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The 1936 Olympics (Possible Boycott? (United States officials questioned…
The 1936 Olympics
JESSE OWENS
African American from Alabama
Specialized in Track and Sprints
On May 5, 1935 he won three world records and gained the attention of the world.
1936 OLYMPICS
The NAACP asked Jesse Owens and out African American athletes to respond that "If there are minorities in Germany who are being discriminated against, the United States should withdraw from the 1936 Olympics."
But, Jesse Owens and other athletes headed to the Olympics
Though Germany at the time was racist, they welcome Jesse Owens with open arms.
The Jewish American athletes were less welcomed than Owens was.
Jesse Owens won 4 Gold medals!
Jesse Owen's participation in the games symbolized the inequality in American in the face of extreme inequality in Germany.
Ran for Ohio State University
Possible Boycott?
United States officials questioned the morality of Adolf Hitler's anti-semitic and government policies.
President of the Amateur Athletic Union, Judge Jeremiah Mahoney, supported boycotting the 1936 Olympics. He argued that Germany had broken Olympic rules forbidding discrimination based on race and religion. In his view, participation would indicate an endorsement of Hitler's Reich.
Ultimately, the Amatuer Athletic Union voted to participate in the Olympics and individual athletes chose to partcipate as well.
Avery Brundage, president of the American Olympic Committee (AOC), stated: "The very foundation of the modern Olympic revival will be undermined if individual countries are allowed to restrict participation by reason of class, creed, or race."
Historical context
The IOC endorsed the Olympics as a collaboration effort among countries. The Olympics stood to foster equality and healthy athletic competition among any person. International relations would be strengthened and more diplomatic.
In reality, the 1936 Olympic games existed in a great irony. The purpose of healthy competition in the Olympics represented the underlying tensions growing throughout the world.
Ex. Jesse Owens and American racism
Ex. Jewish athletes participating in Germany
Many Jewish athletes were denied participation in events once they got to Berlin. The obvious inequality growing in Germany was obvious.
Today, knowing the things that were happening then, and happened just a few years later shows that Olympics did not necessarily achieve its ideals and goals.
This idea calls into question how much the Olympics plays a role in international relations.
