1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:13,760 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,880 --> 00:00:16,319 Speaker 1: I'm fair A Dowdy and I'm Deblina truck reboarding and 4 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:19,880 Speaker 1: Deblina and I are continuing on with our Olympic theories. 5 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:22,279 Speaker 1: And when I first started thinking, all right, we're going 6 00:00:22,320 --> 00:00:26,520 Speaker 1: to cover some sports Olympics history for this twelve Olympic Game, 7 00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:30,280 Speaker 1: I've been thinking about a podcast on African American track 8 00:00:30,360 --> 00:00:33,800 Speaker 1: star Jesse Owens, who of course won four gold medals 9 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:37,360 Speaker 1: in the nineteen thirty six Berlin Games and very famously 10 00:00:37,479 --> 00:00:42,360 Speaker 1: proved that Hitler's ideas of Arian superiority we're just playing wrong. 11 00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:46,760 Speaker 1: But owens story is so personally compelling. It's the main 12 00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:50,040 Speaker 1: thing that most folks, I think, have taken away from 13 00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:52,720 Speaker 1: the nineteen thirty six Games. It's what it's what you 14 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:55,160 Speaker 1: think of if you're thinking of the Berlin Olympics, and 15 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:58,080 Speaker 1: if you look up a clip of Owen's flying past 16 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:02,520 Speaker 1: his competitors or ending proudly for the national anthem, it 17 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:05,600 Speaker 1: seems really easy to believe that the thirty six Games 18 00:01:05,680 --> 00:01:08,759 Speaker 1: must have just been a complete failure for the Nazis 19 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:11,760 Speaker 1: and a huge embarrassment for Hitler. Yeah, but once you 20 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:14,920 Speaker 1: start reading more about the Berlin Games, which are sometimes 21 00:01:14,959 --> 00:01:18,680 Speaker 1: called the Nazi Olympics, you realize that that's not really 22 00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:22,160 Speaker 1: the case. What's often overlooked is how successful the games 23 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:26,480 Speaker 1: were in terms of Nazi propaganda. For example, they bolstered 24 00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:31,160 Speaker 1: German pride, They threw off the suspicions of the international community, 25 00:01:31,160 --> 00:01:34,760 Speaker 1: at least temporarily and in a more long lasting way, 26 00:01:35,240 --> 00:01:38,040 Speaker 1: and away less tied up with the war to come. 27 00:01:38,360 --> 00:01:42,720 Speaker 1: They shaped the modern Olympic Games. Frank DeFord sports Illustrated 28 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:46,720 Speaker 1: writer and NPR commentator calls them quote the most fascinating 29 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:50,760 Speaker 1: and historically influential games. Frank affords the sports too, So 30 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:54,080 Speaker 1: that's a pretty high statement. So today we're going to 31 00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:57,240 Speaker 1: be looking at both Jesse Owens story and the story 32 00:01:57,280 --> 00:02:00,240 Speaker 1: of the nineteen thirty six Games as the whole. The boycotts, 33 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:03,760 Speaker 1: the propaganda, the smoke and mirrors, the athletes, whether they 34 00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:08,040 Speaker 1: were African, American or German Jewish. And one thing just 35 00:02:08,040 --> 00:02:10,720 Speaker 1: just consider before we even get into this is why 36 00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:13,359 Speaker 1: was the United States there? Why was Great Britain or 37 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:15,720 Speaker 1: France there? And it's something that we're going to be 38 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:19,440 Speaker 1: discussing throughout the podcast. So first, let's start out with 39 00:02:19,520 --> 00:02:23,160 Speaker 1: the initial irony of the story, which was the International 40 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:26,640 Speaker 1: Olympic Game Committee awarded Berlin the Games in one as 41 00:02:26,680 --> 00:02:30,040 Speaker 1: a sign of acceptance. So it was a welcome back 42 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:33,400 Speaker 1: in a way to the international community. Right. The second 43 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:37,639 Speaker 1: irony here, Hitler, who became chancellor two years after this decision, 44 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:40,680 Speaker 1: wasn't really interested in the Olympics at all at first. 45 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:44,040 Speaker 1: Now and and today, because Hitler's reputation is so tied 46 00:02:44,080 --> 00:02:48,160 Speaker 1: up to pageantry in these mass public displays, think Lenny 47 00:02:48,360 --> 00:02:52,400 Speaker 1: Roof install her films, it seems odd that Hitler wouldn't 48 00:02:52,440 --> 00:02:55,600 Speaker 1: have immediately seen the Games as an opportunity for a 49 00:02:55,760 --> 00:03:00,639 Speaker 1: grand public show. But according to the US Holocaust Memorial Useum, 50 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:03,680 Speaker 1: he initially just didn't see the appeal of the Olympic vision. 51 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:06,920 Speaker 1: And that makes sense too. After all, it's about internationalism, 52 00:03:06,919 --> 00:03:10,480 Speaker 1: it's about fair competition, it's something that's meant to promote 53 00:03:10,520 --> 00:03:14,280 Speaker 1: peace between nations. You can you can see how Hitler 54 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:18,120 Speaker 1: wouldn't be into that. But Joseph Goebbel's, Hitler's minister of propaganda, 55 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:21,880 Speaker 1: ultimately convinced him that the Games would make great propaganda 56 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:25,640 Speaker 1: and prepared German youth for war. As Goebbel's himself said 57 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:29,480 Speaker 1: in thirty three, German sport has only one task, to 58 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:32,760 Speaker 1: strengthen the character of the German people, imbuing it with 59 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:36,760 Speaker 1: the fighting spirit and steadfast camaraderie necessary in the struggle 60 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:39,240 Speaker 1: for its existence. That doesn't make you want to break 61 00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:41,640 Speaker 1: out the ball and play a game, So no, it 62 00:03:41,720 --> 00:03:43,560 Speaker 1: takes some of the fun out of it, I think. 63 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:46,840 Speaker 1: But right from the start the Nazis controlled the games. 64 00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:50,560 Speaker 1: The German Olympic committee was supervised by the Reich Sports Office, 65 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:54,440 Speaker 1: and a new stadium was built in Berlin. Colorful posters 66 00:03:54,520 --> 00:03:58,240 Speaker 1: drew comparisons between ancient Greece and modern Germany and featured 67 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:01,800 Speaker 1: Arean ideal athletes. So it was a very political thing 68 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:04,520 Speaker 1: right from the start. But to make that arean ideal 69 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:08,040 Speaker 1: that they were glorifying on the posters a reality for 70 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:11,480 Speaker 1: the Berlin Olympics, Jewish athletes, of course, had to be 71 00:04:11,680 --> 00:04:17,080 Speaker 1: excluded from competition, and Hitler's anti Semitic policies, which started 72 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:21,240 Speaker 1: as soon as he assumed power, also extended to sports 73 00:04:21,320 --> 00:04:23,640 Speaker 1: right from the start, and one very high level example 74 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:27,240 Speaker 1: of this was the high jumper Gretel Bergmann, who found 75 00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:30,440 Speaker 1: herself kicked out of her athletic club in nineteen thirty three. 76 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:33,640 Speaker 1: She was a star athlete, participated in lots of different 77 00:04:33,680 --> 00:04:36,920 Speaker 1: sports and had been linked to this athletic club for years. 78 00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:40,240 Speaker 1: Immediately kicked out, she started training with a club under 79 00:04:40,279 --> 00:04:43,320 Speaker 1: the Jewish Association of War Veterans, with a lot of 80 00:04:43,360 --> 00:04:47,080 Speaker 1: other Jewish athletes as well as Gypsy athletes. Um But 81 00:04:47,839 --> 00:04:52,440 Speaker 1: in many cases these alternate groups for for Jewish athletes 82 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:56,280 Speaker 1: to practice and compete in just didn't have as good equipment, 83 00:04:56,320 --> 00:05:00,760 Speaker 1: didn't have as good facilities, They were subpar, and ultimately 84 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:04,120 Speaker 1: Bergmond was strung along until just before the Games, when 85 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:07,760 Speaker 1: she was ultimately thrown off the team. The international sports 86 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:12,200 Speaker 1: community caught onto that discrimination, though, and talk started focusing 87 00:05:12,240 --> 00:05:16,160 Speaker 1: on relocating the games. Perhaps. The president of the American 88 00:05:16,200 --> 00:05:19,760 Speaker 1: Olympic Committee, Avery Brundage, even said that quote the very 89 00:05:19,839 --> 00:05:23,600 Speaker 1: foundation of the modern Olympic revival will be undermined if 90 00:05:23,640 --> 00:05:28,360 Speaker 1: individual countries are allowed to restrict participation by reason of class, creed, 91 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:33,000 Speaker 1: or race. So that takes a pretty strong stance on this. 92 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:37,200 Speaker 1: This is not about your politics. It's about an international 93 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:41,240 Speaker 1: sporting event. But unfortunately Brundage had a bit too much 94 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:43,920 Speaker 1: sway in this matter, because in nineteen thirty four, with 95 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:47,159 Speaker 1: a position like that out there, he was invited to 96 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:51,320 Speaker 1: Berlin to investigate the situation for himself, and in a 97 00:05:51,520 --> 00:05:54,880 Speaker 1: tightly managed visit, you know, only think exactly what people 98 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:59,160 Speaker 1: wanted him to see. He inspected facilities, met with athletes, 99 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:03,600 Speaker 1: and came home convinced that Jewish athletes weren't being discriminated 100 00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:06,000 Speaker 1: against after all, that that things were going to be 101 00:06:06,040 --> 00:06:09,839 Speaker 1: fine in Germany, and that Berlin should certainly go ahead 102 00:06:09,839 --> 00:06:12,760 Speaker 1: with the game. Yeah, but not everyone was so convinced. 103 00:06:12,880 --> 00:06:16,960 Speaker 1: Many American newspapers, for example, called for a boycott. Much 104 00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:20,520 Speaker 1: of the Jewish community was in favor of skipping the games, 105 00:06:20,960 --> 00:06:24,280 Speaker 1: as were many US Catholic leaders. One of the most 106 00:06:24,320 --> 00:06:27,240 Speaker 1: prominent was Judge Jeremiah Mahoney, who was president of the 107 00:06:27,279 --> 00:06:31,360 Speaker 1: Amateur Athletic Union, and he argued that Germany was violating 108 00:06:31,480 --> 00:06:35,160 Speaker 1: key Olympic rules and that attending the games would basically 109 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:38,960 Speaker 1: endorse the Reich, something that became more and more evident 110 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:41,880 Speaker 1: when the Nuremberg Laws were announced in nineteen thirty five, 111 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:45,839 Speaker 1: stripping Jews of citizenship. So it wasn't it was clearly 112 00:06:45,880 --> 00:06:49,960 Speaker 1: not just about athletes. It was a statement about the 113 00:06:49,960 --> 00:06:52,599 Speaker 1: whole regime, about the whole country at this point, But 114 00:06:52,800 --> 00:06:57,320 Speaker 1: by December nineteen thirty five, after a campaign from Brunage 115 00:06:57,720 --> 00:07:01,719 Speaker 1: suggesting as far as uh the boycott being part of 116 00:07:01,720 --> 00:07:05,600 Speaker 1: a Jewish communist conspiracy quote that's that's how far he 117 00:07:06,360 --> 00:07:10,800 Speaker 1: took this, the Amateur Athletic Union finally voted down a boycott. 118 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:13,440 Speaker 1: And I find it interesting that people, up until the 119 00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:16,240 Speaker 1: very end it saw it both ways. Bringedge, for instance, 120 00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:19,960 Speaker 1: believe that the boycott was politicizing the games, and the 121 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:23,080 Speaker 1: games were not something meant to be political. Those in 122 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:26,400 Speaker 1: favor of the boycott, though, really saw the games themselves 123 00:07:26,400 --> 00:07:29,440 Speaker 1: as political and that was the problem. Um So, for example, 124 00:07:29,480 --> 00:07:32,760 Speaker 1: a month before the Amateur Athletic Union vote, the Committee 125 00:07:32,760 --> 00:07:36,200 Speaker 1: on Fair Play and Sports said, quote, sport is prostituted 126 00:07:36,240 --> 00:07:39,840 Speaker 1: when sport loses its independent and democratic character and becomes 127 00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:43,600 Speaker 1: a political institution. Nazi Germany is endeavoring to use the 128 00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:47,120 Speaker 1: Eleventh Olympia to serve the necessities and interests of the 129 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:51,640 Speaker 1: Nazi regime rather than the Olympic ideals. So strong feelings 130 00:07:51,640 --> 00:07:55,440 Speaker 1: both ways, very strong feelings. The American Athletic Unions vote 131 00:07:55,480 --> 00:07:58,400 Speaker 1: kind of set the tone internationally as well. Though there 132 00:07:58,400 --> 00:08:01,800 Speaker 1: had been boycott interest in France and Great Britain and Sweden, 133 00:08:01,880 --> 00:08:06,080 Speaker 1: the Netherlands and Czechoslovakia, nothing had panned out. A few 134 00:08:06,120 --> 00:08:10,000 Speaker 1: alternative games were planned, one on Long Island one in Barcelona, 135 00:08:10,480 --> 00:08:12,880 Speaker 1: but these had to be canceled because of the one 136 00:08:12,880 --> 00:08:14,880 Speaker 1: in Barcelona at least had to be canceled because of 137 00:08:14,920 --> 00:08:19,000 Speaker 1: the Spanish Civil War. But individual athletes could have, of 138 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:21,760 Speaker 1: course still boycott the games if they chose to so. 139 00:08:22,080 --> 00:08:25,640 Speaker 1: Several Jewish American athletes did so, including much of the 140 00:08:25,640 --> 00:08:28,600 Speaker 1: Long Island University basketball team, considered one of the best 141 00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:31,560 Speaker 1: teams in the country at the time, plus sprinters from 142 00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:34,720 Speaker 1: Tulane and Harvard. There was um we already mentioned the 143 00:08:34,760 --> 00:08:37,600 Speaker 1: US Holocaust Memorial Museum site. They have a lot of 144 00:08:37,640 --> 00:08:41,959 Speaker 1: interviews with athletes, American athletes and German athletes, and one 145 00:08:42,040 --> 00:08:44,760 Speaker 1: is with sprinter Milton Green, who was the captain of 146 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:48,200 Speaker 1: the Harvard team, and he decided to boycott after his 147 00:08:48,400 --> 00:08:51,560 Speaker 1: rabbi called him called him in to tell him all 148 00:08:51,600 --> 00:08:54,160 Speaker 1: about what was happening to Jews in Germany, and he 149 00:08:54,240 --> 00:08:56,800 Speaker 1: felt like this was the right thing. To do, and 150 00:08:56,800 --> 00:09:01,000 Speaker 1: he talked about how surprised he was that his decision 151 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:02,640 Speaker 1: to boycott. He thought it would be a big deal. 152 00:09:02,679 --> 00:09:04,520 Speaker 1: He was one of the best runners in the country. 153 00:09:04,679 --> 00:09:07,680 Speaker 1: It didn't really resonate with anybody. Nobody really was even 154 00:09:07,720 --> 00:09:10,720 Speaker 1: aware that he had chosen to boycott. And he talked 155 00:09:10,920 --> 00:09:14,920 Speaker 1: also about how every Olympic that he had watched since then, 156 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:19,200 Speaker 1: he would picture himself competing in his familiar events, missing 157 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:22,960 Speaker 1: that chance, not really feeling bad or regretful about what 158 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:25,120 Speaker 1: he had done, but just sort of wondering what could 159 00:09:25,120 --> 00:09:27,240 Speaker 1: have been to it seemed well, missing that chance, and 160 00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:29,160 Speaker 1: then on top of it, feeling like nobody was really 161 00:09:29,160 --> 00:09:32,319 Speaker 1: paying attention. I'm sure it is like twice his heartbreaking. 162 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:36,680 Speaker 1: But the African American community, however, had a very different 163 00:09:36,720 --> 00:09:39,600 Speaker 1: take on this boycott. They saw it as hypocritical, since 164 00:09:39,920 --> 00:09:42,800 Speaker 1: for many blacks in the US, the idea of separate 165 00:09:42,800 --> 00:09:47,040 Speaker 1: and unequal sporting opportunities was pretty much old news. There 166 00:09:47,080 --> 00:09:49,320 Speaker 1: was a quote in the Philadelphia Tribune right before the 167 00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:53,760 Speaker 1: Amateur Athletic Union vote that went quote, the Amateur Athletic 168 00:09:53,840 --> 00:09:57,120 Speaker 1: Union shouts against the cruelties of the other nations and 169 00:09:57,120 --> 00:10:00,440 Speaker 1: the brutalities and foreign climates, but conveniently for gets the 170 00:10:00,480 --> 00:10:04,240 Speaker 1: things that sit on its own doorstep. And plus there 171 00:10:04,280 --> 00:10:07,199 Speaker 1: was sort of an indication of what was gonna happen 172 00:10:07,559 --> 00:10:10,600 Speaker 1: if black athletes were allowed to go. Black victories would 173 00:10:10,600 --> 00:10:13,960 Speaker 1: show people just how wrong that area and ideal was. 174 00:10:14,360 --> 00:10:17,839 Speaker 1: Eighteen Black Olympians ended up competing on the US team 175 00:10:17,920 --> 00:10:21,240 Speaker 1: and ten mettled, so it was worth it for them 176 00:10:21,280 --> 00:10:24,200 Speaker 1: to not boycott, and and something to that sort of 177 00:10:24,240 --> 00:10:27,880 Speaker 1: ties into that Jesse Owens victory was expected, or some 178 00:10:27,960 --> 00:10:30,400 Speaker 1: of his victories were expected. You know, he was the 179 00:10:30,520 --> 00:10:34,000 Speaker 1: fastest runner in the country, and a lot of these 180 00:10:34,040 --> 00:10:39,040 Speaker 1: other athletes were clear shoeance were for these competitions. So yeah, 181 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:42,960 Speaker 1: the black community knew if these guys were allowed to compete, 182 00:10:42,960 --> 00:10:46,960 Speaker 1: they've had a very high chance of winning. Ultimately, though, 183 00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:52,000 Speaker 1: you know, despite these um these attempts to boycott, despite 184 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:57,160 Speaker 1: these individual boycotts, forty nine nations chose to attend the games. 185 00:10:57,200 --> 00:10:59,000 Speaker 1: But we need to talk a little bit about what 186 00:10:59,040 --> 00:11:01,720 Speaker 1: the games were like, why were they not the Olympics? 187 00:11:01,800 --> 00:11:05,120 Speaker 1: And one thing to get out there is, by all accounts, 188 00:11:05,160 --> 00:11:09,360 Speaker 1: they were incredibly impressive in every way. The athletes competing 189 00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:11,560 Speaker 1: were dazzled, and that was that was part of the point. 190 00:11:11,640 --> 00:11:15,640 Speaker 1: Impressed the athletes. They'll go home with a positive experience 191 00:11:15,679 --> 00:11:18,160 Speaker 1: of the game. So just some examples of what made 192 00:11:18,160 --> 00:11:22,040 Speaker 1: these games so impressive. The forty nine countries that attended. 193 00:11:22,120 --> 00:11:25,240 Speaker 1: That was more countries than it ever participated before. The 194 00:11:25,280 --> 00:11:29,040 Speaker 1: opening ceremonies also featured for the first time the lone 195 00:11:29,120 --> 00:11:32,360 Speaker 1: runner carrying a torch that was lit in Olympia, and 196 00:11:32,400 --> 00:11:34,960 Speaker 1: the games were televised for the first time. You could 197 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:39,360 Speaker 1: visit these viewing stations throughout Berlin to watch Zeppelin's race 198 00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:44,440 Speaker 1: newsreels around Europe for updated coverage. Lenny reef Install filmed 199 00:11:44,440 --> 00:11:47,320 Speaker 1: the games for the movie Olympia, which was released in 200 00:11:48,880 --> 00:11:53,040 Speaker 1: and the German people were actually very welcoming. Marty Glickman, 201 00:11:53,080 --> 00:11:56,400 Speaker 1: a Jewish American athlete who chose not to boycott, called 202 00:11:56,400 --> 00:11:59,520 Speaker 1: it all a carnival though so of course, a lot 203 00:11:59,559 --> 00:12:04,439 Speaker 1: of the success or the perceived success from the games 204 00:12:04,640 --> 00:12:07,960 Speaker 1: was from what was concealed rather than what was promoted. 205 00:12:08,040 --> 00:12:12,120 Speaker 1: So swastika's were bedecking all of the arenas and monuments, 206 00:12:12,160 --> 00:12:15,440 Speaker 1: but a lot of the anti Semitic signs had come 207 00:12:15,520 --> 00:12:18,680 Speaker 1: down around Berlin at least down the heavily traffic streets. 208 00:12:19,080 --> 00:12:22,040 Speaker 1: Eight hundred Gypsies had been moved to a camp on 209 00:12:22,080 --> 00:12:26,319 Speaker 1: the outskirts of town and just eighteen miles north of Berlin. 210 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:31,520 Speaker 1: The saxon Housen concentration camp was actually under construction during 211 00:12:31,520 --> 00:12:33,960 Speaker 1: the games. I think I find this part maybe the 212 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:37,080 Speaker 1: most extraordinary aspect of this, that it was so close 213 00:12:37,120 --> 00:12:41,440 Speaker 1: by um. Within months two of the closing ceremonies, that 214 00:12:41,520 --> 00:12:46,920 Speaker 1: concentration camp was open began accepting Jova's witnesses and political opponents. 215 00:12:46,960 --> 00:12:51,319 Speaker 1: So they were carrying on, just not so overtly in 216 00:12:51,320 --> 00:12:55,080 Speaker 1: in Berlin. Gebbels was acutely aware of what needed to 217 00:12:55,160 --> 00:12:58,640 Speaker 1: be hidden or avoided. Here. In the Pink Triangle episode, 218 00:12:58,679 --> 00:13:02,040 Speaker 1: we talked about how owner was instructed to quote clean 219 00:13:02,120 --> 00:13:06,480 Speaker 1: up the town before visitors arrived, but under no circumstances 220 00:13:06,640 --> 00:13:11,360 Speaker 1: arrest gay foreigners under a paragraph one. So they hid 221 00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:14,560 Speaker 1: that part of their policy during that time because they 222 00:13:14,679 --> 00:13:17,400 Speaker 1: knew how people would view it. The same idea extended 223 00:13:17,440 --> 00:13:20,839 Speaker 1: to the press. The Reich Press Chamber controlled all coverage 224 00:13:21,160 --> 00:13:25,160 Speaker 1: and forbade stories focused on race or religion. So a 225 00:13:25,240 --> 00:13:28,680 Speaker 1: quote from July ninety six, the racial point of view 226 00:13:28,679 --> 00:13:32,520 Speaker 1: should not be used in any way in reporting sports results. 227 00:13:32,559 --> 00:13:36,560 Speaker 1: Above all, negro should not be insensitively reported. Negros are 228 00:13:36,600 --> 00:13:40,559 Speaker 1: American citizens and must be treated with respect as Americans, 229 00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:44,880 Speaker 1: So don't publish anything that's gonna get get the whole 230 00:13:44,960 --> 00:13:49,960 Speaker 1: country into trouble. That dictate, though specifically regarding African Americans, 231 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:53,440 Speaker 1: proved impossible for the German press to maintain. Though after 232 00:13:53,920 --> 00:13:57,440 Speaker 1: the stunning success of the black members of the US 233 00:13:57,520 --> 00:14:00,880 Speaker 1: track team, the pro Nazi paper are called the attack 234 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:04,679 Speaker 1: just couldn't resist calling the black members of the team 235 00:14:04,760 --> 00:14:08,280 Speaker 1: quote auxiliaries. But to the rest of the world and 236 00:14:08,320 --> 00:14:11,680 Speaker 1: including the German public, we gotta gotta say that the 237 00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:14,920 Speaker 1: talent of the track team was really captivating, and Owens 238 00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:18,920 Speaker 1: especially was a star. People were interested in in reading 239 00:14:18,920 --> 00:14:22,280 Speaker 1: about them, even if pro Nazi papers were calling them auxiliary. 240 00:14:22,480 --> 00:14:24,800 Speaker 1: So we've got to talk about the Owens story a 241 00:14:24,800 --> 00:14:27,520 Speaker 1: little bit, just because he is the main figure of 242 00:14:27,560 --> 00:14:32,520 Speaker 1: this games, and um, his his background makes his accomplishments 243 00:14:32,560 --> 00:14:35,440 Speaker 1: all the more impressive. He was born in nineteen thirteen. 244 00:14:35,560 --> 00:14:38,720 Speaker 1: He was the son of a sharecropper and the grandson 245 00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:42,480 Speaker 1: of slaves. Born in Danville, Alabama, he moved to Cleveland 246 00:14:42,520 --> 00:14:45,320 Speaker 1: when he was nine years old. Interestingly, his name was 247 00:14:45,400 --> 00:14:48,120 Speaker 1: not His given name was not. Jesse was a nickname. 248 00:14:48,640 --> 00:14:51,720 Speaker 1: He um told the teacher his initials were Tour j C. 249 00:14:52,480 --> 00:14:55,400 Speaker 1: And in his Alabama accent, she mistook it for Jesse 250 00:14:55,600 --> 00:14:57,920 Speaker 1: and and it's stuck. You gotta be careful of those 251 00:14:57,960 --> 00:15:00,800 Speaker 1: accents when we're from the South. We know that. But 252 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:03,840 Speaker 1: he started racing at thirteen, and by his sophomore year 253 00:15:03,840 --> 00:15:07,560 Speaker 1: of college at Ohio State, Jesse broke five world records 254 00:15:07,600 --> 00:15:10,440 Speaker 1: and equaled a six in forty five minutes at his 255 00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:13,680 Speaker 1: first Big Ten Championship with an injured back, he had 256 00:15:13,720 --> 00:15:16,720 Speaker 1: been horsing around or wrestling with some of his fraternity 257 00:15:16,760 --> 00:15:20,560 Speaker 1: brothers and couldn't even get dressed by himself, but he 258 00:15:20,600 --> 00:15:24,600 Speaker 1: was able to break five world records. According to his 259 00:15:24,680 --> 00:15:29,120 Speaker 1: New York Times obituary, the Big Ten commissioner Tug Wilson said, quote, 260 00:15:29,120 --> 00:15:31,880 Speaker 1: he is a floating wonder, just like he had wings. 261 00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:35,840 Speaker 1: So and we alluded to this earlier. Clearly, Jesse Owens 262 00:15:36,040 --> 00:15:39,240 Speaker 1: was a favorite in the Berlin Games with that record. 263 00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:42,600 Speaker 1: He had sat at the Big ten uh competition just 264 00:15:42,760 --> 00:15:45,960 Speaker 1: a year before, and he really did deliver. He won 265 00:15:46,120 --> 00:15:48,440 Speaker 1: the gold in the hundred meter, the two hundred meter, 266 00:15:48,880 --> 00:15:51,520 Speaker 1: the four hundred meter relay, and the broad jump, which 267 00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:54,440 Speaker 1: is now called the long jump. And those last two 268 00:15:54,440 --> 00:15:58,920 Speaker 1: events are especially notable. The four hundred meter relay because 269 00:15:59,040 --> 00:16:04,240 Speaker 1: Owens and his fellow black American teammate Ralph Metcalfe we're 270 00:16:04,320 --> 00:16:06,840 Speaker 1: not supposed to compete in it at all. There were 271 00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:10,600 Speaker 1: two American Jewish athletes, Marty Glickman, who we quoted earlier 272 00:16:10,640 --> 00:16:13,800 Speaker 1: and Sam Stoller. They were pulled out at the last 273 00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:17,600 Speaker 1: minute by Avery Brundage, and it's possible that Owens and 274 00:16:17,640 --> 00:16:22,360 Speaker 1: metcalf were substituted because they were the team's fastest sprinters, 275 00:16:22,360 --> 00:16:25,480 Speaker 1: but it's also possible that Glickman and Stoller were pulled 276 00:16:25,480 --> 00:16:29,040 Speaker 1: out because they were Jewish and Brundage may not have 277 00:16:29,160 --> 00:16:33,560 Speaker 1: wanted to offend Hitler with a Jewish victory. The other event, 278 00:16:33,600 --> 00:16:36,440 Speaker 1: the broad jump, is really notable because Owens was coached 279 00:16:36,480 --> 00:16:39,680 Speaker 1: on and encouraged by his top German competitor, Loots. Long 280 00:16:40,120 --> 00:16:44,480 Speaker 1: footage of Long rushing to congratulate and hug Owens really 281 00:16:44,520 --> 00:16:47,840 Speaker 1: contrast with the more familiar scenes of Hitler watching Owen's 282 00:16:47,920 --> 00:16:52,600 Speaker 1: victories disapprovingly and long and Owens stayed friends until Long's 283 00:16:52,600 --> 00:16:55,920 Speaker 1: death in action at the Allied invasion of Sicily. Owens 284 00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:58,680 Speaker 1: later said, quote, it took a lot of courage for 285 00:16:58,760 --> 00:17:01,040 Speaker 1: him to befriend me in front of Hitler. You can 286 00:17:01,080 --> 00:17:03,480 Speaker 1: melt down all the medals and cups I have and 287 00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:05,800 Speaker 1: they wouldn't be a plating on the twenty four Carett 288 00:17:05,800 --> 00:17:08,280 Speaker 1: friendship that I felt for Looks Long at that moment, 289 00:17:08,640 --> 00:17:11,600 Speaker 1: Hitler must have gone crazy watching us embrace, And I 290 00:17:11,600 --> 00:17:13,320 Speaker 1: would urge you, guys, if you're going to look up 291 00:17:13,359 --> 00:17:17,080 Speaker 1: one video clip from this Olympics, that's the one too, 292 00:17:17,760 --> 00:17:20,320 Speaker 1: to see if he sort of want to a more stirring, 293 00:17:20,359 --> 00:17:24,280 Speaker 1: heartwarming sort of Olympic moment. So the American press loved 294 00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:28,080 Speaker 1: the Long Owens friendship as much as as we do still, 295 00:17:28,119 --> 00:17:30,879 Speaker 1: but they also devoted a lot of coverage to the 296 00:17:30,920 --> 00:17:34,639 Speaker 1: fact that Hitler didn't shake Owens's hand. It was considered 297 00:17:34,680 --> 00:17:38,040 Speaker 1: a huge snub at the time, even though it's kind 298 00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:41,240 Speaker 1: of more of a myth than truth. In reality. Hitler 299 00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:43,800 Speaker 1: had already been taken to task by the IOC the 300 00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:47,320 Speaker 1: very first day of competition for leaving after all of 301 00:17:47,359 --> 00:17:50,960 Speaker 1: the German competitors had been eliminated in the final round. 302 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:53,199 Speaker 1: For that day, he had only shook the hands of 303 00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:55,959 Speaker 1: a few athletes, all of them were either German or finish, 304 00:17:56,040 --> 00:17:59,280 Speaker 1: and the IOC basically said, please don't do that. Either 305 00:17:59,320 --> 00:18:02,480 Speaker 1: shake everybody these hands or shake no one's hands. He 306 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:06,760 Speaker 1: decided to shake nobody's hand publicly, and Owens himself later 307 00:18:06,840 --> 00:18:11,159 Speaker 1: said kind of, um, not directly challenging this myth that 308 00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:13,679 Speaker 1: had been built up about the handshake, but he said, quote, 309 00:18:13,760 --> 00:18:15,760 Speaker 1: it was all right with me. I didn't go to 310 00:18:15,760 --> 00:18:18,399 Speaker 1: Berlin to shake hands with him anyway. All I know 311 00:18:18,600 --> 00:18:22,240 Speaker 1: is that I'm here now. And Hitler isn't the bigger 312 00:18:22,320 --> 00:18:24,679 Speaker 1: issue for Owens though, really, and a lot of the 313 00:18:24,720 --> 00:18:28,640 Speaker 1: African American athletes, wasn't that Hitler didn't acknowledge them. That 314 00:18:28,720 --> 00:18:33,120 Speaker 1: was just a temporary issue. It was that they weren't 315 00:18:33,119 --> 00:18:36,160 Speaker 1: acknowledged back home. None of the black medalists were invited 316 00:18:36,200 --> 00:18:39,760 Speaker 1: to the White House or congratulated by President Roosevelt. According 317 00:18:39,800 --> 00:18:43,680 Speaker 1: to Smithsonian Magazine, and um, a lot of the last 318 00:18:43,720 --> 00:18:47,400 Speaker 1: famous ones just kind of had to end up slipping 319 00:18:47,440 --> 00:18:50,560 Speaker 1: into obscurity. Owens ended up doing stunt races. He would 320 00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:54,280 Speaker 1: race horses, he would race cars, Eventually, though, he did 321 00:18:54,359 --> 00:18:57,919 Speaker 1: become a pr man, a motivational speaker, somebody who was 322 00:18:57,960 --> 00:19:01,679 Speaker 1: able to make a living for his his Olympic record. 323 00:19:02,119 --> 00:19:05,080 Speaker 1: I really liked one thing he said about jogging. Though. 324 00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:09,120 Speaker 1: He was asked, as an older man whether he still 325 00:19:09,200 --> 00:19:12,600 Speaker 1: enjoyed jogging, and he said, quote, I don't jog because 326 00:19:12,640 --> 00:19:15,880 Speaker 1: I can't run flat footed. It just shows you how 327 00:19:15,960 --> 00:19:18,800 Speaker 1: fast somebody would be if you can only run on 328 00:19:18,840 --> 00:19:22,560 Speaker 1: your toes. Despite Owen's story, though, and the victories of 329 00:19:22,560 --> 00:19:25,800 Speaker 1: the other black US medalists and the competition of Jewish 330 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:29,679 Speaker 1: athletes from the US and Europe, Hitler clearly saw the 331 00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:34,840 Speaker 1: Olympics as a victory. The closing ceremony featured Beethoven, searchlights, 332 00:19:34,840 --> 00:19:38,760 Speaker 1: and blonde dressed in white to represent competing nations. German 333 00:19:38,800 --> 00:19:42,880 Speaker 1: athletes won the most medals of anyone, and the organization 334 00:19:43,040 --> 00:19:45,800 Speaker 1: of the event was praised highly. Yeah, they actually won 335 00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:49,280 Speaker 1: the most medals by far, to almost double that of 336 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:52,640 Speaker 1: the U s which was number two. Um and it 337 00:19:52,680 --> 00:19:56,000 Speaker 1: did work in the pr sense to The New York 338 00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:59,120 Speaker 1: Times even said that the games put Germany quote back 339 00:19:59,119 --> 00:20:02,040 Speaker 1: in the fold of nat Shans, and Hitler thought that 340 00:20:02,080 --> 00:20:04,800 Speaker 1: things had gone so well and that everybody approved of 341 00:20:04,880 --> 00:20:08,600 Speaker 1: the game so highly. He fully expected that after the 342 00:20:08,680 --> 00:20:11,400 Speaker 1: nineteen forty Games, which were already slated to take place 343 00:20:11,480 --> 00:20:15,560 Speaker 1: in Tokyo, the Olympics would take place in Berlin forever. 344 00:20:15,880 --> 00:20:19,240 Speaker 1: There wouldn't be any other cities that hosted the Olympics. 345 00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:22,960 Speaker 1: Um just Berlin year after year after year. Reminded me 346 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:25,119 Speaker 1: a little bit of our early discussion of the modern 347 00:20:25,119 --> 00:20:28,760 Speaker 1: Olympics and in Paris and Athens and debates about where 348 00:20:28,760 --> 00:20:32,760 Speaker 1: the Olympics should happen. But that's the bold opinion and 349 00:20:32,800 --> 00:20:36,240 Speaker 1: a lot of confidence there. Some people, though, saw how 350 00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:39,399 Speaker 1: hoodwinked the world had been during this time, and how 351 00:20:39,920 --> 00:20:43,840 Speaker 1: a major opportunity to censure the Nazi regime before the 352 00:20:43,880 --> 00:20:48,280 Speaker 1: war was basically lost. Others feared the end of the charade. 353 00:20:48,800 --> 00:20:52,320 Speaker 1: US Ambassador to Germany William E. Dodd wrote that Jews 354 00:20:52,320 --> 00:20:55,480 Speaker 1: were expecting the end of the games with fear and trembling. 355 00:20:55,880 --> 00:20:58,520 Speaker 1: Just two days after the games ended, the head of 356 00:20:58,560 --> 00:21:02,000 Speaker 1: the Olympic village, who was a Jewish descent, was dismissed 357 00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:05,840 Speaker 1: from military service and killed himself. Yeah, so so people 358 00:21:05,960 --> 00:21:10,360 Speaker 1: were afraid what the back to business kind of regime 359 00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:12,520 Speaker 1: would be like. Now that the world had gone home, 360 00:21:12,560 --> 00:21:16,760 Speaker 1: what was regular life going to be like. One example 361 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:21,520 Speaker 1: of this kind of return to normal being intolerable for 362 00:21:21,600 --> 00:21:25,240 Speaker 1: people's grettel Bergmann, the high jumper who we mentioned earlier, 363 00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:27,639 Speaker 1: who was used as an example of how Germans were 364 00:21:27,720 --> 00:21:31,240 Speaker 1: including Jews on their teams and then was ultimately booted 365 00:21:31,240 --> 00:21:33,639 Speaker 1: off the team at the last minute. She immigrated to 366 00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:37,480 Speaker 1: the United States just a year after the Games. Ultimately, 367 00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:42,600 Speaker 1: only two Jewish athletes competed for Germany. One was Rudy Ball. 368 00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:45,480 Speaker 1: He competed in ice hockey in the Winter Games, back 369 00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:48,679 Speaker 1: when the country would host both the Winter and the 370 00:21:48,720 --> 00:21:52,160 Speaker 1: Summer Games. The other was Helene Meyer, who was a 371 00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:56,160 Speaker 1: half Jewish blonde. You know, she was considered to look 372 00:21:56,280 --> 00:22:00,080 Speaker 1: very arian. Uh. She competed in fencing. She actually he 373 00:22:00,119 --> 00:22:03,800 Speaker 1: had already fled Germany before the Games, but came back 374 00:22:03,960 --> 00:22:09,480 Speaker 1: to compete. Saluted Hitler ultimately left again. I think you 375 00:22:09,520 --> 00:22:11,879 Speaker 1: can look at a lot of these athletes stories and 376 00:22:11,920 --> 00:22:16,080 Speaker 1: again the Holocaust Memorial Museum has a really sad page 377 00:22:16,600 --> 00:22:20,240 Speaker 1: talking about a lot of Olympians from as early as 378 00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:25,520 Speaker 1: the first Games and their fate during the Holocaust. Um 379 00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:28,719 Speaker 1: But a bigger picture thing to think about too, is 380 00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:33,280 Speaker 1: that this was the last Olympics for a very long time. 381 00:22:33,520 --> 00:22:36,760 Speaker 1: The of course, the nineteen forty Tokyo Games didn't happen, 382 00:22:37,119 --> 00:22:41,479 Speaker 1: the ninety four Games didn't happen. So it's not on 383 00:22:41,520 --> 00:22:44,119 Speaker 1: the same scale, of course as people losing their lives. 384 00:22:44,119 --> 00:22:46,480 Speaker 1: But one thing I can't help thinking about is that 385 00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:51,920 Speaker 1: your professional athletic window is pretty narrow. Um. And if 386 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:55,679 Speaker 1: you weren't able to compete in this games, whether because 387 00:22:55,720 --> 00:22:59,000 Speaker 1: you protested it, you boycotted it, or you weren't allowed to, 388 00:23:00,320 --> 00:23:03,320 Speaker 1: very likely would have been your very last chance because 389 00:23:03,520 --> 00:23:06,560 Speaker 1: you weren't going to get another one for twelve years. 390 00:23:07,640 --> 00:23:10,239 Speaker 1: Bringing it back to athletics a little bit again, like 391 00:23:10,280 --> 00:23:12,720 Speaker 1: he said, Um, we have a quote from Owens on 392 00:23:12,840 --> 00:23:17,120 Speaker 1: preparing to run the one. He said, it's a nervous, 393 00:23:17,359 --> 00:23:20,280 Speaker 1: terrible feeling you feel as you stand there, as if 394 00:23:20,320 --> 00:23:22,840 Speaker 1: your legs can't carry the weight of your body. Your 395 00:23:22,840 --> 00:23:25,680 Speaker 1: stomach isn't there, and your mouth is dry, and your 396 00:23:25,680 --> 00:23:28,480 Speaker 1: hands are wet with perspiration, and you begin to think 397 00:23:28,520 --> 00:23:31,520 Speaker 1: in terms of all those years that you've worked, in 398 00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:33,920 Speaker 1: my particular case, the one hundred meters as you look 399 00:23:33,960 --> 00:23:37,480 Speaker 1: down the field one hundred nine yards two feet away 400 00:23:37,560 --> 00:23:40,600 Speaker 1: and recognizing that after eight years of hard work, this 401 00:23:40,680 --> 00:23:43,200 Speaker 1: is the point that I had reached and that all 402 00:23:43,359 --> 00:23:46,439 Speaker 1: was going to be over in ten seconds. Those are 403 00:23:46,440 --> 00:23:49,639 Speaker 1: the great moments in the lives of individuals. So I 404 00:23:49,640 --> 00:23:51,479 Speaker 1: thought that was a good way to wrap this up, 405 00:23:51,520 --> 00:23:54,800 Speaker 1: because it is an individual story as much as it 406 00:23:54,960 --> 00:23:58,520 Speaker 1: is a story of forty nine countries coming from around 407 00:23:58,560 --> 00:24:01,399 Speaker 1: the world to compete in Owen. Yeah, and you can't 408 00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:05,200 Speaker 1: really separate those stories. You can't tell Owen's story without 409 00:24:05,240 --> 00:24:08,919 Speaker 1: telling the story of these very unique games and what 410 00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:13,080 Speaker 1: you had to go through. Yeah, So, which is why 411 00:24:13,119 --> 00:24:17,000 Speaker 1: we did that. But if you have any other sports stories, 412 00:24:17,160 --> 00:24:20,399 Speaker 1: any stories of famous Olympians that you'd like us to 413 00:24:20,440 --> 00:24:22,600 Speaker 1: talk about, or that you'd like to share with us, 414 00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:25,440 Speaker 1: maybe something about Owen's life that we didn't include today 415 00:24:25,480 --> 00:24:28,159 Speaker 1: that you want to point out, feel free to write us. 416 00:24:28,200 --> 00:24:31,159 Speaker 1: We're at it try podcast at Discovery dot com. You 417 00:24:31,200 --> 00:24:33,080 Speaker 1: can also look us up on Facebook and we're on 418 00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:36,200 Speaker 1: Twitter at ust Industry, and we have loads of Olympic 419 00:24:36,280 --> 00:24:39,520 Speaker 1: content still coming out. I think in one article that 420 00:24:39,800 --> 00:24:41,679 Speaker 1: you could check out if you want to learn about 421 00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:45,000 Speaker 1: a few more of these individual stories is five amazing 422 00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:47,679 Speaker 1: Olympic athletes. You can search for that on our homepage 423 00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:56,280 Speaker 1: at www dot how stuff works dot com for more 424 00:24:56,320 --> 00:24:58,600 Speaker 1: on this and thousands of other topics. Because at how 425 00:24:58,640 --> 00:25:08,040 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com. The Latin named the Lame and 426 00:25:08,800 --> 00:25:14,320 Speaker 1: Agin named the Lay didn't eat in