to the Austrian team with a slight bow, after which he "thoughtfully fixed his gaze towards the mountains towards Austria."

All these gestures gave rise to numerous interpretations and predictions, and therefore immediately after the opening of the Games, the future of Austria was often discussed in the press. The Anschluss of Austria took place two years later, in the spring of 1938.

The star of the Winter Olympic Games in the Third Reich is rightfully considered the Norwegian figure skater Sonya Henie (who, by the way, is credited with the primacy in the use of a short skirt in a figure skating suit). Sonya received a gold medal in the individual competition, on which the Fuhrer personally congratulated her. At the conclusion of the Winter Games, Henie agreed to dine with Hitler at his private residence, and then accepted an autographed photo of him from the German leader. Subsequently, the champion will begin her acting career, and Joseph Goebbels will personally promote the first film with her participation, "One in a Million".

The first place in the Winter Games was taken by the Norwegian team, the second - by Germany, the third - by Sweden.

It is interesting that it was at the Games in the Third Reich that the Olympic torch relay was first held. The author of the idea was Karl Diem, one of the main initiators was Joseph Goebbels.

Among all the solemn Nazi events, perhaps the most magnificent and spectacular was the Berlin Olympics in 1936.

The historic Berlin stadium today is perceived by many not so much as an arena for sports battles, but as a monumental reminder of the Nazi era. It was here, at the Olympiastadion, that Hitler carried out a grandiose propaganda action and, to the pompous music of Richard Wagner, opened the 1936 Summer Olympics in front of a crowd of 100,000. It was here, to the Fuehrer's chagrin, that black American athlete Jesse Owens won four gold medals, thus casting doubt on the myth of the superiority of the Aryan race. It was here that, two years later, the British met with the German national football team, and during the performance of the German anthem, they had to submit to political demands and give a salute to the Fuehrer. But the British avenged this humiliation by winning with a score of 6: 3.

The sports complex "Olympiapark", the center of which is now the "Olympiastadion" stadium, was built before the First World War, when Germany received the right to host the Summer Olympics of 1916. In 1933, Hitler, having come to power, took over the unused areas adjacent to the Grunwald racetrack. His ambitious plan included the construction of an 86,000-seat stadium, a separate hockey stadium, a riding arena, a swimming pool and an outdoor sports arena. The sports complex was adjacent to Mayfeld, where the Nazis held mass rallies.

The 1936 Berlin Olympics are probably the most controversial in the history of the Games. After World War I, in 1920 and 1924, Germany was not allowed to participate in the Olympic Games. However, this regrettable fact did not bother Hitler much - he was convinced that it would be simply humiliating for German athletes to compete with "inferior non-Aryans". Bruno Matritz, a spokesman for the Nazi Party, confirmed this position in a letter to members of German sports clubs, defining the Olympic Games as "overrun by French, Belgians, Poles and Negro Jews."

Despite such beliefs of the Nazis, on May 13, 1931, the International Olympic Committee granted Germany the right to host the 1936 Games.This step was explained by the fact that at that time Germany was not yet under Nazi rule, and the IOC decided that such a step would help return Germany into the ranks of civilized countries. Problems arose after 1933, when Hitler's pronounced nationalist and anti-Jewish views became public policy. Goebbels made every effort to persuade the Fuhrer to reconsider his attitude towards the Olympic Games. He argued that hosting the Olympics would show the world the revived power of Germany and provide the party with first-class propaganda material. In addition, the competition will allow the undoubtedly strong German team to demonstrate "Aryan" athleticism to other peoples. The Fuhrer was persuaded. The Fuhrer agreed. 20 million Reichsmarks were allocated for the Games, i.e. US $ 8 million.

However, in 1934, serious controversy erupted in the world over the expediency of holding the Games in Berlin. They were especially stormy in the United States. Jewish, Catholic, religious and secular organizations united in their condemnation of the German Games. As IOC President Avery Brandage said in 1933:

"The very foundations of a modern revitalized Olympic movement will be undermined by allowing individual countries to restrict participation in the Games for reasons of origin, faith or race."

Olympic rules prohibited any racial or religious discrimination; many athletes and sports organizations pushed for a boycott of the German Games.

Avery Brandage himself was a staunch opponent of the boycott. He said the Olympic Games "belong to athletes, not politicians." In 1935, his motives for supporting the Games began to arouse some suspicion, as he unexpectedly announced that in fact there was a real force behind the opponents of the Berlin Olympics - the "Jewish-communist conspiracy." This is bullshit. This of course was not true, since even some Jewish sports organizations opposed the boycott. However, to deal with the wave of protest, Brendage and other IOC officials visited Berlin in 1934 and assessed the situation of discrimination in Germany. Naturally, the Nazis properly prepared to meet their dear guest for this visit. All signs of anti-Semitism have completely disappeared in Berlin; members of the commission were able to meet with Jewish athletes, who assured them of their complete freedom to play sports.

The boycott dispute was resolved on December 8, 1935, when the Amateur Sports Union voted to participate in the Games. Nevertheless, many athletes nevertheless decided not to go to Berlin. An alternative "People's Olympiad" was even planned for July 1936 in Barcelona, ​​Spain, but it was thwarted by the outbreak of civil war there.

Shortly before the Games in Berlin, 6-16 February 1936, Germany hosted the Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Bavarian Alps). This Olympics gave the Reich leadership the opportunity to test methods that were then perfected during the Berlin Olympics. So, for the sake of decency in the face of foreign guests, all manifestations of anti-Semitism were stopped.

The guests who visited Berlin in 1936 can be understood: many of them thought that German anti-Semitism was just a myth. All anti-Jewish posters, brochures and books temporarily disappeared from the streets and stalls. German newspapers were prohibited from publishing anti-Semitic stories and articles for the entire period of the Games. Berliners were even ordered to refrain from negative public statements about Jews from June 30 to September 1. To create an impression of the liberalism of the Third Reich, even one half-Jewish woman (very incidentally of "Aryan" appearance), fencing champion Helena Mayer, was allowed to participate in the Games as part of the German team. At the Winter Olympics, the team also had one athlete with half Jewish blood - hockey player Rudy Ball.

The management and residents of Berlin showed generous hospitality to the visiting athletes and guests. In particular, the consumption of eggs for Berliners has been temporarily curtailed so that guests can eat without restrictions. The laws against homosexuals were temporarily suspended. The entire city was lavishly decorated with swastikas and other Nazi symbols, which gave it a festive and majestic look. Military mobilization was also hidden from prying eyes. Here is an instruction from the Ministry of Propaganda regarding the Olympic Village:

"The northern section of the Olympic Village, originally used by the Wehrmacht, should not be called barracks, it will now be called the 'northern section of the Olympic Village."

The world press was delighted. Only two or three of the most astute reporters were able to peer behind the beautiful façade - but they did not see the full picture either. In the northern suburbs of Berlin, the Oranienburg concentration camp was already filled with Jews and other objectionable people.

The opening ceremony of the Games was well remembered by everyone who saw it. Cannons were firing throughout the city. Hitler personally released 20,000 carrier pigeons at the Sportpalast stadium. Above the stadium, the Hindenburg Zeppelin circled almost 304 meters long with a giant Olympic flag in tow. In the middle of all this splendor, athletes from 49 countries of the world marched in front of the assembled crowds of spectators.

It is appropriate here to quote Joachim Festus:

“On August 1, under the solemn ringing of the Olympic bell, Hitler opened the games, surrounded by kings, princes, ministers, and numerous guests of honor. When the former Olympic champion-Marfon from Greece Spiridon Louis handed him an olive branch as a “symbol of love and peace”, the choir sang a hymn created by Richard Strauss, and flocks of peace doves soared into the sky. In this picture of a reconciled planet, created by Hitler, the fact that some of the teams leaving the stadium (including the French just provoked!) glasses on the part of resistance, willingly announced the "Olympic greeting" ".

Germany fielded the largest team - 348 athletes. The United States team was the second largest with 312 people, including 18 African Americans. The delegation was led by Avery Brandage, President of the American Olympic Committee. The Soviet Union did not take part in the Berlin Games.

In general, the results of the XI Olympiad in Berlin were positive for the Reich. Huge financial investments in physical training and sports have yielded results: the German team won 33 gold medals, leaving all other teams far behind. The Nazis believed that the racial "superiority" of the Aryans had found another confirmation.

Nevertheless, although many Nazi prejudices seemed to be confirmed, some of them came into clear conflict with reality. Half-Jewish fencer Helena Mayer took second place, while Jewish athletes from other countries won gold and silver medals. In such a paramilitary sport as fencing, the primacy of the Jews was very unpleasant for the Nazi leaders. But Meyer's invaluable contribution to Nazi propaganda more than made up for this nuisance. Standing on the podium, she gave a Nazi salute in her entire uniform, and at a reception in honor of the Olympic winners she shook hands with Hitler. She was captured in her documentary "Olympia" and Leni Riefenstahl.

In general, the awards were distributed as follows.

No. / Country / Gold / Silver / Bronze / Total

1 - Third Reich 33 26 30 89
2 - USA 24 20 12 56
3 - Hungary 10 1 5 16
4 - Italy 8 9 5 22
5 - Finland 7 6 6 19
6 - France 7 6 6 19
7 - Sweden 6 5 9 20
8 - Japan 6 4 8 18
9 - Netherlands 6 4 7 17

A far more serious challenge to Nazi dogma and prejudice was the success of the black American athlete Jesse Owens. In general, the American team proved to be very worthy and won 56 medals, of which 14 were received by black Americans. Owens' performance made a strong impression on the audience. He not only took part in the 4x100 m relay and helped the American team get gold in this event, but also won gold in the 100 and 200 m sprint and long jump.

Jesse Owens's astonishing success was very unpleasant and embarrassing for the Nazis. Goebbels personally instructed the German press not to bully black athletes during the Games. Instead, Owens' accomplishments were simply pushed aside and hushed up, and Hitler refused to shake hands with Owens or any other black athlete. At the same time, in the United States, Owens' success was presented as a defeat for Nazi ideology. However, the United States itself had something to think about in terms of race relations. And they lynch blacks. During the Olympics, there was one very unpleasant incident: Avery Brandedge removed Marty Glickman and San Stoller from participating in the athletics relay. These were the only Jews on the track and field team, and Brendage's act was reasonably regarded by many as a sycophant in an attempt to please Hitler.

The Nazi Roots of the Olympic Movement - III

In addition:

I can not help but imagine the results of the ingenious combination of the Anglo-Saxons, after Germany was used for its intended purpose and was appointed the sole culprit in the outbreak of WWII.

Dresden after the bombing by the Allies, long before the entry into it of the Red Army

The area of ​​the zone of total destruction in Dresden was 4 times the area of ​​the zone of total destruction in Nagasaki. The population before the raid was 629,713 people, afterwards - 369,000 people.

1936 Olympics

In 1931, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) selected Berlin to host the 1936 Summer Olympics. 49 countries applied for participation in the Olympiad. This choice meant a warming of relations with the defeated aggressor of the First World War and the return of Germany to the world community after its isolation.

11 cities of three European continents - Germany: Berlin, Cologne, Nuremberg and Frankfurt am Main claimed to organize the games of the Berlin Summer Olympics in 1936; the capital of Hungary is Budapest, the capital of Italy is Rome, the capital of Ireland is Dublin, the Egyptian city of Alexandria and the Argentinean Buenos Aires. The choice fell on Berlin.

The foreign policy situation in Germany allowed the leaders of the Olympic Committee to agree to host the Olympics in Berlin.

A bit of history.

Adolf Hitler January 30, 1933 "elected" Reich Chancellor. And already a few weeks after the victory of the "national revolution" in the ranks of the assault detachments, dissatisfaction began to grow because of the half-heartedness of what the Fuehrer had promised.

Many demanded a "truly socialist" revolution led by Gregor Strasser and Ernst Rohm. The army did not recognize Remus. The question arose, what to do with the SA assault detachments?

At first, they were given the task of educating young people. But for Ernst Julius Rohm - Hitler's closest associate and founder of the "assault squads" (SA) - this was not enough. He longed for a higher position next to the Fuhrer. However, Hitler was convinced by the camarilla from his inner circle that Rem was claiming the position of chancellor and was preparing a rebellion, which was not in nature.

Hitler's reaction turned out to be lightning-fast: reprisals are needed. Rem and many members of the SA considered themselves the vanguard of the "National Socialist Revolution" and hoped after Hitler came to power to establish fundamental changes in the life of Germany, including privileges for themselves. But they didn't realize that Hitler no longer needed stormtroopers with their experience of street violence.

The massacre of yesterday's colleagues began with the so-called "night of long knives", which lasted three days - June 30, July 1 and 2, 1934. These three days did their job. The leadership of the stormtroopers, along with some politicians of the Weimar Republic, who were longtime opponents of the Nazis, were destroyed, and the SA units were drained of blood and humiliated.

The situation in Germany has stabilized. Hitler was no longer afraid of anyone and asserted himself, leading the Third Reich into a great world power. He quickly transformed the fragile people's democracy into a one-party dictatorship that persecutes Jews, Roma, and all political opponents without exception. "In a strong state," he thought, "there should be no opposition."

And the Nazis really took control of all spheres of life, including sports, which was supposed to politically support the myth of the "Aryan" superiority of the German nation.

The sculpture idealized the developed muscles of athletes, their heroic power.

Monumentality was implanted in architecture and architecture.

The ideology practiced the idea of ​​the purity of the race.

Jews - masters of international class were expelled from sports teams. So, Eric Seelig was expelled from boxing, Daniel Prenn from tennis, Gretel Bergman from athletics and many others.

But all this did not prevent the hosting of the next Olympics on its territory. The sports bosses did not seem to have seen all the outrageousness and far-reaching statements of the leaders of the Third Reich of racist content.

For two weeks, from August 1 to August 16, 1936, while the XI Summer Olympic Games were held in Berlin, in which 4,066 athletes competed, the Nazi dictatorship of Adolf Hitler did everything to hide its racist and militaristic nature. Having weakened anti-Semitic propaganda and actions, as well as plans for territorial expansion, the Nazis did much in their power to conceal in front of the participants in 49 countries and numerous foreign guests the anti-human essence of their state policy, to dazzle them with the glitter of peace and tolerance.

As a noble gesture to soothe international opinion, the Nazis allowed swordsman Helene Mayer, a half-breed Jewish woman, to represent Germany at the Berlin Olympics. She won the silver medal in the women's singles. After the Olympics, seeing anti-Semitic hysteria, the fencer urgently left for the United States.

From 1933 until the Olympics, groups of armed SS men stood at the doors of Jewish shops and offices and urged visitors or customers not to enter them. Bright, contrasting posters calling for a boycott or abuse were glued around on windows, doors, fences and shop windows: "Germans, don't buy from Jews!" or "Jews out!"

And a few days after that, legislative measures were taken, as a result of which Jews began to be ousted from public life. First, university professors were removed from their jobs, then over 10 thousand doctors, lawyers, officials and almost two thousand musicians and theater workers. Under the influence of the first wave of oppression, approximately 60,000 people sought refuge in European countries, most of whom were reluctant to accept Jewish refugees.

And yet, there was a boycott of the Berlin Olympics. These processes took place most vividly in the USA, England, France, Sweden, Czechoslovakia, the Netherlands and in a number of other countries. However, since the US Amateur Athletic Union voted to participate in the Olympics in December 1935, other countries took the same position and the boycott failed.

It should be fair to say that the Nazis carried out extensive preparatory work for the Summer Olympics. Germany skillfully advertised the Olympics with colorful posters, postcards, brochures. The stalls were filled with souvenirs. And finally, a huge sports complex at that time was built by German specialists. The concrete bowl was decorated with Olympic white banners and red flags with a swastika.

On the instructions of the Minister of Propaganda Goebbels, the intense work to exalt the Olympics continued even after its end. In 1938, the film "Olympics" was released, created by the German director and supporter of Nazism Leni Riefenstahl. She, being Hitler's favorite, became the chief director and cameraman on the filming of a documentary film about the 1936 Summer Olympics.

Germany celebrated its victory at the XI Summer Olympics - at home, German athletes won the most medals, and German hospitality was celebrated by many heads of sports delegations.

On the monumental arena of sports battles "Olympiastadion" Hitler opened this Olympic show of strength, will and endurance to the pompous music of Richard Wagner.

Many French people went to see the miracle. Among them were delegates from the ROVS. Especially those who flirted with the Hitler regime. In addition to a purely spectacular program in Berlin, individual improvements were also made to anti-Soviet reconnaissance and sabotage plans. The delegates witnessed the opening ceremony of the Games.

Cannons were firing throughout the city. Hitler personally released 20,000 carrier pigeons on the central sports arena.

The Hindenburg Zeppelin, nearly 304 meters long, circled above the stadium with a giant Olympic flag in tow. German author of the three-volume "Hitler" Joachim K. Fest wrote on this subject:

“On August 1, under the solemn ringing of the Olympic bell, Hitler opened the Games, surrounded by kings, princes, ministers and numerous guests of honor. When the former Olympic champion - marathon runner from Greece Spiridon Louis handed him an olive branch as a "symbol of love and peace", the choir sang a hymn created by Richard Strauss, and flocks of pigeons soared into the sky.

In this picture of a reconciled planet, created by Hitler, the fact that some of the teams leaving the stadium (including the French that had just been provoked!), Passing by the rostrum, threw up their hands in a fascist greeting, which they later, making up for points in terms of resistance, they were willingly declared the "Olympic greeting".

The sports victories of the American athlete Jesse Owens were very unpleasant for the Nazis. They were simply hushed up in the press, and Hitler even refused to shake hands with the black four-time American champion. During the Olympics, one unpleasant incident occurred: the head of the US sports delegation Avery Brandedge, in order to play along with the Fuhrer, suspended two Jews from participating in the track and field relay - Marty Glickman and San Stoller.

It was a real sycophant to Hitler.

The success of the German athletes made a very strong impression on the host of the Olympics. At the close of the world competition to Albert Speer standing next to Adolf Hitler, he said:

I think the 1940 Olympic Games will be held in Tokyo. But after that they will always, forever and ever, be held only in Germany and at this very stadium.

My Fuhrer, I believe in your words, agreed Speer.

We shouldn't live differently. We are building the Third Reich, and it is doomed to exist for a millennium. The main thing now is to cleanse the country of internal enemies. Our motto should be one - woe to the one who is weak! We won in the world sports arena, which means that we are stronger than others. Political and military victories are ahead. Only pure nations are capable of such great deeds ...

Germany above all! - Albert Speer proudly raised his head with his hand raised in greeting.

We are celebrating a victory today. For the defeat in 1918, our vengeance has not yet come. We were then taken by surprise. A nation, like a woman, is not forgiven for a moment of oversight, when the first villain he meets can commit violence against her. Therefore, one must always remember about oversights. Today we need to pump muscles like never before, otherwise we can be crushed by stronger nations, ”Hitler continued to rant, warmed up by the euphoria of Germany's victory in the world sports arena.

But in a barrel of honey without a fly in the ointment is not complete.

At the Olympics, one team embarrassed Hitler. They were footballers from Peru. That year, they beat Germany's allies - Finland with a score of 7: 2, with the same score the Peruvian athletes beat Austria, but three goals were artificially annulled. The final score was 4: 2. The entire match was then considered invalid without a compelling reason. Out of self-esteem and in protest, the entire Peruvian national team refused to participate in the Olympics.

The whole world read in this act the baseness and injustice of the host of the Games, Adolf Hitler, despite his growing authority.

Another feature of the Berlin Olympics was that the team from the USSR did not participate in it, although relations, especially economic ones, were established. The exchange of goods between the countries was active. On the other hand, we fought each other during the Spanish Civil War.

Both countries became "friends" after the signing of the peace treaty in 1939. And for the first time a Soviet team went to the Olympic Games only in 1952 - in Helsinki.

Jesse Owens, an outstanding black athlete from the United States, who won four gold medals, became a real hero of the Olympics. I must say that the athlete arrived in Berlin at the peak of his fame, which aroused particular interest in himself. During the long jump final, Hitler himself arrived at the competition, hoping to personally see the victory of the famous German athlete Lutz Long. He jumps and breaks the Olympic record by 4 centimeters. Lutz is pleased - he believes in victory. The athlete turns to the side of the podium, where Hitler is standing, and throws up his hand in a triumphant greeting. The Fuhrer's box explodes with a shout ...

But the Nazis were not happy for long. Here Jesse runs up and jumps to the mark of 8 meters 6 centimeters!

With annoyance and nervous irritation, Hitler demonstratively leaves the stadium together with his entire retinue ...

In 1936, Pyotr Nikolaevich Krasnov moved from Paris to Berlin - general from the cavalry of the Russian Imperial Army, ataman of the Great Don Army, military and political figure, writer and publicist. During World War II, he will take the post of head of the Main Directorate of the Cossack Forces of the Imperial Ministry of the Eastern Occupied Territories.

The move from "white" Paris to Nazi Berlin had its reasons and consequences. With generals Alekseev and Denikin, he quarreled back in the years of the Civil War over the issue of interaction with German troops. And now, seeing how the Nazi empire is gaining strength, promisingly aimed at the east, and this means against the Bolsheviks, he completely goes over to Hitler's side.

Denikin rejected the offer to be in line with the Germans against Russia, even Soviet one. He understood that it would be necessary to shoot not so much at the Bolshevik bosses who settled in the Kremlin, as at ordinary compatriots, and this is again a great bloodshed.

But Krasnov is eager to fight the "infidels", with atheists, and will publish his views on the war with "Sovdepia" on the very first day of the war:

“I ask you to convey to all the Cossacks that this war is not against Russia, but against the communists, Jews and their henchmen who sell Russian blood. May God help German weapons and Hitler! Let them do what the Russians and Emperor Alexander I did for Prussia in 1813 ”.

In the meantime, Petr Nikolaevich in the stands "cheers" for German athletes. He likes strong, muscular, fast arias, to which the old grunt attributes his fellows - the Cossacks, offended by the Soviet regime in the first years of its reign in Russia ...

Intense propaganda work in Germany continued after the end of the Games. Especially after the release of the already mentioned film "Olympics", created by Leni Riefenstahl. Berlin celebrated its victory due to the fact that the German athletes won the most medals. Many world media outlets noted that the Berlin Olympics "returned Germany to the fold of nations." But this was only a facade behind which the racist regime was hiding.

After the end of the Games, the persecution of the Jews resumed. Exactly two days after the victorious salute, the head of the Olympic Village Wolfgang Fürstner committed suicide after learning that he had been discharged from the army to the reserve because of his Jewish origin.

The next year after the release of Leni Riefenstahl's film about Germany's sports victories, namely on September 1, 1939, Hitler decided to try his hand at military-political games. This day is the beginning of the Second World War, the attack of the Nazis on Poland.

Many people around the German Chancellor understood that this was the beginning of a universal conflagration. Even the chief of military intelligence, Admiral Canaris, who deeply knows the reality of the situation, was frightened by this action of Hitler.

In his conversations with Hungarian friends, Canaris, even in the pre-war years, steadily continued to believe and told his relatives that Germany, even from the instinct of self-preservation, should not embark on military adventures, since it has no chance of remaining the winner in a world war.

During a trip to Hungary to his friend Foreign Minister Kalman von Kahn and frank conversations with him, the head of the German military intelligence realized one thing: the Magyars are sure that after Poland there will be an attack on the Soviet Union.

"The USSR will not break," they argued, "it will stand, since Soviet Russia is not at all like a colossus with feet of clay, as many whisperers who surrounded the Fuhrer imagine it to be."

Some not only the Hungarian military, but also some high-ranking generals of the Wehrmacht were of the same opinion.

It was here, surrounded by Hungarian friends in the fall of 1939, referring to the same von Kahn, Canaris, after the victorious end of the war with Poland, prophetically exclaimed:

You know, Kalman, we have already lost the war! .. A battle that is fought without observing elementary ethics can never be won. There is the highest justice on earth ...

True, in these words of the cunning and sagacious leader of the Abwehr there were no longer any secrets, but only a clearly constructed forecast that arose on the basis of an analysis of objective data.

This text is an introductory fragment. From the book The Double Conspiracy. Secrets of Stalinist repression the author

Summer - autumn 1936 ... So the arrest of the army Trotskyists had to wait a little, at least until the trial, in order to reduce everything to a separate Trotskyist group and not even provoke the thought of repressions in the army on the eve of the proposed war. Commander Schmidt alone,

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From the book The Tale of Adolf Hitler the author Stieler Annemaria

THE OLYMPIC GAMES OF 1936 Even before Adolf Hitler became Fuhrer, the peoples of the world concluded an agreement among themselves that in 1936 the Olympic Games would be held in Germany. After some time, the Reich of Adolf Hitler was founded in the country, and among other important

From the book Nazism and Culture [Ideology and Culture of National Socialism] by Mosse George

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August 3, 1936 Demonstrators walked merry, dressed like summer, almost all in white. Six slender, tanned girls came in short sports tunics - apparently straight from the stadium. They held hands and shouted in syllables: “Fran-ko, do-loy! Fran-to-do-loy! "

the author Chernousov Mikhail Borisovich

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Failed Olympics

By the decision of the IOC in 1912, Berlin was to become the capital of the VI Summer Olympic Games in 1916. The construction of a sports complex has begun in the German capital. The complex remained unfinished. In 1914, the First World War canceled the games, the failed Olympic champions went to the fronts to shoot at each other.

Rogue country

5 years later, in 1919, the victorious countries gathered in Versailles to decide the post-war fate of Germany, which had lost the war. They tore Germany like wounded jackals. The jackals were 26 and each tried to snatch a piece fatter. Germany was cut geographically from all sides and imposed a huge indemnity. Several generations of Germans had to work without straightening their backs to pay off debts. Additionally, Germany was erased from the political, social and cultural life of Europe. She found herself isolated. Important international events were held without the participation of its representatives, they were simply not invited, and those who dared to come without a request were not allowed further than the front. This is why Germany is not on the list of countries participating in the 1920 and 1924 Olympic Games.

Berlin fights for the Olympics

In 1928, the excommunication was lifted and the German athletes at the IX Olympics in Amsterdam took second place, proving to the whole world that the Teutonic spirit from Germany did not disappear.

Having made a breach, Germany began to expand it vigorously and applied for the right to become the host of the XI Olympic Games. In addition to Berlin, 9 other cities expressed the same desire. On May 13, 1930, in Lausanne, the IOC members had to make the final choice between Berlin and Barcelona, ​​which reached the final. Berlin won with a huge advantage (43/16).
But in 1933, a question mark appeared at the end of the phrase “Berlin is the capital of the XI Olympiad”.

Why would the Nazis need the Olympics?

Hitler, who came to power, was not a supporter of the Olympic Games and called them "an invention of Jews and Freemasons." And in Germany itself, the attitude towards the Games was by no means unambiguous. Many Germans were not going to either forget or forgive the humiliation at Versailles, and did not want to see athletes from England and France in Germany. The anti-Olympic movement was gaining momentum among the Nazis. The "skirmisher" was the National Socialist Union of Students. In their opinion, Aryan athletes should not compete with representatives of "inferior" peoples. And if the Olympics cannot be postponed, then it should be held without the participation of German athletes. Hitler did not see any value in the Olympics for promoting the ideas of National Socialism: after the triumph of 1928 in 1932 in Los Angeles, Germany was in 9th place. What is the superiority of the Aryan race!
Goebbels convinced Hitler.

Goebbels' arguments

It was the propaganda minister who suggested that Hitler not only support the Olympics, but take it under state tutelage, use it to create a new image of Germany and propagate the Nazi regime. According to Goebbels, the Olympic Games will show the world a new Germany: striving for peace, not torn apart by internal political contradictions, with a united people, led by a national leader. And a positive image is not only a way out of political isolation, it is also the establishment of economic contacts and, as a result, an inflow of capital, which Germany so badly needs.

The Olympics will give an impetus to the development of sports in the country. The basis of any army is a soldier - strong, healthy, physically developed. The war-oriented Nazis did not tire of carrying out actions in favor of sports.

One of such actions was the football match held in 1931 between the teams "Sturmovik" (the leadership of the SA) and "Reich" (the leadership of the NSDAP). In the "Reich" played: Hess, Himmler, Goering (1 half), Lei, the gate was defended by Bormann. “Sturmovik” won with a score of 6: 5, but the party press wrote “correctly”: “Reich” won.

But even hundreds of promotions held cannot be compared in their effect with 2 weeks of the Olympics.
The Olympics will rally the people around the Fuhrer and the regime. As for the sporting achievements of the German team, the head of the NOC of Germany, Karl Dim, swore by oath that this time the German athletes would not let them down.

How did you prepare for the Berlin Olympics

Having made the decision to make the Berlin Olympics the largest among all those previously held, Hitler began to implement the decision. If earlier the NOC of Germany planned the budget of the Games within 3 million Reichsmarks, then Hitler increased it to 20 million. stadium and Olympic village of 500 cottages. It was planned to install a 74-meter-high bell tower at the stadium, for which a 4-meter bell weighing 10 tons, which became the symbol of the XI Olympiad, was cast.