1 00:00:16,155 --> 00:00:31,355 Speaker 1: Pushkin, Hey, Last Archive listeners, It's been here and I 2 00:00:31,395 --> 00:00:33,395 Speaker 1: want to share a story I made with the show 3 00:00:33,515 --> 00:00:36,835 Speaker 1: Revisionist History that I think belongs in the Last Archive 4 00:00:36,875 --> 00:00:41,715 Speaker 1: two because it's about history, democracy, and a question of truth. 5 00:00:42,795 --> 00:00:45,675 Speaker 1: In nineteen thirty six, the Olympic Games were hosted by 6 00:00:45,755 --> 00:00:49,075 Speaker 1: Nazi Germany. The modern Olympic movement was at a low ebb, 7 00:00:49,515 --> 00:00:52,075 Speaker 1: and without the thirty six Games, there's a good chance 8 00:00:52,155 --> 00:00:54,715 Speaker 1: that we wouldn't have the Olympics we have now. But 9 00:00:55,115 --> 00:00:58,755 Speaker 1: participating in games held in Nazi Germany raised a whole 10 00:00:58,755 --> 00:01:02,115 Speaker 1: lot of ethical and political questions. We tend to think 11 00:01:02,155 --> 00:01:05,915 Speaker 1: of Nazism as a geographically bounded thing, something people in 12 00:01:05,955 --> 00:01:09,315 Speaker 1: Germany in the nineteen thirties dealt with, but even just 13 00:01:09,355 --> 00:01:12,155 Speaker 1: a few years after Hitler's rise, before the start of 14 00:01:12,195 --> 00:01:15,715 Speaker 1: the Second World War, the Nazi Olympics forced countries around 15 00:01:15,755 --> 00:01:18,355 Speaker 1: the world to make a decision about whether or not 16 00:01:18,595 --> 00:01:21,355 Speaker 1: they were going to take a stand against Nazism. In 17 00:01:21,395 --> 00:01:24,715 Speaker 1: the US, there was a boycott movement. It failed, but 18 00:01:25,035 --> 00:01:28,675 Speaker 1: the political tensions around the games were fertile ground for myths. 19 00:01:29,435 --> 00:01:32,555 Speaker 1: Myths that tended to justify the choice to go to 20 00:01:32,635 --> 00:01:36,795 Speaker 1: Nazi Germany. In this episode, we look at probably the 21 00:01:36,835 --> 00:01:41,635 Speaker 1: most influential of those myths, a tale about Jesse Owens. 22 00:01:42,595 --> 00:01:45,035 Speaker 1: This episode and the next are two of a series 23 00:01:45,035 --> 00:01:48,315 Speaker 1: that revisionist history host Malcolm Gladwell and I worked on together. 24 00:01:49,035 --> 00:01:52,515 Speaker 1: It's called Hitler's Olympics, and if you like these episodes, 25 00:01:52,875 --> 00:01:56,475 Speaker 1: I strongly encourage you to check out the whole series. Okay, 26 00:01:56,995 --> 00:01:57,915 Speaker 1: here's the episode. 27 00:02:02,035 --> 00:02:04,315 Speaker 2: Collet Street tears around the Gray Serger with a speed 28 00:02:04,355 --> 00:02:07,435 Speaker 2: of the wind, increasing his lead with every stride, also. 29 00:02:07,235 --> 00:02:11,235 Speaker 1: Running about four thousand athletes impeded in the nineteen thirty 30 00:02:11,235 --> 00:02:16,235 Speaker 1: six Olympic Games. Jesse Owens is the one people remember. 31 00:02:16,395 --> 00:02:21,195 Speaker 3: Streak Jesse Owens in the one hundred meters at Bulding 32 00:02:21,555 --> 00:02:23,875 Speaker 3: the outca second on him. 33 00:02:27,035 --> 00:02:30,435 Speaker 1: Jesse Owens was born in Alabama, the son of a sharecropper, 34 00:02:30,835 --> 00:02:35,715 Speaker 1: self effacing, soft spoken, and an unbelievable athlete. In nineteen 35 00:02:35,755 --> 00:02:38,195 Speaker 1: thirty five, as a twenty one year old, he had 36 00:02:38,235 --> 00:02:42,035 Speaker 1: already set three world records in a single day, all 37 00:02:42,075 --> 00:02:45,435 Speaker 1: in the same hour. With a bad back, the. 38 00:02:45,395 --> 00:02:47,675 Speaker 4: Worlds most runner makes the others look as if they're 39 00:02:47,675 --> 00:02:50,035 Speaker 4: walking as he wins the final and equals the worlds 40 00:02:50,115 --> 00:02:50,955 Speaker 4: record of time. 41 00:02:51,835 --> 00:02:55,835 Speaker 1: And in nineteen thirty six even the Germans were expecting 42 00:02:55,875 --> 00:02:57,795 Speaker 1: something great from him. 43 00:02:58,995 --> 00:03:01,635 Speaker 5: How many board medals do your host to win? 44 00:03:01,755 --> 00:03:06,795 Speaker 2: The two part time, it's to desire very athlete to 45 00:03:06,915 --> 00:03:07,995 Speaker 2: win a first place in the. 46 00:03:08,075 --> 00:03:11,235 Speaker 1: Inn the Olympic Games in nineteen thirty six, he was 47 00:03:11,235 --> 00:03:13,675 Speaker 1: slated to compete in three events. 48 00:03:13,755 --> 00:03:14,875 Speaker 6: And since I'm in. 49 00:03:14,915 --> 00:03:17,675 Speaker 5: Three events, I hope to emerge with three victory. 50 00:03:17,995 --> 00:03:25,315 Speaker 1: I hope one meters, two broad jump, one hundred meters, 51 00:03:25,515 --> 00:03:29,395 Speaker 1: two hundred meters and the broad jump. Later they added 52 00:03:29,395 --> 00:03:32,395 Speaker 1: a fourth event, the four by one hundred meter relay. 53 00:03:32,955 --> 00:03:36,955 Speaker 1: He would win gold in all four, the only person 54 00:03:37,235 --> 00:03:40,235 Speaker 1: to win four gold medals in the Berlin Olympics. And 55 00:03:40,395 --> 00:03:44,235 Speaker 1: that is why you know the name Jesse Owens. But 56 00:03:44,315 --> 00:03:47,995 Speaker 1: it all could have turned out differently because of that 57 00:03:48,075 --> 00:03:54,115 Speaker 1: broad jump. You've seen a broad jump before today, it's 58 00:03:54,155 --> 00:03:55,995 Speaker 1: called the long jump, and it's one of the more 59 00:03:56,075 --> 00:03:59,555 Speaker 1: dramatic Olympic sports. The jumpers sprint down the runway, hit 60 00:03:59,555 --> 00:04:03,195 Speaker 1: a takeoff board and they look like they're flying and 61 00:04:03,235 --> 00:04:06,515 Speaker 1: then they land in a huge spray of sand. So 62 00:04:07,075 --> 00:04:10,795 Speaker 1: the morning of August fourth, nineteen thirty six, ten thirty 63 00:04:10,835 --> 00:04:15,435 Speaker 1: am in the Reichsportfeld. It's the long jump qualifying rounds. 64 00:04:15,955 --> 00:04:19,435 Speaker 1: Best jumpers gone to the final. Owens had just run 65 00:04:19,475 --> 00:04:22,635 Speaker 1: his heat in the two hundred meters immediately after he 66 00:04:22,635 --> 00:04:25,235 Speaker 1: headed over to the pit. It was the third day 67 00:04:25,235 --> 00:04:27,275 Speaker 1: of the games, and by then he already had his 68 00:04:27,315 --> 00:04:31,235 Speaker 1: first gold medal, so it was a surprise when he 69 00:04:31,275 --> 00:04:34,235 Speaker 1: botched his first jump. By some accounts, he thought it 70 00:04:34,315 --> 00:04:37,795 Speaker 1: was a practice run, no sweat, though he had two 71 00:04:37,995 --> 00:04:42,035 Speaker 1: more tries, so he lined himself back up and started 72 00:04:42,115 --> 00:04:46,795 Speaker 1: jogging down the runway. He took off and came up short. 73 00:04:48,155 --> 00:04:51,995 Speaker 1: He had one jump left. If he screwed up that 74 00:04:52,115 --> 00:04:54,595 Speaker 1: last jump, he'd have been out of the contest, and 75 00:04:54,635 --> 00:04:57,275 Speaker 1: he'd have gone from being the only athlete to win 76 00:04:57,395 --> 00:05:00,115 Speaker 1: four gold medals in nineteen thirty six to one of 77 00:05:00,195 --> 00:05:03,435 Speaker 1: three athletes who'd won three goals, right up there with 78 00:05:03,515 --> 00:05:07,275 Speaker 1: Conrad Frey and Hendrika Mastenbrok, who actually would have had 79 00:05:07,395 --> 00:05:10,955 Speaker 1: more total medals than him. And I asked, be honest, 80 00:05:11,435 --> 00:05:15,755 Speaker 1: have you ever heard of Conrad Frey and Hendrika mastenbrook No, 81 00:05:16,435 --> 00:05:21,035 Speaker 1: And probably if he'd missed that final qualifying drum, you 82 00:05:21,115 --> 00:05:27,555 Speaker 1: wouldn't have heard of Jesse Owens either. So after the 83 00:05:27,595 --> 00:05:34,035 Speaker 1: first two misses, Owens was rattled. But then something miraculous happened, 84 00:05:34,995 --> 00:05:39,675 Speaker 1: something that changed the course of Jesse Owens's life and 85 00:05:39,755 --> 00:05:41,395 Speaker 1: made him a legend. 86 00:05:45,075 --> 00:05:48,795 Speaker 7: I'm Malcolm Gladwell. Welcome to Revisionist History, my show about 87 00:05:48,795 --> 00:05:53,555 Speaker 7: things overlooked and misunderstood. In this episode, Ben and daph 88 00:05:53,595 --> 00:05:55,875 Speaker 7: Haffrey and I are talking about one of the biggest 89 00:05:55,875 --> 00:06:00,155 Speaker 7: stories to emerge from the Berlin Games, A story about 90 00:06:00,155 --> 00:06:03,955 Speaker 7: two athletes making good on the promise of the Olympics, 91 00:06:04,515 --> 00:06:10,275 Speaker 7: cross cultural understanding, sportsmanship against all odds, the moment that 92 00:06:10,315 --> 00:06:13,475 Speaker 7: became key to the Olympic mythology and to the legend 93 00:06:13,595 --> 00:06:19,355 Speaker 7: of Jesse Owens. A powerful, incredibly important story that's hiding 94 00:06:19,755 --> 00:06:20,835 Speaker 7: a very big secret. 95 00:06:27,555 --> 00:06:30,635 Speaker 1: It was cool that day in August. Clouds had rolled 96 00:06:30,635 --> 00:06:34,315 Speaker 1: in over the stadium. Around one hundred thousand people were 97 00:06:34,315 --> 00:06:39,555 Speaker 1: in the stands watching in America's most famous athlete. Jesse Owens, 98 00:06:39,715 --> 00:06:44,115 Speaker 1: was screwing up badly, which makes no sense. All he 99 00:06:44,195 --> 00:06:47,555 Speaker 1: had to do was jump seven point one five meters 100 00:06:47,555 --> 00:06:50,755 Speaker 1: to qualify. He already had a world record for jumping 101 00:06:50,795 --> 00:06:54,035 Speaker 1: a meter farther than that, So what was going wrong? 102 00:06:55,555 --> 00:06:58,915 Speaker 1: Malcolm and I had decided to ask an expert a legend. 103 00:06:58,955 --> 00:07:01,915 Speaker 4: Actually it was about ten years ago or so. The 104 00:07:01,955 --> 00:07:04,635 Speaker 4: age is sixty five, I think. And I jumped further 105 00:07:05,515 --> 00:07:06,595 Speaker 4: than my high school mark. 106 00:07:07,315 --> 00:07:07,835 Speaker 1: Is that right? 107 00:07:07,955 --> 00:07:08,355 Speaker 4: Yeah? 108 00:07:08,395 --> 00:07:10,595 Speaker 1: And you're the first American who jumped fifty seven feet. 109 00:07:11,115 --> 00:07:11,315 Speaker 8: Yeah. 110 00:07:12,715 --> 00:07:15,795 Speaker 1: One of the greatest American triple jumpers of all time, 111 00:07:16,715 --> 00:07:17,555 Speaker 1: Milan Tiff. 112 00:07:18,795 --> 00:07:21,915 Speaker 4: I actually jumped sixty feet, but they didn't wouldn't recognize 113 00:07:21,915 --> 00:07:23,715 Speaker 4: it because I jumped out of the pit. 114 00:07:24,755 --> 00:07:26,115 Speaker 1: And where should you do that? 115 00:07:26,395 --> 00:07:26,675 Speaker 3: Right here? 116 00:07:26,715 --> 00:07:29,555 Speaker 1: You say, wow, Yeah, I jumped. 117 00:07:29,595 --> 00:07:32,595 Speaker 4: I completely jumped over the sand pit and landed on 118 00:07:32,635 --> 00:07:34,715 Speaker 4: the grass. I had grass stands all over the back 119 00:07:34,755 --> 00:07:34,955 Speaker 4: of me. 120 00:07:36,835 --> 00:07:39,035 Speaker 1: Going to see Milan was Malcolm's idea. 121 00:07:40,115 --> 00:07:42,955 Speaker 7: So when I was in high school, starting at the 122 00:07:42,995 --> 00:07:46,475 Speaker 7: age of twelve, I became a competitive runner, and I 123 00:07:46,555 --> 00:07:49,475 Speaker 7: was obsessed with track and field, and I subscribed to 124 00:07:49,555 --> 00:07:52,395 Speaker 7: Track and Field News, the Bible of the sport, as 125 00:07:52,435 --> 00:07:59,875 Speaker 7: it's called. And Miller Tiff was this extraordinary. First of all, 126 00:07:59,915 --> 00:08:02,955 Speaker 7: he was astonishing looking. He looked there was something kind 127 00:08:02,995 --> 00:08:06,635 Speaker 7: of ethereal about him, and he had as a kid, 128 00:08:06,675 --> 00:08:09,155 Speaker 7: he couldn't walk because he had I think polio or something. 129 00:08:09,355 --> 00:08:13,195 Speaker 7: And he was also an artist, really really bright colors 130 00:08:13,315 --> 00:08:17,795 Speaker 7: and kind of wildly imaginative and a little bit psychedelic. 131 00:08:18,435 --> 00:08:20,995 Speaker 7: But I was I was just obsessed with him as 132 00:08:21,035 --> 00:08:26,155 Speaker 7: this kind of like this this strange, otherworldly figure, and 133 00:08:26,155 --> 00:08:28,195 Speaker 7: he was a favorite in nineteen eighty. Had we not 134 00:08:28,235 --> 00:08:30,835 Speaker 7: boycotted the nineteen eighty Games, he might well have won 135 00:08:30,875 --> 00:08:33,715 Speaker 7: a gold medal. Anyway, I cannot wait. He's going to 136 00:08:33,755 --> 00:08:36,435 Speaker 7: be He's going to be a little bit. He might 137 00:08:36,475 --> 00:08:38,195 Speaker 7: be a little I don't know, but I have a 138 00:08:38,235 --> 00:08:41,675 Speaker 7: sense that he might be. He might be a little 139 00:08:41,995 --> 00:08:42,555 Speaker 7: out there. 140 00:08:44,195 --> 00:08:47,155 Speaker 1: This turned out to be pretty prescient. After meeting Milan Tiff, 141 00:08:47,275 --> 00:08:49,595 Speaker 1: I felt like I had taken some kind of intense 142 00:08:49,635 --> 00:08:52,315 Speaker 1: psychedelic the effects of which I've yet to wear off. 143 00:08:52,475 --> 00:08:54,475 Speaker 4: The first humans. It's unbelievable. 144 00:08:54,915 --> 00:08:57,595 Speaker 1: I understood that to walk is just to take a 145 00:08:57,675 --> 00:09:01,435 Speaker 1: number of tiny, long jumps. I found myself transfixed by 146 00:09:01,435 --> 00:09:04,795 Speaker 1: an actually gorgeous painting of Milan's portraying a pair of 147 00:09:04,875 --> 00:09:08,995 Speaker 1: empty tidy whities suspended in a blue abstract space called 148 00:09:09,315 --> 00:09:12,115 Speaker 1: Mysterious slee palm springs. 149 00:09:12,275 --> 00:09:14,835 Speaker 4: And the birds and the trees would all fly down. 150 00:09:14,915 --> 00:09:17,315 Speaker 4: They're just tapped into the same frequency as I have 151 00:09:17,435 --> 00:09:18,515 Speaker 4: when I'm running and jumping. 152 00:09:19,395 --> 00:09:21,835 Speaker 1: We flew out to Los Angeles, where he lives, so 153 00:09:21,875 --> 00:09:24,395 Speaker 1: he could take us out to the UCLA track, And 154 00:09:24,555 --> 00:09:27,435 Speaker 1: when we got there, there were several helicopters hovering above 155 00:09:27,515 --> 00:09:29,715 Speaker 1: us the whole time, which only made everything a little 156 00:09:29,795 --> 00:09:33,515 Speaker 1: more surreal, and Olympic legends just walking up to him, 157 00:09:33,555 --> 00:09:38,195 Speaker 1: literally bowing down this I think because they wouldn't normally 158 00:09:38,315 --> 00:09:41,515 Speaker 1: see him. He told us he prefers to run in 159 00:09:41,555 --> 00:09:48,395 Speaker 1: the morning, by which he meant three am. Tiff took 160 00:09:48,475 --> 00:09:50,835 Speaker 1: us out to the broad jump pit to help us 161 00:09:50,875 --> 00:09:54,875 Speaker 1: get inside Jesse Owens's mind, which we thought he could 162 00:09:54,875 --> 00:09:57,955 Speaker 1: do because he's a master of the approach the part 163 00:09:58,035 --> 00:10:02,315 Speaker 1: Jesse Owens was screwing up, but also because so you 164 00:10:02,355 --> 00:10:03,955 Speaker 1: actually knew Jesse Owens when you were a kid. 165 00:10:04,075 --> 00:10:08,275 Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, you know, I sit and he'd tell the stories. 166 00:10:08,635 --> 00:10:11,475 Speaker 4: Yeah and not here all the stories. And you know, 167 00:10:11,555 --> 00:10:14,195 Speaker 4: he talked about his experience in Berlin. 168 00:10:15,555 --> 00:10:18,475 Speaker 1: You know, we asked him to tell us about how 169 00:10:18,515 --> 00:10:19,955 Speaker 1: you're supposed to approach a jump. 170 00:10:20,435 --> 00:10:23,075 Speaker 4: Yeah, you gotta have a gidea up first, that kind 171 00:10:23,075 --> 00:10:25,595 Speaker 4: of rockings. You have to have some or jiggle where 172 00:10:25,595 --> 00:10:27,595 Speaker 4: you will call it. Yeah, you have to have a 173 00:10:27,675 --> 00:10:30,275 Speaker 4: jiggle or a gide up before you even get into 174 00:10:30,275 --> 00:10:30,675 Speaker 4: your run. 175 00:10:30,955 --> 00:10:33,795 Speaker 1: Yeah, that ajustice of your run. Is that why this 176 00:10:33,835 --> 00:10:36,395 Speaker 1: is obviously the broad jump, but lose long. I noticed 177 00:10:36,435 --> 00:10:38,195 Speaker 1: he does this sort of like hitch in his leg 178 00:10:38,235 --> 00:10:39,275 Speaker 1: before he starts running. 179 00:10:40,275 --> 00:10:43,555 Speaker 4: Yeah, it's like a dance. It's like it's like a preparation. 180 00:10:43,675 --> 00:10:45,195 Speaker 1: Can you show us what your gidea. 181 00:10:44,995 --> 00:10:47,915 Speaker 4: Up was, Well, it's like a one two, three, four five, 182 00:10:48,355 --> 00:10:49,355 Speaker 4: then you start your run. 183 00:10:49,555 --> 00:10:50,035 Speaker 1: Yeah. 184 00:10:50,075 --> 00:10:53,715 Speaker 4: And I taught it to Willie Banks world record, taught 185 00:10:53,755 --> 00:10:57,435 Speaker 4: it to bike Pile world record. 186 00:10:58,475 --> 00:11:00,675 Speaker 1: We gave it a shot on the track where at 187 00:11:00,715 --> 00:11:04,075 Speaker 1: the very same time actual Olympic athletes were practicing for 188 00:11:04,115 --> 00:11:08,195 Speaker 1: this year's games. Was it embarrassing? It was mortifying. Did 189 00:11:08,235 --> 00:11:11,875 Speaker 1: we set a world record? Not even close. Did we 190 00:11:11,955 --> 00:11:16,035 Speaker 1: become friends with any Olympians? They were otherwise occupied. But 191 00:11:16,195 --> 00:11:20,795 Speaker 1: this is the kind of dedication that deep historical investigations demand. 192 00:11:21,155 --> 00:11:22,955 Speaker 1: What was Did Jesse Owens have a gide yo? 193 00:11:23,435 --> 00:11:26,475 Speaker 4: No, he had a stance start because he was a sprinterer, 194 00:11:27,715 --> 00:11:30,635 Speaker 4: you see. Yeah, that's why he was losing the steps 195 00:11:30,635 --> 00:11:33,635 Speaker 4: all the time. He didn't have a jiggle, Well, he 196 00:11:33,715 --> 00:11:35,715 Speaker 4: didn't have a g no. He didn't have a jiggle 197 00:11:35,795 --> 00:11:39,035 Speaker 4: or a giddy oh yeah, And it took his competitor 198 00:11:39,075 --> 00:11:41,915 Speaker 4: to say, man, come on, you gotta do something first. 199 00:11:43,355 --> 00:11:47,155 Speaker 1: Jesse Owens's competitor, facing down the pit, the export fold 200 00:11:48,075 --> 00:11:55,315 Speaker 1: loots Long Lutz Long was Germany's champion broad jumper, Hitler's champion, 201 00:11:55,755 --> 00:11:58,755 Speaker 1: and he looked the part, a fine ak line nose 202 00:11:59,075 --> 00:12:02,155 Speaker 1: framed by your classic blonde hair and blue eyes. As 203 00:12:02,195 --> 00:12:05,115 Speaker 1: Owens wrote later, Hitler was in the stadium that morning 204 00:12:05,155 --> 00:12:08,915 Speaker 1: to watch. Owens knew that he'd like nothing better than 205 00:12:08,955 --> 00:12:11,155 Speaker 1: to see a black man and lose to an Arian. 206 00:12:11,915 --> 00:12:15,315 Speaker 1: The thought was nanging at him, messing up his focus. 207 00:12:15,915 --> 00:12:18,355 Speaker 1: And then he'd looked up at the box where Hitler 208 00:12:18,395 --> 00:12:21,595 Speaker 1: had been watching the games and saw that when Owens's 209 00:12:21,595 --> 00:12:26,915 Speaker 1: turn came, Hitler had just left. It made his blood boil. 210 00:12:28,115 --> 00:12:30,955 Speaker 1: That's why he was fouling out. He was psyched out 211 00:12:30,955 --> 00:12:33,715 Speaker 1: by all of it, distracted, and when he saw how 212 00:12:33,755 --> 00:12:37,035 Speaker 1: amazing Lutslong was at the broad jump, he began wonder 213 00:12:37,275 --> 00:12:39,715 Speaker 1: if there was something true about all this Arian stuff. 214 00:12:40,635 --> 00:12:44,435 Speaker 1: He was down to his last jump, and then came 215 00:12:44,475 --> 00:12:49,635 Speaker 1: the miracle. In an autobiography he published in nineteen seventy eight, 216 00:12:49,675 --> 00:12:52,555 Speaker 1: Owens wrote, Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder. 217 00:12:53,435 --> 00:12:54,315 Speaker 1: It was Lutslong. 218 00:12:55,635 --> 00:12:59,275 Speaker 5: Look, there is no time to waste with manners. What 219 00:12:59,435 --> 00:13:00,475 Speaker 5: has taken your goat? 220 00:13:01,235 --> 00:13:02,915 Speaker 1: Obviously we had to reenact this. 221 00:13:04,195 --> 00:13:06,635 Speaker 5: I had to smile a little in spite of myself 222 00:13:06,875 --> 00:13:11,115 Speaker 5: hearing his mixed up American idiom ah nothing. I said, 223 00:13:11,515 --> 00:13:14,115 Speaker 5: you know how it is? He was silent for a 224 00:13:14,115 --> 00:13:18,875 Speaker 5: few seconds. Yes, he said, finally, I know how it is. 225 00:13:19,395 --> 00:13:22,955 Speaker 5: But I also know you are a better jumper than this. Now, 226 00:13:23,475 --> 00:13:24,875 Speaker 5: what has taken your goat? 227 00:13:25,875 --> 00:13:27,235 Speaker 1: I laughed out loud. 228 00:13:26,995 --> 00:13:30,195 Speaker 5: This time, but I couldn't tell him him above all, 229 00:13:31,115 --> 00:13:33,635 Speaker 5: I glanced over at the broad jump pit I was 230 00:13:33,675 --> 00:13:37,635 Speaker 5: about to be called. Lutz didn't waste words, even if 231 00:13:37,635 --> 00:13:41,235 Speaker 5: he wasn't sure which ones to use. Is it what 232 00:13:41,475 --> 00:13:46,155 Speaker 5: reichkanze Hitler did? He asked. I was thunderstruck that he'd 233 00:13:46,195 --> 00:13:50,475 Speaker 5: say it. I started to answer, but I didn't know 234 00:13:50,515 --> 00:13:54,915 Speaker 5: what to say. I see, he said, Look, we talk 235 00:13:54,955 --> 00:13:58,995 Speaker 5: about that later. Now you must jump, and you must qualify. 236 00:13:59,835 --> 00:14:01,315 Speaker 5: But how I shot back? 237 00:14:02,235 --> 00:14:02,835 Speaker 1: I have thought? 238 00:14:03,035 --> 00:14:06,435 Speaker 5: He said, you are like Aya. You must do it 239 00:14:06,595 --> 00:14:07,835 Speaker 5: one hundred percent? 240 00:14:08,195 --> 00:14:10,475 Speaker 1: Correct? I not yet? 241 00:14:10,555 --> 00:14:13,595 Speaker 5: You must be sure not to foul. I nodded again, 242 00:14:13,955 --> 00:14:17,115 Speaker 5: this time in frustration, and as I did, I heard 243 00:14:17,155 --> 00:14:21,715 Speaker 5: the loudspeaker call my name. Lutz talked quickly. Then you 244 00:14:21,795 --> 00:14:25,435 Speaker 5: do both things, Jesse. You remeasure your steps, You take 245 00:14:25,475 --> 00:14:28,875 Speaker 5: off six inches behind the foul board. You jump as 246 00:14:28,915 --> 00:14:31,995 Speaker 5: hard as you can, but you need not fear to foul. 247 00:14:33,315 --> 00:14:35,995 Speaker 5: All at once, the panic emptied out of me like 248 00:14:36,035 --> 00:14:36,915 Speaker 5: a cloudburst. 249 00:14:38,075 --> 00:14:40,715 Speaker 1: Owens jogged up to the line and laid a towel 250 00:14:40,755 --> 00:14:43,635 Speaker 1: to mark where Long had told him to jump. He 251 00:14:43,755 --> 00:14:47,835 Speaker 1: lined up on the runway, maybe wiped his hands on 252 00:14:47,875 --> 00:14:52,715 Speaker 1: his jersey, and then he ran one step, two steps, 253 00:14:53,035 --> 00:14:55,675 Speaker 1: closer and closer to the pit, and then he hit 254 00:14:55,715 --> 00:14:58,115 Speaker 1: that mark on the towel, leapt into the air. 255 00:14:58,635 --> 00:15:01,275 Speaker 4: And when he finally got that, he qualified. 256 00:15:01,395 --> 00:15:04,075 Speaker 1: And later that day, with Hitler back in the stands, 257 00:15:04,435 --> 00:15:08,115 Speaker 1: in the metal event itself whol record, he set an 258 00:15:08,115 --> 00:15:13,715 Speaker 1: Olympic record. And that's when Lootes along the aryan poster 259 00:15:13,875 --> 00:15:18,435 Speaker 1: child who had just lost to Jesse. Owens hugged him 260 00:15:18,475 --> 00:15:22,315 Speaker 1: in front of Adolph Hitler, and the Hitler was pist man, 261 00:15:24,275 --> 00:15:28,795 Speaker 1: but Long didn't just embrace him. According to Jesse, Owens 262 00:15:29,235 --> 00:15:33,595 Speaker 1: later that night they met up in the Olympic village. 263 00:15:34,555 --> 00:15:37,795 Speaker 1: The hours ticked on and they stayed up late, talking 264 00:15:37,875 --> 00:15:40,755 Speaker 1: about their lives, the state of the world, and the 265 00:15:40,875 --> 00:15:44,795 Speaker 1: uncertain future. Some kind of strange bond had been formed 266 00:15:44,835 --> 00:15:48,035 Speaker 1: between the men that day, because then the next day 267 00:15:48,395 --> 00:15:52,515 Speaker 1: they did it again, and after that, again and again 268 00:15:53,235 --> 00:15:57,475 Speaker 1: and again. Every single night of the Games they met 269 00:15:57,595 --> 00:16:01,755 Speaker 1: up to talk. They became friends. The dream of the 270 00:16:01,755 --> 00:16:05,475 Speaker 1: Olympics was real for them. They bridged an unbridgable gap 271 00:16:05,515 --> 00:16:11,395 Speaker 1: between two cultures, two races. Something unbreakable had bound them. 272 00:16:11,795 --> 00:16:14,195 Speaker 1: After the Games, when Owens was back in America and 273 00:16:14,275 --> 00:16:17,635 Speaker 1: Lutzlang was still in Nazi Germany, they wrote letters to 274 00:16:17,715 --> 00:16:20,635 Speaker 1: each other, even after long was serving in the Wehrmacht 275 00:16:20,635 --> 00:16:24,915 Speaker 1: the Nazi Army, back and forth across the Atlantic for years. 276 00:16:25,795 --> 00:16:31,035 Speaker 1: They kept coming until right before Lutzlang was killed in 277 00:16:31,075 --> 00:16:35,155 Speaker 1: the war. He was stationed in the deserts of North Africa. 278 00:16:35,915 --> 00:16:39,435 Speaker 1: On some lonely desert hour, he sat down to write 279 00:16:39,515 --> 00:16:41,195 Speaker 1: one last letter to his friend. 280 00:16:42,555 --> 00:16:45,195 Speaker 5: I am here, Jesse, where it seems there is only 281 00:16:45,235 --> 00:16:49,115 Speaker 5: the dry sand and the wet blood. I do not 282 00:16:49,235 --> 00:16:52,715 Speaker 5: fear so much for myself, my friend, Jesse. I fear 283 00:16:52,755 --> 00:16:56,035 Speaker 5: for my woman who was at home, and my young son, Karl, 284 00:16:56,835 --> 00:17:01,555 Speaker 5: who has never really known his father. My heart tells me, 285 00:17:02,355 --> 00:17:05,035 Speaker 5: if I be honest with you, that this is the 286 00:17:05,115 --> 00:17:08,835 Speaker 5: last letter I shall ever write. If it is so, 287 00:17:10,075 --> 00:17:14,595 Speaker 5: I ask you something. It is something so very important 288 00:17:14,635 --> 00:17:18,395 Speaker 5: to me. It is you go to Germany when this 289 00:17:18,515 --> 00:17:23,315 Speaker 5: war done. Someday find my Carl and tell him about 290 00:17:23,355 --> 00:17:27,475 Speaker 5: his father. Tell him, Jesse, what times were like when 291 00:17:27,515 --> 00:17:32,395 Speaker 5: we were not separated by war, I am saying, Tell 292 00:17:32,475 --> 00:17:35,995 Speaker 5: him how things can be between men on this earth. 293 00:17:41,435 --> 00:17:44,675 Speaker 1: There are tears in your eyes. You would not be alone. 294 00:17:44,715 --> 00:17:47,235 Speaker 1: This story is a big part of the legend of 295 00:17:47,315 --> 00:17:51,915 Speaker 1: Jesse Owens. If you look up Jesse Owens in the 296 00:17:52,075 --> 00:17:56,315 Speaker 1: Encyclopedia Britannica, there's the story when they made a star 297 00:17:56,515 --> 00:18:00,435 Speaker 1: studied Hollywood film about Jesse Owens's life. Lutslog and that 298 00:18:00,595 --> 00:18:04,715 Speaker 1: qualifying jump are the pivotal moment. Retelling this story would 299 00:18:04,715 --> 00:18:08,235 Speaker 1: help launch the career of the greatest Olympic documentarian of 300 00:18:08,275 --> 00:18:11,555 Speaker 1: all time, Bud Greenspan. And I'm not an auctioneer, but 301 00:18:11,755 --> 00:18:15,075 Speaker 1: I think it is the reason why Lutslog's silver medal 302 00:18:15,555 --> 00:18:18,915 Speaker 1: sold for nearly half a million dollars two years ago, 303 00:18:19,395 --> 00:18:23,195 Speaker 1: about five times the amount earned for any other silver 304 00:18:23,235 --> 00:18:27,395 Speaker 1: medal at auction. It's arguably the most important story in 305 00:18:27,475 --> 00:18:31,195 Speaker 1: Olympic history. It is proof of the Olympic Dream. It 306 00:18:31,275 --> 00:18:33,915 Speaker 1: made the case that it was good that America went 307 00:18:33,955 --> 00:18:37,155 Speaker 1: to the Vilin Games because it made possible this improbable 308 00:18:37,195 --> 00:18:41,995 Speaker 1: friendship that transcended even the Second World War, a story 309 00:18:42,395 --> 00:19:03,435 Speaker 1: that was just too good to be true. This entire series, 310 00:19:03,595 --> 00:19:06,155 Speaker 1: we've been telling stories about the way people made sense 311 00:19:06,195 --> 00:19:10,595 Speaker 1: of having the Olympics in Nazi Germany, the distortions, And 312 00:19:10,635 --> 00:19:13,715 Speaker 1: when I kept hearing about Jesse Owens's friendship with lutzlog, 313 00:19:13,795 --> 00:19:15,595 Speaker 1: I thought we got to do an episode on this. 314 00:19:16,155 --> 00:19:19,115 Speaker 1: Here's two people who saw each other clearly through all 315 00:19:19,155 --> 00:19:22,915 Speaker 1: that moral fog. So I wanted to read more of 316 00:19:22,955 --> 00:19:25,475 Speaker 1: what Owens and Long wrote to each other in those letters. 317 00:19:26,075 --> 00:19:28,595 Speaker 1: I wrote to the Jesse Owens Archive at the University 318 00:19:28,595 --> 00:19:30,675 Speaker 1: of Ohio for copies of the letters, and they didn't 319 00:19:30,715 --> 00:19:33,955 Speaker 1: have any. They suggested I write to the family, but 320 00:19:34,555 --> 00:19:37,155 Speaker 1: they didn't have any either. It seems strange to me 321 00:19:37,195 --> 00:19:39,595 Speaker 1: that no one had kept them. So then I thought, 322 00:19:40,515 --> 00:19:42,795 Speaker 1: maybe I'm just looking in the wrong country. 323 00:19:44,155 --> 00:19:48,395 Speaker 9: My name is gelindorre I was living in Leipzig and 324 00:19:48,515 --> 00:19:52,155 Speaker 9: working in Leipzig for more than thirty years, and the 325 00:19:52,275 --> 00:19:56,995 Speaker 9: last twenty five years as the director of the sports 326 00:19:57,075 --> 00:19:58,355 Speaker 9: Museum in Leipzig. 327 00:19:59,035 --> 00:20:04,475 Speaker 1: And Leipzig has a connection to Long's life, right, that's right. 328 00:20:06,035 --> 00:20:12,195 Speaker 9: Lutslan was born in Leipzig nineteen thirty and he lived 329 00:20:12,235 --> 00:20:15,195 Speaker 9: there almost till the end. 330 00:20:16,035 --> 00:20:19,155 Speaker 1: Roar and her colleague, the sport historian Volka Kluga have 331 00:20:19,235 --> 00:20:22,515 Speaker 1: looked more deeply into the Jesse Owens Luteslong story than 332 00:20:22,515 --> 00:20:23,155 Speaker 1: anyone else. 333 00:20:23,515 --> 00:20:26,435 Speaker 9: We got a lot of questions from all over the 334 00:20:26,475 --> 00:20:28,675 Speaker 9: world about legend. 335 00:20:29,475 --> 00:20:32,075 Speaker 1: Jesse Owens told this story a lot of times. There 336 00:20:32,075 --> 00:20:34,595 Speaker 1: are a few different versions. But Roor dug through the 337 00:20:34,595 --> 00:20:38,115 Speaker 1: official reports about the games. They're over a thousand pages long. 338 00:20:39,035 --> 00:20:45,235 Speaker 9: There is a very good documentation about the Olympics called 339 00:20:45,715 --> 00:20:50,995 Speaker 9: Official Report of the nineteen thirty six Olympics, and they 340 00:20:51,115 --> 00:20:55,875 Speaker 9: describe it very exactly what happens and where. 341 00:20:57,035 --> 00:21:00,915 Speaker 1: Alongside that official report, the most important bit of documentary 342 00:21:00,955 --> 00:21:04,795 Speaker 1: evidence is an article Kluga turned up written by Lutzlong himself. 343 00:21:05,075 --> 00:21:07,155 Speaker 1: He was published about a week into the games, and 344 00:21:07,195 --> 00:21:11,755 Speaker 1: it's called mine kamfmitt Owens I struggle with Owens, which 345 00:21:11,955 --> 00:21:15,555 Speaker 1: I suspect is a deliberate reference to Hitler's memoirs, but 346 00:21:15,835 --> 00:21:18,915 Speaker 1: homages to Hitler aside. The article was part of the 347 00:21:18,955 --> 00:21:22,435 Speaker 1: surprisingly positive press coverage in Germany about Jesse Owens's win, 348 00:21:23,155 --> 00:21:27,475 Speaker 1: including a series of photographs of Jesse Owens and Luteslong 349 00:21:28,075 --> 00:21:32,435 Speaker 1: lying together in the grass of the Reichspoortfeld smiling. The 350 00:21:32,475 --> 00:21:35,795 Speaker 1: photos are sometimes billed as having been taken after the competition, 351 00:21:36,035 --> 00:21:39,155 Speaker 1: when Owens won and Long hugged him. Long's wearing a 352 00:21:39,235 --> 00:21:42,075 Speaker 1: dark turtleneck sweater and it looks like he's cracking a joke. 353 00:21:42,675 --> 00:21:45,435 Speaker 1: Owens is beaming at him and wearing his Team USA 354 00:21:45,515 --> 00:21:49,235 Speaker 1: crew neck. In the photo, they're so close it almost 355 00:21:49,235 --> 00:21:52,955 Speaker 1: looks like they're touching. They look like real friends. So 356 00:21:53,035 --> 00:21:55,475 Speaker 1: Gerlinda Ror and I turned our attention to that. 357 00:21:56,195 --> 00:22:02,315 Speaker 9: So between the first three jumps and the final three jumps, 358 00:22:02,995 --> 00:22:05,475 Speaker 9: these photographs were doing. 359 00:22:06,275 --> 00:22:09,515 Speaker 1: Oh so these photos are taken even before Jesse Owens 360 00:22:09,595 --> 00:22:14,315 Speaker 1: win the gold. Yes, oh wow, so it's even its prior. 361 00:22:15,635 --> 00:22:17,795 Speaker 1: There's a good chance that photo was taken or at 362 00:22:17,835 --> 00:22:21,555 Speaker 1: least commissioned by Lenny Riefenstahl, the legendary filmmaker for the 363 00:22:21,595 --> 00:22:24,795 Speaker 1: Third Reich. The photos float freely around the Internet now 364 00:22:24,875 --> 00:22:26,955 Speaker 1: you can find them on Getty images. But at the 365 00:22:26,995 --> 00:22:29,955 Speaker 1: time they were part of the Nazi propaganda push, meant 366 00:22:29,955 --> 00:22:32,915 Speaker 1: to show that the Nazis weren't as prejudiced as they seemed. 367 00:22:33,835 --> 00:22:37,075 Speaker 1: So we know that Lutzlang and Jesse Owens met at 368 00:22:37,155 --> 00:22:39,515 Speaker 1: least for the time it took to take that photo, 369 00:22:39,875 --> 00:22:42,915 Speaker 1: and they smiled at each other. Who knows what they said. 370 00:22:44,675 --> 00:22:49,515 Speaker 1: But here's the strange thing. In his article, Lutslog mentions 371 00:22:49,595 --> 00:22:53,835 Speaker 1: Jesse Owens's difficulty qualifying. He describes each of the three 372 00:22:53,915 --> 00:22:57,475 Speaker 1: jumps he took, but he doesn't say anything about helping 373 00:22:57,555 --> 00:23:01,275 Speaker 1: him with the approach, which is strange because that's the 374 00:23:01,315 --> 00:23:05,235 Speaker 1: most important detail in the whole story. Owens is Long's 375 00:23:05,275 --> 00:23:08,715 Speaker 1: biggest competitor. Owens is what stands between Long and the gold, 376 00:23:08,915 --> 00:23:10,915 Speaker 1: and yet Long go out of his way to help 377 00:23:10,955 --> 00:23:13,555 Speaker 1: Owens get to the final You would think in an 378 00:23:13,635 --> 00:23:16,795 Speaker 1: article about the Olympic Spirit, Long would mention that they 379 00:23:16,835 --> 00:23:20,075 Speaker 1: were trying to prove that they were unprejudiced. Also, in 380 00:23:20,155 --> 00:23:22,275 Speaker 1: Nazi Germany, it would have been away for an arian 381 00:23:22,395 --> 00:23:25,715 Speaker 1: to take credit for a black man's success, but he 382 00:23:25,755 --> 00:23:30,395 Speaker 1: doesn't mention it. Okay, so maybe all the meaningful stuff 383 00:23:30,435 --> 00:23:32,555 Speaker 1: happened in those long talks in the Olympic village. 384 00:23:32,715 --> 00:23:37,075 Speaker 9: What about those I didn't think that. It cannot be 385 00:23:37,075 --> 00:23:41,315 Speaker 9: because Lutsloan didn't live in the Olympic village. Oh really, 386 00:23:42,195 --> 00:23:47,635 Speaker 9: he didn't live here. I know from his family and 387 00:23:47,955 --> 00:23:54,555 Speaker 9: from photographs and from a diary of his mother that 388 00:23:55,035 --> 00:23:59,515 Speaker 9: after the opening of the Olympic Games he went back 389 00:23:59,755 --> 00:24:01,875 Speaker 9: home from Berlin to Leipzig. 390 00:24:02,275 --> 00:24:05,435 Speaker 1: And did he go home to Leipzig after the broad jump? 391 00:24:05,635 --> 00:24:07,475 Speaker 1: He wasn't. He would go home at the end of 392 00:24:07,475 --> 00:24:07,915 Speaker 1: each day. 393 00:24:08,235 --> 00:24:14,155 Speaker 9: No, not each day. After his competitions started. He lived 394 00:24:14,315 --> 00:24:16,715 Speaker 9: in Berlin in another hotel. 395 00:24:17,795 --> 00:24:20,995 Speaker 1: All right, So the long talks seem less likely, though 396 00:24:21,035 --> 00:24:24,395 Speaker 1: there are two pieces of evidence that cut the other way. First, 397 00:24:24,595 --> 00:24:27,275 Speaker 1: a few days after the broad jump, a newswire service 398 00:24:27,275 --> 00:24:31,115 Speaker 1: wrote that quote something like a damon and Pytheis's friendship 399 00:24:31,155 --> 00:24:34,995 Speaker 1: has sprung up between Ludslog and Jesse Owens. Though I 400 00:24:35,035 --> 00:24:36,955 Speaker 1: think that's just a reference to the hug on the 401 00:24:36,995 --> 00:24:39,875 Speaker 1: field that all the reporters would have seen. But then 402 00:24:39,955 --> 00:24:42,555 Speaker 1: there's an athlete who, decades after the Games claimed that 403 00:24:42,595 --> 00:24:44,955 Speaker 1: she went out drinking in Berlin with Owens and Long, 404 00:24:45,715 --> 00:24:48,515 Speaker 1: But Volka Kluga thinks the timing of her story is 405 00:24:48,555 --> 00:24:52,715 Speaker 1: implausible given her events schedule. Also, I can't find any 406 00:24:52,755 --> 00:24:55,995 Speaker 1: record of it in Owens's Olympic diaries. Owens is on 407 00:24:56,035 --> 00:24:58,755 Speaker 1: the record saying quote, I didn't get a chance to 408 00:24:58,795 --> 00:25:01,555 Speaker 1: go out of the Olympic village. In fact, I never 409 00:25:01,635 --> 00:25:04,675 Speaker 1: did leave the village. The only time that I was 410 00:25:04,715 --> 00:25:07,235 Speaker 1: ever out of the village was at the time when 411 00:25:07,235 --> 00:25:10,755 Speaker 1: we went to the Olympic stadium to compete. I mean, 412 00:25:10,915 --> 00:25:14,075 Speaker 1: they had some intense schedules to keep Actually, even Hitler 413 00:25:14,115 --> 00:25:16,755 Speaker 1: couldn't keep up with their schedules. The feuror liked to 414 00:25:16,795 --> 00:25:19,555 Speaker 1: sleep late. He famously slipt through a lot of d 415 00:25:19,635 --> 00:25:23,635 Speaker 1: Day and probably for the same reason, he wasn't even 416 00:25:23,635 --> 00:25:26,155 Speaker 1: in the stands the morning of the broad drum qualifiers, 417 00:25:26,515 --> 00:25:29,475 Speaker 1: which is why it's not actually possible that he walked 418 00:25:29,515 --> 00:25:36,515 Speaker 1: out on Owens. That leaves us with the letters. So 419 00:25:36,595 --> 00:25:41,195 Speaker 1: then the final piece of the legend is these letters, 420 00:25:41,235 --> 00:25:44,315 Speaker 1: these sort of beautiful letters that Letslong writes to Jesse 421 00:25:44,435 --> 00:25:49,235 Speaker 1: Owens from the front, from the battlefields of the war. 422 00:25:50,235 --> 00:25:52,555 Speaker 1: And I've not been able to find any archival record 423 00:25:52,555 --> 00:25:53,275 Speaker 1: of those letters. 424 00:25:53,995 --> 00:26:00,035 Speaker 9: Have you I asked his middle when she was living 425 00:26:00,155 --> 00:26:07,475 Speaker 9: still in Hamburg, and she said there were letters we 426 00:26:07,635 --> 00:26:12,595 Speaker 9: got to our atmus and she never saw a letter 427 00:26:13,035 --> 00:26:19,155 Speaker 9: from Jesse Owens. No one in the family knows about 428 00:26:19,395 --> 00:26:21,675 Speaker 9: letters from Jesse Owens. 429 00:26:21,395 --> 00:26:25,275 Speaker 1: To Lutz Owens. At one point cites nineteen thirty nine 430 00:26:25,315 --> 00:26:28,475 Speaker 1: as the date of Lutzlang's last letter. He says that 431 00:26:28,635 --> 00:26:32,115 Speaker 1: in it Long writes about his wife and son, But 432 00:26:32,235 --> 00:26:35,315 Speaker 1: Volkar Kluga points out that Long didn't even marry his 433 00:26:35,355 --> 00:26:38,355 Speaker 1: girlfriend until nineteen forty one, and by the way, his 434 00:26:38,475 --> 00:26:41,035 Speaker 1: son wasn't born till then either, And okay, well, then 435 00:26:41,075 --> 00:26:43,395 Speaker 1: there's that other account featuring a letter from Long on 436 00:26:43,435 --> 00:26:45,955 Speaker 1: the front lines of North Africa after he was married 437 00:26:45,955 --> 00:26:50,035 Speaker 1: and after his son was born, except he didn't serve 438 00:26:50,075 --> 00:26:55,115 Speaker 1: in North Africa. He died in Sicily. Also, you couldn't 439 00:26:55,155 --> 00:26:58,915 Speaker 1: even send letters from the Nazi front lines to American citizens. 440 00:26:59,315 --> 00:27:02,275 Speaker 1: I mean, they were fighting a war against each other, 441 00:27:04,555 --> 00:27:07,115 Speaker 1: so then they really wouldn't have been speaking, really beyond 442 00:27:07,675 --> 00:27:10,675 Speaker 1: the competition itself. So probably the most they spoke was 443 00:27:10,715 --> 00:27:12,115 Speaker 1: when they were taking those photos. 444 00:27:12,315 --> 00:27:18,795 Speaker 9: The only time they met each other was during the 445 00:27:18,915 --> 00:27:24,875 Speaker 9: long jump competition in this stadium the only time, never before, 446 00:27:25,195 --> 00:27:26,235 Speaker 9: and never often. 447 00:27:28,475 --> 00:27:31,315 Speaker 1: I looked through Jesse Owens's diary from the nineteen thirty 448 00:27:31,315 --> 00:27:34,875 Speaker 1: six Games. In the back he keeps a list of addresses, 449 00:27:35,275 --> 00:27:38,675 Speaker 1: presumably of people he wants to write to, and there's 450 00:27:38,715 --> 00:27:42,515 Speaker 1: no address for Lutslan in there. It was starting to 451 00:27:42,555 --> 00:27:47,075 Speaker 1: look like this amazing Olympic story just wasn't true. But 452 00:27:47,115 --> 00:27:50,595 Speaker 1: then I was left with a new question. If it's 453 00:27:50,635 --> 00:27:56,155 Speaker 1: not true, how did it catch on? We'll be right back. 454 00:28:03,635 --> 00:28:07,515 Speaker 1: What are the ingredients of a good Olympic story? 455 00:28:08,195 --> 00:28:10,715 Speaker 7: Well, I mean I would start with the mathematics of 456 00:28:10,755 --> 00:28:14,795 Speaker 7: the games, which are tremendously appealing from a storyteller's perspective, 457 00:28:15,475 --> 00:28:19,355 Speaker 7: which is that you have whatever I forgot, how many 458 00:28:19,395 --> 00:28:23,475 Speaker 7: sports fifty going on simultaneously with athletes from all over 459 00:28:23,475 --> 00:28:27,515 Speaker 7: the world, So you have an infinite number of stories 460 00:28:27,555 --> 00:28:28,595 Speaker 7: to choose from. 461 00:28:28,835 --> 00:28:29,675 Speaker 1: Like a farm system. 462 00:28:29,875 --> 00:28:32,795 Speaker 7: It's a farm storytelling, so every year a different one 463 00:28:33,435 --> 00:28:37,475 Speaker 7: bubbles up. You know, Mark Spitz, a dentist whins seven golds. 464 00:28:37,835 --> 00:28:40,555 Speaker 7: Now do you come in each? A kind of beautiful 465 00:28:40,675 --> 00:28:44,435 Speaker 7: waif from Romania. It's this kind of wonderful natural experiment 466 00:28:44,555 --> 00:28:48,555 Speaker 7: in myth making. It just has it has an enormous 467 00:28:48,595 --> 00:28:51,595 Speaker 7: strategic advantage with the other big sports spectacles World Cup, 468 00:28:52,515 --> 00:28:54,675 Speaker 7: super Bowl, those are monocultures. 469 00:28:55,155 --> 00:28:56,955 Speaker 1: Yeah, I think that's totally true. And like in the 470 00:28:56,955 --> 00:29:00,715 Speaker 1: myth making thing, you have this ancient aura to it. Yes. 471 00:29:01,515 --> 00:29:08,675 Speaker 7: The other thing is it's this playground for healthy prejudice. 472 00:29:08,835 --> 00:29:12,875 Speaker 7: So the the flying fin, the kind of mysterious Pabunermi 473 00:29:12,875 --> 00:29:16,475 Speaker 7: who comes from like the woods of and like you know, 474 00:29:16,515 --> 00:29:19,835 Speaker 7: a baby Bekuila running barefoot through the streets of Rome 475 00:29:19,955 --> 00:29:21,875 Speaker 7: and to in the marathon in nineteen sixty. Of course 476 00:29:21,875 --> 00:29:25,155 Speaker 7: he's berefit, right, he's e Theiopia right on and on 477 00:29:25,235 --> 00:29:29,595 Speaker 7: your your you, you take on the characteristics of your 478 00:29:30,195 --> 00:29:33,115 Speaker 7: of your country, and that's like it's this kind of 479 00:29:33,155 --> 00:29:38,635 Speaker 7: really fun exercise in multicultural ethnocentrism. 480 00:29:39,275 --> 00:29:42,235 Speaker 1: It's like, what's what's in the water over there? Yes, 481 00:29:42,675 --> 00:29:47,075 Speaker 1: that's right. Did you ever cross paths with Bud Greenspan? No, 482 00:29:48,115 --> 00:29:53,155 Speaker 1: Bud green Span, the most legendary Olympic storyteller of all time. 483 00:29:53,515 --> 00:29:55,715 Speaker 8: There are those who believe in the core values of 484 00:29:55,755 --> 00:30:00,755 Speaker 8: the Olympics, no one more so than filmmaker Bud Greenspan. 485 00:30:02,755 --> 00:30:04,955 Speaker 1: At some point in this project, I got a little 486 00:30:04,955 --> 00:30:08,155 Speaker 1: distracted from Jesse Owens and got obsessed with Bud Greenspan. 487 00:30:08,675 --> 00:30:10,475 Speaker 1: He looked like the Buddha, if the Buddha had been 488 00:30:10,475 --> 00:30:13,035 Speaker 1: born far sighted on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. 489 00:30:13,355 --> 00:30:16,195 Speaker 1: He was bald and typically wore his black, thick framed 490 00:30:16,235 --> 00:30:19,515 Speaker 1: glasses on top of his head, like his brain was stargazing. 491 00:30:20,475 --> 00:30:23,275 Speaker 7: Do you ever look at that unappealing negative side of 492 00:30:23,275 --> 00:30:24,475 Speaker 7: the Olympics in your films? 493 00:30:24,555 --> 00:30:26,235 Speaker 8: I've been asked that many times, Jane. 494 00:30:26,315 --> 00:30:28,195 Speaker 2: I think I'd rather spend one hundred percent of my 495 00:30:28,275 --> 00:30:30,555 Speaker 2: time and a ninety percent that's good, and a lot 496 00:30:30,555 --> 00:30:31,795 Speaker 2: of my colleagues who spent one. 497 00:30:31,755 --> 00:30:33,635 Speaker 1: Hundred percent of the time in the ten percent that's 498 00:30:33,675 --> 00:30:36,835 Speaker 1: not so good. Here, I should just acknowledge that he's 499 00:30:36,875 --> 00:30:40,235 Speaker 1: talking about us in our nine part series on Hitler's Olympics, 500 00:30:40,315 --> 00:30:42,995 Speaker 1: which that is fair. I defer to him because Bud 501 00:30:43,035 --> 00:30:48,355 Speaker 1: green Span basically invented modern uplifting Olympic storytelling. When Bob 502 00:30:48,435 --> 00:30:51,595 Speaker 1: cost Us, the Voice of the Olympics on NBC first 503 00:30:51,635 --> 00:30:53,955 Speaker 1: got the big job, you watched like sixteen hours of 504 00:30:53,955 --> 00:30:57,235 Speaker 1: Bud Greenspan documentaries just to get the feeling right. 505 00:30:58,955 --> 00:31:01,595 Speaker 8: Though criticized at times for looking at the games like 506 00:31:01,635 --> 00:31:05,435 Speaker 8: a young boy through rose colored glasses. He has been 507 00:31:05,475 --> 00:31:08,155 Speaker 8: making films on the Olympics for over fifty years. 508 00:31:09,235 --> 00:31:11,915 Speaker 1: That, by the way, is from an ESPN tribute to 509 00:31:11,915 --> 00:31:14,795 Speaker 1: Bud Greenspan, which is why there was all those angelic 510 00:31:14,875 --> 00:31:18,355 Speaker 1: voices in the background. Green Span started reporting on the 511 00:31:18,355 --> 00:31:22,235 Speaker 1: Olympics in the late nineteen forties. He was at every 512 00:31:22,275 --> 00:31:26,035 Speaker 1: single Olympic Games from nineteen eighty four until he died 513 00:31:26,075 --> 00:31:29,715 Speaker 1: in twenty ten. He won eight Emmys, a Lifetime Achievement 514 00:31:29,755 --> 00:31:32,475 Speaker 1: Award from the Director's Guild. Everyone knew Bud green Span, 515 00:31:33,155 --> 00:31:35,075 Speaker 1: and even if you don't know his name, you know 516 00:31:35,155 --> 00:31:35,675 Speaker 1: his style. 517 00:31:35,955 --> 00:31:36,875 Speaker 6: Here's one story. 518 00:31:37,515 --> 00:31:40,915 Speaker 1: Nancy Beffa, Bud Greenspan's partner in life and film. 519 00:31:41,275 --> 00:31:45,675 Speaker 6: Okay, we're at the Metropolitan Opera, which he adored, and 520 00:31:45,915 --> 00:31:50,595 Speaker 6: intermission and having a glasses champagne and managing editor of 521 00:31:50,595 --> 00:31:53,995 Speaker 6: Time magazine you know, comes up to us and goes Bud, 522 00:31:54,435 --> 00:31:57,635 Speaker 6: and he goes, what are you doing here? As if 523 00:31:58,235 --> 00:32:01,635 Speaker 6: you know, oh, you should be at Yankee Stadium or something. 524 00:32:01,995 --> 00:32:07,675 Speaker 1: Oh, there is something so operatic about Olympic stories. So well, yeah, 525 00:32:07,795 --> 00:32:09,755 Speaker 1: so why am I telling you about Bud green Span 526 00:32:10,235 --> 00:32:13,355 Speaker 1: because his love for sport and his love for operatic 527 00:32:13,395 --> 00:32:17,715 Speaker 1: storytelling came together in the holy grail of all Olympic stories, 528 00:32:18,475 --> 00:32:22,675 Speaker 1: the nineteen thirty six Games. In Jesse Owens. 529 00:32:22,515 --> 00:32:26,235 Speaker 6: They were friends. So like when Jesse would come into 530 00:32:26,275 --> 00:32:29,035 Speaker 6: New York, maybe he stayed at his apartment, they'd certainly 531 00:32:29,115 --> 00:32:33,795 Speaker 6: see each other. I remember by telling these stories about 532 00:32:33,795 --> 00:32:37,835 Speaker 6: how he would take Jesse out to dinner and maybe 533 00:32:37,875 --> 00:32:40,515 Speaker 6: it was like a tennis at racket club in New 534 00:32:40,595 --> 00:32:44,435 Speaker 6: York City and they were still segregated, but he talked 535 00:32:44,435 --> 00:32:46,835 Speaker 6: his way into the dining room, and I remember the 536 00:32:46,915 --> 00:32:50,235 Speaker 6: matre g called but just as long as Jesse sits 537 00:32:50,315 --> 00:32:52,795 Speaker 6: with his back to the door, the front door. 538 00:32:54,075 --> 00:32:57,355 Speaker 1: In the nineteen sixties, during the Civil rights movement, Greenspan 539 00:32:57,475 --> 00:32:59,515 Speaker 1: got the idea for a film that fit the era. 540 00:33:00,155 --> 00:33:03,515 Speaker 1: He convinced Jesse Owens to return to Berlin to shoot 541 00:33:03,555 --> 00:33:06,995 Speaker 1: an hour long TV documentary to narrate it too. A 542 00:33:06,995 --> 00:33:09,075 Speaker 1: lot of the film is made up of archival footage 543 00:33:09,115 --> 00:33:12,275 Speaker 1: that Lenny Reef shot of the games, but it's framed 544 00:33:12,275 --> 00:33:14,675 Speaker 1: with these scenes of an older Jesse Owens in a 545 00:33:14,715 --> 00:33:17,475 Speaker 1: suit walking around the reich Sport Feld and for one 546 00:33:17,475 --> 00:33:21,675 Speaker 1: of the film's pivotal scenes, Bud Greenspan invited Lutsloan's son 547 00:33:21,795 --> 00:33:25,755 Speaker 1: Kai to meet Jesse Owens on the track, and that's 548 00:33:25,795 --> 00:33:29,635 Speaker 1: when this happened. Ki. 549 00:33:29,755 --> 00:33:31,755 Speaker 2: You probably don't know it, but your father was greatly 550 00:33:31,795 --> 00:33:34,915 Speaker 2: responsible for my winning the broad jump in nineteen thirty six. 551 00:33:35,235 --> 00:33:37,155 Speaker 3: Well, Jesse, you have been a very important part in 552 00:33:37,155 --> 00:33:39,875 Speaker 3: my life and I'm very often seen pictures from you 553 00:33:39,955 --> 00:33:42,595 Speaker 3: and the photographs of my father. Please tell me about 554 00:33:42,595 --> 00:33:46,075 Speaker 3: this competition here in the stadium, because I have my 555 00:33:46,155 --> 00:33:49,315 Speaker 3: father only scene for three times. I was born nineteen 556 00:33:49,395 --> 00:33:51,595 Speaker 3: forty one and my father has died in ninety forty three. 557 00:33:51,955 --> 00:33:54,155 Speaker 2: Well, it all happened on the other side of the 558 00:33:54,195 --> 00:33:56,475 Speaker 2: field here where we had the premonaries for the running 559 00:33:56,475 --> 00:34:00,115 Speaker 2: broad jump, and on the first two jumps, I fouled 560 00:34:00,115 --> 00:34:01,995 Speaker 2: on one and then go far enough on the other. 561 00:34:02,475 --> 00:34:05,475 Speaker 2: And your father came to my assistance and he helped 562 00:34:05,515 --> 00:34:07,955 Speaker 2: me measure a footback of the takeoff board, and he 563 00:34:07,955 --> 00:34:10,635 Speaker 2: helped the tape until I measured a back as far 564 00:34:10,675 --> 00:34:13,515 Speaker 2: as my takeoff was concerned. And then I came down 565 00:34:13,555 --> 00:34:16,915 Speaker 2: and I hit between these two marks, and therefore I qualified, 566 00:34:17,035 --> 00:34:19,435 Speaker 2: and that led to the victory in the running broad ject. 567 00:34:22,075 --> 00:34:25,355 Speaker 1: The film was a huge hit, and it was written, directed, 568 00:34:25,475 --> 00:34:28,915 Speaker 1: and produced by Bud Greenspan. So I figured case closed. 569 00:34:29,115 --> 00:34:31,395 Speaker 1: Greenspan took that hug on the field and he just 570 00:34:31,475 --> 00:34:33,235 Speaker 1: made up the rest of the myth about Loose Long. 571 00:34:34,075 --> 00:34:38,835 Speaker 1: But Nancy Befer said, not so fast. Bud Greenspan believed 572 00:34:38,875 --> 00:34:42,875 Speaker 1: that story because he'd heard it from Jesse Owens. 573 00:34:43,075 --> 00:34:44,995 Speaker 6: But going back, why did he make it up? I 574 00:34:45,035 --> 00:34:49,875 Speaker 6: don't know. I can't really speculate on that particular thing. 575 00:34:50,355 --> 00:34:54,275 Speaker 6: But obviously you need a storyteller and then a recipient. 576 00:34:54,555 --> 00:35:00,755 Speaker 6: So people must have wanted to hear that story, you know, 577 00:35:01,075 --> 00:35:04,675 Speaker 6: and the notion I mean, So I don't know, And Bud, 578 00:35:04,915 --> 00:35:09,435 Speaker 6: I mean, most important thing was until he died, didn't 579 00:35:09,475 --> 00:35:11,515 Speaker 6: know Jesse made up that story. 580 00:35:13,755 --> 00:35:17,155 Speaker 1: The story came from Jesse Owens, and he first told 581 00:35:17,195 --> 00:35:19,915 Speaker 1: it long before he made that film in the nineteen sixties. 582 00:35:20,395 --> 00:35:22,875 Speaker 1: Ki Long at first heard it from Jesse Owens too, 583 00:35:22,955 --> 00:35:23,915 Speaker 1: a decade earlier. 584 00:35:24,475 --> 00:35:30,715 Speaker 9: Oh, when I first talked to Ky Long, he said, 585 00:35:31,355 --> 00:35:37,275 Speaker 9: for him, it was a completely unexpected situation. 586 00:35:37,915 --> 00:35:40,075 Speaker 1: Again, sport historian Gerlinda Rhorr. 587 00:35:40,635 --> 00:35:43,795 Speaker 9: He was ten years at the time when Jesse Owens 588 00:35:43,835 --> 00:35:50,435 Speaker 9: came to Germany and suddenly ky Long was in a 589 00:35:50,435 --> 00:35:57,715 Speaker 9: lot of journalists and photographs, and he didn't know what 590 00:35:57,915 --> 00:36:02,155 Speaker 9: happened because he couldn't remember his father. He was only 591 00:36:02,675 --> 00:36:07,395 Speaker 9: two and a half year old when Lutzlong had to 592 00:36:07,515 --> 00:36:13,475 Speaker 9: leave the family for the war, and so it was 593 00:36:13,515 --> 00:36:20,395 Speaker 9: a completely a new situation for this young boy. Of course, 594 00:36:20,435 --> 00:36:24,915 Speaker 9: he believed it because he didn't know what really happened. 595 00:36:24,955 --> 00:36:27,395 Speaker 9: He couldn't ask his father. Never. 596 00:36:29,275 --> 00:36:32,395 Speaker 1: Grilinda told me that as Kai Long grew older and 597 00:36:32,515 --> 00:36:35,635 Speaker 1: reporters kept asking him about Jesse Owens and his father, 598 00:36:36,435 --> 00:36:40,395 Speaker 1: Kai started to wonder about the myth, which eventually had 599 00:36:40,435 --> 00:36:44,435 Speaker 1: begun to involve Kai too. In a TV interview, Owen 600 00:36:44,515 --> 00:36:47,315 Speaker 1: said that Kai had his letters' salutes in his scrap book. 601 00:36:47,715 --> 00:36:50,755 Speaker 2: In nineteen fifty one, I had the privilege of meeting 602 00:36:50,795 --> 00:36:54,435 Speaker 2: his son, and after showing the pictures and letters that 603 00:36:54,515 --> 00:36:55,875 Speaker 2: he had, described book that I. 604 00:36:55,795 --> 00:36:56,635 Speaker 1: Had written his father. 605 00:36:57,315 --> 00:36:57,515 Speaker 5: Well. 606 00:36:57,635 --> 00:36:59,155 Speaker 2: As a result of that, today I. 607 00:36:59,315 --> 00:37:02,955 Speaker 1: Know there is no evidence that that's true. Kai published 608 00:37:02,955 --> 00:37:05,275 Speaker 1: a book in twenty fifteen about his father, full of 609 00:37:05,315 --> 00:37:09,755 Speaker 1: family photos and documents. It's in German and impossible to find, 610 00:37:09,875 --> 00:37:12,835 Speaker 1: but the publisher sent me a copy and there are 611 00:37:12,955 --> 00:37:16,475 Speaker 1: just no letters from Omens to Long in it. Surely, 612 00:37:16,555 --> 00:37:19,955 Speaker 1: if Kai had those letters in that scrap book, he'd 613 00:37:19,955 --> 00:37:21,515 Speaker 1: have included them in this book. 614 00:37:23,115 --> 00:37:30,075 Speaker 9: And so he started to think about what's the truth 615 00:37:30,595 --> 00:37:36,275 Speaker 9: and what really happened when he was an adult, and 616 00:37:36,675 --> 00:37:41,595 Speaker 9: he was asked all the time from journalists and when 617 00:37:41,795 --> 00:37:48,995 Speaker 9: he told them, oh, maybe it couldn't be or their 618 00:37:49,115 --> 00:37:54,755 Speaker 9: aren't letters to me, he said, I can tell what 619 00:37:54,915 --> 00:38:02,315 Speaker 9: I want. They want to hear the legends. And so 620 00:38:03,155 --> 00:38:10,355 Speaker 9: he said once to me, Oh, missus, Raw, isn't it 621 00:38:10,515 --> 00:38:17,635 Speaker 9: nice for people to live with this story? Do you 622 00:38:17,755 --> 00:38:19,955 Speaker 9: want to destroy this story? 623 00:38:21,115 --> 00:38:24,235 Speaker 1: Honestly, I don't want to destroy this story. And let 624 00:38:24,235 --> 00:38:27,835 Speaker 1: me say again, a meaningful part of it is clearly true. 625 00:38:28,035 --> 00:38:31,595 Speaker 1: Lutslang and Jesse Owens were true sportsmen. They were good 626 00:38:31,635 --> 00:38:34,795 Speaker 1: to each other on the field. But this whole series 627 00:38:34,795 --> 00:38:37,395 Speaker 1: we're doing is about what happens when we failed to 628 00:38:37,395 --> 00:38:39,715 Speaker 1: see the truth of what is right before our eyes. 629 00:38:40,275 --> 00:38:43,435 Speaker 1: And this legend of the Owens Long friendship has started 630 00:38:43,475 --> 00:38:45,835 Speaker 1: to seem to me like one of the biggest examples 631 00:38:45,875 --> 00:38:49,115 Speaker 1: of failing to see what's right before you first, because 632 00:38:49,155 --> 00:38:51,995 Speaker 1: in so many ways it doesn't add up. And second 633 00:38:52,235 --> 00:38:54,915 Speaker 1: because it doesn't just involve one or two daffy members 634 00:38:54,955 --> 00:38:58,355 Speaker 1: of the IOC, but so many of us for a 635 00:38:58,395 --> 00:39:02,715 Speaker 1: long time now. But why would Jesse Owens make this up? 636 00:39:04,555 --> 00:39:20,115 Speaker 1: The truth at last? Next week? Revisionist History is produced 637 00:39:20,115 --> 00:39:24,115 Speaker 1: by me Ben Thattdiphaffrey, Dalli Emlin, and Nina Bird Lawrence. 638 00:39:24,675 --> 00:39:28,555 Speaker 1: Our editor is Sarah Nix. Fact checking on this episode 639 00:39:28,835 --> 00:39:33,275 Speaker 1: by J. L. Goldfein, Original scoring by Luis Garratt, mastering 640 00:39:33,515 --> 00:39:38,155 Speaker 1: by Sarah Briguier and Jake Korski. Engineering by Nina Bird Lawrence. 641 00:39:38,795 --> 00:39:43,275 Speaker 1: Our executive producer is Jacob Smith. Special thanks to Karen 642 00:39:43,315 --> 00:39:46,355 Speaker 1: Schakerji rufus Wright who read the excerpts of Jesse owens 643 00:39:46,395 --> 00:39:55,635 Speaker 1: autobiography and J. D. Landis. I'm bennatiph Haffrey. That was 644 00:39:55,675 --> 00:39:58,315 Speaker 1: part one of a two part story on Jesse Owens 645 00:39:58,355 --> 00:40:01,755 Speaker 1: from Revisionist Histories nine part series on the Games. Part 646 00:40:01,835 --> 00:40:03,435 Speaker 1: two is in your feeds now