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77-523: After the Olympic games in Berlin in 1936 introduced gliding as an Olympic sport, plans were made to fly the 1940 Olympic championships with a standard design of sailplane to give each pilot the same chances. The Meise was redesigned to fit into the new Olympic class specifications. The new 'Olympia' Meise had the prescribed wingspan of 15 m (49 ft 2 in), spoilers, but no flaps, and an undercarriage consisting of

154-422: A 56-second final lap. In one of the most dramatic 800-meter races in history, American John Woodruff won gold after slowing to jogging speed in the middle of the final to free himself from being boxed in. Glenn Edgar Morris , a farm boy from Colorado, won gold in the decathlon. British rower Jack Beresford won his fifth Olympic medal in the sport, and his third gold medal. The U.S. eight-man rowing team from

231-400: A capacity of 74,228 people. The seating has been changed greatly, especially the sections that were reserved for German and international political leaders. The stadium now plays host to Hertha BSC (1963–present), and is expected to remain the home of the team for years to come. For the 2006 FIFA World Cup , the venue was where the final took place between Italy and France. Three years later,

308-426: A city bidding to host those Games. Later rule modifications forbade cities hosting the bid vote from being awarded the games. To outdo the 1932 Los Angeles Games , Reichsführer Adolf Hitler had a new 100,000-seat track and field stadium built, as well as six gymnasiums and other smaller arenas. The Games were the first to be televised , with radio broadcasts reaching 41 countries. Filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl

385-439: A controversial win after Hitler called for a rematch of the quarterfinals match to discount Peru 's 4–2 win over Austria . The Peruvian national Olympic team refused to play the match again and withdrew from the games. In the quarter-finals of the football tournament, Peru beat Austria 4–2 in extra-time. Peru rallied from a two-goal deficit in the final 15 minutes of normal time. During extra-time, Peruvian fans allegedly ran onto

462-536: A major role in the structure and organisation of the Olympics. He promoted the idea that the use of sports would harden the German spirit and instill unity among German youth. At the same time, he also believed that sports was a "way to weed out the weak, Jewish, and other undesirables". Von Tschammer entrusted the details of the organisation of the games to Theodor Lewald and Carl Diem , the former president and secretary of

539-405: A referee who refused to let her cameraman Gustav Lantschner film the hammer throw competition. She complained about this to Goebbels who dismissed her as a "hysterical woman" and was not allowed to return to the stadium until she apologized to the referee. Paris-soir incorrectly claimed that Goebbels slapped Riefenstahl, called her Jewish, and that she fled to Switzerland. Riefenstahl edited

616-633: A silver in swimming. Estonian heavyweight wrestler Kristjan Palusalu won two gold medals, and he became the first and only wrestler in Olympic history ever to win both the Greco-Roman and freestyle heavyweight events. Berlin 1936 marked the last time Estonia competed as an independent nation in the Olympics until 1992. After winning the middleweight class, the Egyptian weightlifter Khadr El Touni continued to compete for another 45 minutes, finally exceeding

693-402: A skid and a non-retractable wheel. The pilot sat all-enclosed in an aerodynamically clean fuselage made of laminated wood and topped by an acrylic glass hood. The plane could be launched by winch as well by towplane. Its wood-and-fabric construction made it easy for flying clubs to maintain, to repair and even to build the gliders from kits. A design contest to select the single Olympic glider

770-513: Is estimated to have spent US$ 30   million). Jesse Owens of the United States won four gold medals in the sprint and long jump events, and became the most successful athlete to compete in Berlin, while Germany was the most successful country overall with 101 medals (38 of them gold); the United States placed a distant second with 57 medals. These were the final Olympic Games under

847-409: Is shown in the film. Olympia is controversial due to its political context and propaganda value. However, the techniques Riefenstahl employed are almost universally admired and had a lasting influence on film and television coverage of sport events. Olympia appears on many lists of the greatest films of all time, including Time magazine's " All-Time 100 Movies ". The Nazis planned on using

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924-559: The 1936 Summer Olympics as a piece of propaganda. Riefenstahl claimed that the film was commissioned by the International Olympic Committee , but it was financed entirely by the government using a company named Olympia Film GmbH. The Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda oversaw the production of the film. Olympia prominently depicted the Nazi idea of Strength Through Joy . Joseph Goebbels discussed making

1001-692: The 1936 Summer Olympics , held in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin during the Nazi period . The film was released in two parts: Olympia 1. Teil — Fest der Völker ( Festival of Nations ) (126 minutes) and Olympia 2. Teil — Fest der Schönheit ( Festival of Beauty ) (100 minutes). The 1936 Summer Olympics torch relay , as devised for the Games by the secretary general of the Organizing Committee, Dr. Carl Diem ,

1078-514: The Berlin-Marzahn concentration camp . United States Olympic Committee president Avery Brundage became a main supporter of the Games being held in Germany, arguing that "politics has no place in sport", despite having initial doubts. French Olympians gave a Roman salute at the opening ceremony: known as the salut de Joinville per the battalion, Bataillon de Joinville , the Olympic salute

1155-655: The Deutscher Reichsausschuss für Leibesübungen , the forerunner of the Reich Sports Office. Among Diem's ideas for the Berlin Games was the introduction of the Olympic torch relay between Greece and the host nation. The 1936 Summer Olympics torch relay was the first of its kind , following on from the reintroduction of the Olympic Flame at the 1928 Games . It pioneered the modern convention of moving

1232-518: The Games of the XI Olympiad ( German : Spiele der XI. Olympiade ) and officially branded as Berlin 1936 , was an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin , Germany . Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona on the 29th IOC Session on 26 April 1931. The 1936 Games marked the second and most recent time the International Olympic Committee gathered to vote in

1309-584: The Second World War had not intervened and the 1940 Olympics had not been cancelled. Nevertheless, 626 Olympia Meises were built in Germany during the war by Flugzeugbau Ferdinand Schmetz Herzogenrath (601 built) and Flugzeugbau Schleicher (25). Most of the German production were among the 15,000 German gliders destroyed in 1945. 17 were also built at the time in Sweden. The design of the Olympia Meise survived

1386-467: The United States . The twelve nations that won the most medals at the 1936 Games.   *    Host nation ( Germany ) Hitler saw the Games as an opportunity to promote his government and ideals of racial supremacy. The official Nazi party paper, the Völkischer Beobachter , wrote in the strongest terms that Jewish and black people should not be allowed to participate in

1463-586: The University of Washington won the gold medal, coming from behind to defeat the Germans and Italians with Hitler in attendance. 13-year-old American sensation Marjorie Gestring won the women's 3 meter diving event . Jack Lovelock of New Zealand won the 1500 m gold medal, coming through a strong field to win in the world record time of 3:47.8. In the marathon , the ethnic Koreans Sohn Kee-chung and Nam Sung-yong won one gold and one bronze medal; as Korea

1540-1105: The World Gliding Championships into the late 1950s. The Olympia was also built after the war in Germany, where series production restarted in 1956, in France as the Nord 2000 (100 built), in the Netherlands, Switzerland (12), Hungary (35) with a further twenty modified as the Cinke , Australia (3), Austria, in Czechoslovakia as the Zlin Z-25 Šohaj , Brazil (7). Data from The World's Sailplanes:Die Segelflugzeuge der Welt:Les Planeurs du Monde General characteristics Performance Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists 1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics ( German : Olympische Sommerspiele 1936 ), officially

1617-581: The 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, in her home country. A total of 49 nations attended the Berlin Olympics, up from 37 in 1932 . Five nations made their first official Olympic appearance at these Games: Afghanistan , Bermuda , Bolivia , Costa Rica and Liechtenstein . The nations that returned to the games were Bulgaria , Chile , Egypt , Iceland , Luxembourg , Malta , Monaco , Peru , Romania and Turkey . The nations that participated in

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1694-488: The 1934–35 Trial of Neumann and Sass in Klaipėda. Total ticket revenues were 7.5   million Reichsmark (equivalent to €17.4 million in 2021), for a profit of over one million R.M. The official budget did not include outlays by the city of Berlin (which issued an itemized report detailing its costs of 16.5   million R.M.) or the outlays of the German national government (which did not make its costs public, but

1771-568: The 1936 Summer Olympic Games. By the time of the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona in April 1931, only Barcelona and Berlin were left in contention. The other cities that announced an intention to hold the games, but withdrew from the race, were Alexandria , Budapest , Buenos Aires , Cologne , Dublin , Frankfurt , Helsinki , Lausanne , Montevideo , Nuremberg , Rio de Janeiro , and Rome . Helsinki, Rome, Barcelona, and Rio de Janeiro would go on to host

1848-613: The 1936 Summer Olympics. Many were located in the Reich Sportsfeld complex. Sailing was held in the Bay of Kiel , which would serve as the same sporting venue for the 1972 Summer Olympics held in Munich . The Olympic Stadium would later be part of two FIFA World Cups and then host an IAAF World Championships in Athletics along with undergoing a renovation in the early 2000s to give new life to

1925-555: The Games. German Jewish athletes were barred or prevented from taking part in the Games by a variety of methods, although some female swimmers from the Jewish sports club Hakoah Vienna did participate. Jewish athletes from other countries were said to have been sidelined to avoid offending the Nazi regime. Lithuania was expelled from the Olympic Games due to Berlin's position regarding Lithuanian anti-Nazi policy, particularly because of

2002-519: The Games. However, when threatened with a boycott of the Games by other nations, he relented and allowed black and Jewish people to participate, and added one token participant to the German team— Helene Mayer , a woman of Jewish descent. In an attempt to "clean up" the host city, the German Ministry of the Interior authorized the chief of police to arrest all Romani and keep them in a "special camp",

2079-504: The German hosts"; however, given that African-Americans were also heavily disliked by the Nazis, Glickman and Stoller's replacement with black American athletes does not support this theory. Others said that they were in a better physical condition, and that was the main reason behind the replacement. Olympia (1938 film) Olympia is a 1938 German documentary film written, directed and produced by Leni Riefenstahl , which documented

2156-680: The IOC Session, was likely a great factor in the decision taken by delegates regarding the host city for 1936. The games were the first for which the host was decided by a vote of each individual IOC member . The deadline for votes was 13 May 1931, two weeks after the Barcelona Session. Of the 67 voting IOC members, 19 submitted ballots during the Session, and 40 by post to the IOC headquarters in Lausanne;

2233-558: The Olympic Games in 1952, 1960, 1992, and 2016, respectively. Rome withdrew on the eve of the 1931 Session. The city of Barcelona held a multi-sport festival at the same time as the 1931 IOC Session. This included a football match between Spain and the Irish Free State , which was watched by 50,000 spectators. The political uncertainty around the declaration of the Second Spanish Republic , which had happened days before

2310-462: The Olympics, Greece entered the stadium first. The host nation, Germany, entered last. Some nations' athletes purposefully gave the Nazi salute as they passed Hitler. Others gave the Olympic salute (a similar one, given with the same arm), or a different gesture entirely, such as hats-over-hearts, as the United States, India, and China did. All nations lowered their flags as they passed the Führer, save

2387-523: The Stadium in 1946 and parts of the stadium were rebuilt by the late 1950s. As a host venue for the 1974 FIFA World Cup , the stadium had its roof partially covered on the North and South Stands. British occupation of the stadium ended in 1994. Restoration was approved in 1998 with a contractor being found to do the work in 2000. This restoration ran from 2000 to 2004. The modernized Stadium reopened in 2004, with

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2464-570: The United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and the Commonwealth of the Philippines . (The United States doing this was explained later as an army regulation. ) Writer Thomas Wolfe , who was there, described the opening as an "almost religious event, the crowd screaming, swaying in unison and begging for Hitler. There was something scary about it; his cult of personality." After a speech by

2541-612: The competition, Hitler was said to have been sure that Rudolf Ismayr and Adolf Wagner would embarrass all other opponents. Hitler was so impressed by El Touni's domination in the middleweight class that he ordered a street named after him in Berlin's Olympic village. The Egyptian held the No. 1 position on the IWF list of history's 50 greatest weightlifters for 60 years, until the 1996 Games in Atlanta where Turkey 's Naim Süleymanoğlu surpassed him to top

2618-559: The conclusion of the Berlin Olympics, vice-commander Fürstner had been removed from active Wehrmacht duty, and committed suicide a day later because he realised he had no future under the Nazis. After the completion of the Olympic Games, the village was repurposed for the Wehrmacht into the Olympic Döberitz Hospital ( German : Olympia-Lazarett Döberitz ), and Army Infantry School ( German : Heeres-Infanterieschule ), and

2695-428: The equestrian events , winning individual and team gold in all three disciplines, as well as individual silver in dressage. In the cycling match sprint finals, German Toni Merkens fouled Arie van Vliet of the Netherlands. Instead of being disqualified, he was fined 100 ℛℳ and kept his gold. German gymnasts Konrad Frey and Alfred Schwarzmann both won three gold medals. American Jesse Owens won four gold medals in

2772-559: The field and attacked an Austrian player. In the chaos, Peru scored twice and won, 4–2. However, Austria protested and the International Olympic Committee ordered a replay without any spectators. The Peruvian government refused and their entire Olympic squad left in protest as did Colombia. A remarkable story from the track and field competition was the gold medal won by the US women's 4 × 100 m relay team. The German team were

2849-493: The film over the course of two years. The premiere had to be postponed due to the Anschluss . Riefenstahl proposed releasing the film on Hitler's birthday. Olympia was approved by the censors on 14 April 1938, and released on 20 April, Adolf Hitler 's 49th birthday. It had a profit of RM 114,066.45 by 1943. Riefenstahl toured the United States, during which she met Henry Ford and Walt Disney , in an attempt to distribute

2926-588: The film there. However, Kristallnacht and protests from organizations including the Jewish Labor Committee and Hollywood Anti-Nazi League doomed her efforts. Olympia was given an English-dubbed American release by Excelsior Pictures after the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact . There had been few screenings of Olympia in English-speaking countries upon its original release. It

3003-561: The film with Leni Riefenstahl on 28 June 1935, after she received an award for Triumph of the Will . They discussed it further in August and October. Goebbels, Adolf Hitler , and Carl Diem were in agreement that Riefenstahl was the best person to direct the film. She was initially given 1.5 million ℛ︁ℳ︁, but this grew to 2.35 million ℛ︁ℳ︁. Many advanced motion picture techniques, which later became industry standards but which were groundbreaking at

3080-594: The first to have live television coverage in black-and-white. The German Post Office, using equipment from Telefunken , broadcast over 70 hours of coverage to special viewing rooms throughout Berlin and Potsdam and a few private TV sets, transmitting from the Paul Nipkow TV Station . They used three different types of TV cameras, so blackouts would occur when changing from one type to another. The games were also first time photographed and filmed in color using newly invented Agfacolor . The 1936 Olympic village

3157-457: The flame via a relay system from Greece to the Olympic venue. Leni Riefenstahl filmed the relay for the 1938 film Olympia . The sportive, knightly battle awakens the best human characteristics. It doesn't separate but unites the combatants in understanding and respect. It also helps to connect the countries in the spirit of peace. That's why the Olympic Flame should never die. The games were

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3234-597: The games, the American Olympic Association suggested to change the venue to Rome; they saw Rome as a good replacement because Rome was originally selected to hold the 1908 Summer Olympics . Hans von Tschammer und Osten , as Reichssportführer (i.e., head of the National Socialist League of the Reich for Physical Exercise (Deutscher Reichsbund für Leibesübungen, DRL), the Reich Sports Office, played

3311-456: The glorification of Hitler, all did not go according to plan, and there was a rather humorous aspect in the opening ceremony. U.S. distance runner Louis Zamperini , one of the athletes present, related it on camera: They released 25,000 pigeons, the sky was clouded with pigeons , the pigeons circled overhead, and then they shot a cannon, and they scared the poop out of the pigeons, and we had straw hats, flat straw hats, and you could heard

3388-452: The heavy favourites, but dropped the baton at one hand-off. Of notable interest on the US team was Betty Robinson . She was the first woman ever awarded an Olympic gold medal for track and field, winning the women's 100 m event at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. In 1931, Robinson was involved in a plane crash, and was severely injured. Her body was discovered in the wreckage and it

3465-421: The host city. Thus as swimmer Iris Cummings later related, "once the athletes were all in place, the torch bearer ran in through the tunnel to go around the stadium". A young man chosen for this task ran up the steps all the way up to the top of the stadium there to light a cauldron which would start this eternal flame that would burn through the duration of the games. But despite all the pomp and ceremony, and

3542-599: The last venue completed prior to the 1936 Games in April 1936. Deutschland Hall was opened in 1935. Mommenstadion opened in 1930. Basketball was held outdoors at the request of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). The tennis courts were used, which turned to mud during heavy rain at the final. The K-1 1000 m canoeing final was also affected by heavy rain at Grünau that included thunder and lightning. During World War II, Deutschlandhalle in Berlin, suffered heavy aerial bombing damage. After

3619-407: The list. Italy's football team continued their dominance under head coach Vittorio Pozzo , winning the gold medal in these Olympics between their two consecutive World Cup victories ( 1934 and 1938 ). Much like the successes of German athletes, this triumph was claimed by supporters of Benito Mussolini 's regime as a vindication of the superiority of the fascist system. Austria won the silver;

3696-488: The necessary energy" to prevent damage to the site as 370,000 visitors passed through it between 1 May and 15 June. However, this was just a cover story to explain the sudden demotion of the half-Jewish officer. The 1935 Nuremberg Laws , passed during the period Fürstner was overseeing the Olympic Village, had classified him as a Jew, and as such, the career officer was to be expelled from the Wehrmacht . Two days after

3773-454: The other 8 abstained. The vote was 43 for Berlin, and 16 for Barcelona. After the Nazis took control of Germany and began instituting anti-Semitic policies , the IOC held private discussions among its delegates about changing the decision to hold the Games in Berlin. However, Hitler's regime gave assurances that Jewish athletes would be allowed to compete on a German Olympic team. One year before

3850-438: The pitter-patter on our straw hats, but we felt sorry for the women, for they got it in their hair, but I mean there were a mass of droppings, and I say it was so funny... 129 events in 25 disciplines, comprising 19 sports, were part of the Olympic program in 1936. The number of events in each discipline is noted in parentheses. Basketball, canoeing, and handball made their debut at the Olympics. Handball did not appear again on

3927-660: The presidency of Henri de Baillet-Latour . For the next 12 years, no Olympic Games were held due to the immense world disruption caused by the Second World War . The next Olympic Games were held in 1948 (the Winter Games in St. Moritz , Switzerland, and then the Summer Games in London , England). At the 28th IOC Session , held in May 1930 in Berlin, 14 cities announced their intention to bid to host

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4004-652: The president of the German Olympic Committee, the games were officially declared open by Adolf Hitler who quoted (in German): "I proclaim open the Olympic Games of Berlin, celebrating the Eleventh Olympiad of the modern era." This sentence was written by IOC President Baillet-Latour as part of a compromise the IOC struck to prevent Hitler from turning the speech into a propaganda event, and he was to follow it strictly, to which Hitler reportedly joked "Count, I'll take

4081-575: The previous games in Los Angeles in 1932 but were absent in Berlin in 1936 were Ireland and Spain . At the time, Australia and New Zealand were dominions of the British Empire . Both nations had not yet ratified the Statute of Westminster 1931 . India and Bermuda was also part of the British Empire, but was not dominions. And Philippines was an unincorporated territory and commonwealth of

4158-403: The program until the next German summer Olympic games in Munich in 1972 . There were two demonstration sports : baseball and gliding . Art competitions for medals were also held, and medals were awarded at the closing ceremony for feats of alpinism and aeronautics . Unofficial exhibition events included Indian sports , wushu and motor racing . Germany had a successful year in

4235-411: The site into a living museum. The dormitory building used by Jesse Owens , Meissen House, has been fully restored, with the gymnasium and swimming hall partially restored. Seasonally, tours are given daily to small groups and students. The site remains relatively unknown even in Germany, but some tournaments are held at the site to boost knowledge of the venues. Twenty-two venues were used for

4312-399: The sprint and long jump events. His German competitor Luz Long offered Owens advice after he almost failed to qualify in the long jump. Mack Robinson , brother of Jackie Robinson , won the 200-meter sprint silver medal behind Owens by 0.4 seconds. Although he did not win a medal, future American war hero Louis Zamperini , lagging behind in the 5,000-meter final, made up ground by clocking

4389-499: The stadium. Avus Motor Road (AVUS) was started in 1907, but was not completed until 1921 due to World War I . The track was rebuilt for the 1936 Games. AVUS continued being used after World War II though mainly in Formula 2 racing. The German Grand Prix was last held at the track in 1959. Dismantling of the track first took place in 1968 to make way for a traffic crossing for touring cars that raced there until 1998. BSV 92 Field

4466-459: The supposedly documentary Olympia, notably those devoted to the high-diving competition, become less and less concerned with record and more and more abstract: as some of the divers hit the water, the visual interest of patterns of movement takes over." American film critic Richard Corliss observed in Time that "the matter of Riefenstahl 'the Nazi director' is worth raising so it can be dismissed. [I]n

4543-491: The time, were employed, including unusual camera angles, smash cuts , extreme close-ups and placing tracking shot rails within the bleachers. Although restricted to six camera positions on the stadium field, Riefenstahl set up cameras in as many other places as she could, including in the grandstands. She attached automatic cameras to balloons, including instructions to return the film to her, and she also placed automatic cameras in boats during practice runs. Amateur photography

4620-516: The total of the German silver medalist by 35 kg. The 20-year-old El Touni lifted a total of 387.5 kg, crushing two German world champions and breaking the then-Olympic and world records, while the German lifted 352.5 kg. Furthermore, El Touni had lifted 15 kg more than the light-heavyweight gold medalist, a feat only El Touni has accomplished. El Touni's new world records stood for 13 years. Fascinated by El Touni's performance, Adolf Hitler rushed down to greet this human miracle. Prior to

4697-427: The trouble to learn it by heart". Hitler opened the games from his own box, on top of others. Writer David Wallechinsky has commented on the event, saying, "This was his event, he wanted to be glorified." Although the Olympic flame was first introduced in the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, this was the first instance of the torch relay. The Nazis invented the concept of the torch run from ancient Olympia to

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4774-541: The venue hosted the World Athletics Championships . The opening ceremony was held at the Berlin Olympic Stadium on 1 August 1936. A flyover by the German airship Hindenburg flying the Olympic flag behind it was featured early in the opening ceremonies. After the arrival of Hitler and his entourage, the parade of nations proceeded, each nation with its own unique costume. As the birthplace of

4851-547: The war and was taken up by a small British firm called Chilton Aircraft Ltd. The German drawings were not detailed and so entirely new drawings were made that retained the Olympia Meise's aerodynamic shape but otherwise it was a stronger and heavier aircraft. After building one prototype, which flew in 1946, the rights and drawings of the Chilton aircraft were taken up by another British company, Elliotts of Newbury (EoN). Their first EoN Olympia flew in 1947. Later variants by Elliotts continued to be produced as gliders suitable for

4928-408: The war, the hall was reconstructed and expanded. The Deutschlandhalle was used as a venue, but was increasingly closed for repairs, last in 2009. It was demolished in December 2011. The Mommsenstadion was renovated in 1987 and was still in use as of 2010 . The Olympic Stadium was used as an underground bunker in World War II as the war went against Nazi Germany 's favor. The British reopened

5005-412: The world. The reaction to the film in Germany was enthusiastic, and it was received with acclaim and accolades around the world. In 1960, Riefenstahl's peers voted Olympia one of the 10 best films of all time. The Daily Telegraph recognised the film as "even more technically dazzling" than Triumph of the Will . The Times described the film as "visually ravishing ... A number of sequences in

5082-405: Was annexed by Japan at the time, they were running for Japan. India won the gold medal in the field hockey event once again (they won the gold in all Olympics from 1928 to 1956), defeating Germany 8–1 in the final. Indians were considered Indo-Aryans by the German authorities and there was no controversy regarding the victory. Rie Mastenbroek of the Netherlands won three gold medals and

5159-461: Was commissioned by the German Olympic Committee to film the Games for $ 7 million. Her film, titled Olympia , pioneered many of the techniques now common in the filming of sports. Hitler saw the 1936 Games as an opportunity to promote his government and ideals of racial supremacy and antisemitism , and the official Nazi Party paper, the Völkischer Beobachter , wrote in the strongest terms that Jews should not be allowed to participate in

5236-415: Was designed and construction was overseen by the appointed village commander Hauptmann Wolfgang Fürstner beginning in 1934. Less than two months before the start of the Olympic Games, Fürstner was abruptly demoted to vice-commander, and replaced by Oberstleutnant Werner von Gilsa , commander of the Berlin Guard-Regiment . The official reason for the replacement was that Fürstner had not acted "with

5313-401: Was first constructed in 1910 for use in football, handball, athletics, and tennis. The Reich Sports Field, which consisted of the Olympic Stadium, the Dietrich Eckert Open-Air Theatre, the Olympic Swimming Stadium, Mayfield, the Hockey Stadiums, the Tennis Courts, and the Haus des Deutschen Sports, was planned for the aborted 1916 Summer Olympics , but was not completed until 1934. Mayfield was

5390-452: Was located at Elstal in Wustermark (at 52°32′10.78″N 13°0′33.20″E  /  52.5363278°N 13.0092222°E  / 52.5363278; 13.0092222 ), on the western edge of Berlin. The site, which is 30 kilometres (19 mi) from the centre of the city, consisted of one and two-floor dormitories, a large dining hall, Dining Hall of the Nations , a swimming facility, a gymnasium, track, and other training facilities. Its layout

5467-417: Was not discovered until then. The following year, a crown was added to Liechtenstein's to distinguish one flag from the other. Marty Glickman and Sam Stoller were originally slated to compete in the American 4x100 relay team but were replaced by Jesse Owens and Ralph Metcalfe prior to the start of the race. There were speculations that their Jewish heritage contributed to the decision "not to embarrass

5544-399: Was part of the Olympic traditions since the 1924 games. However, due to the different context this action was mistaken by the crowd for a support to fascism, and the Olympic salute was discarded after 1946. Although Haiti attended only the opening ceremony, an interesting vexillological fact was noticed: its flag and the flag of Liechtenstein were coincidentally identical, and this

5621-553: Was re-released in the United States in 1948 under the title Kings of the Olympics in a truncated version acquired from Germany by the U.S. Office of Alien Property Custodian and severely edited without Riefenstahl's involvement. In 1955 Riefenstahl agreed to remove three minutes of Hitler footage for screening at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City . The same version was also screened on West German television and in cinemas around

5698-580: Was run by testing the prototypes of the entered and accepted designs at Sezze airfield in Italy between 20 and 26 February 1939. There were six evaluation pilots of different nationalities. They chose Hans Jacobs ’ design, the DFS Meise. Both the Meise as well as the Olympic class gained immediate enthusiastic support, and the 1940 Olympic gliding championship would probably have ended up as an all-Meise contest — if

5775-584: Was used as such through the Second World War . In 1945 it was taken over by the Soviet Union and became a military camp of the Soviet occupation forces. Late 20th-century efforts were made to restore parts of the former village, but little progress was made. More recently, the vast majority of the land of the Olympic Village has been managed by the DKB Foundation, with more success; efforts are being made to restore

5852-464: Was used to supplement that of the professionals along the course of races. Perhaps the greatest innovation seen in Olympia was the use of an underwater camera. The camera followed divers through the air and, as soon as they hit the water, the cameraman dived down with them, all the while changing focus and aperture. Walter Frentz and Hans Ertl were among the film's camera crew. Riefenstahl argued with

5929-407: Was wrongly thought that she was dead. She was placed in the trunk of a car and taken to an undertaker, where it was discovered that she was not dead, but in a coma. She awoke from the coma seven months later, although it was another six months before she could get out of a wheelchair, and two years before she could walk normally again. Due to the length of her recovery, she had to miss participating in

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