When Adolf Hitler And The Nazi Party Hosted The 1936 Olympics

JAKARTA - More than 5,000 athletes from 51 countries have filled the Berlin Stadium, Germany. At that time, Nazi leader Adolf Hitler opened the Olympic sporting event on August 1, 1936.

Launching the History page, Berlin was chosen to host the 1936 Olympics at the 29th International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in Barcelona in 1931. This certainty occurred two years before the triumph of Hitler and the Nazi Party in Germany.

The world's most prestigious sporting party opens at the Berlin Stadium. German Hidenburg planes flew over the stadium carrying Olympic flags.

The strains of the German national anthem Deutschland Uber Alles and the Nazi song Horst Wessel Lied, accompanied Hitler's entourage into the stadium. Aubade and parades from each country enter the stadium.

The event began with runners from Greece entering the stadium carrying Olympic torches. This will be the first time the Olympic Torch ceremonial has been held in a relay, starting from Greece, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Czech, Austria, until Germany arrived.

After the ceremonial ceremony, several athletes from various countries entered accompanied by music from the Hyme Olympics. Not a few athletes saluted the Nazis when they passed Hitler. Meanwhile, some others, such as the entourage of the United States (US), only saluted by putting a hat on their chest.

In fact, the US and Great Britain, Sweden and Czechoslovakia had threatened to boycott the event. Because the German actions were increasingly racist with the acts of massacre of the Jews.

To dispel this view, the Nazi Party used propaganda and removed anti-Semitic signs to promote so-called "tolerant Germany" during the Olympics.

International sports events should be a proving moment for every athlete who represents his country. However, this sporting event was tainted by Hitler's ambition.

The German dictator deliberately issued a "special Aryan" policy across German athletes' organizations, in 1933. This sparked global outrage, especially among US athletes.

Because only a few German-Jewish athletes were allowed to compete in the Berlin Olympics. Launch TIME, the US International Olympic Committee

Charles Hitchcock Sherrill, traveled to Germany before the Olympics to ensure that the athlete received the treatment he deserves.

But in fact, after the Berlin Olympics, many athletes of Jewish blood were forced to enter concentration camps during the Holocaust period. Some of them include Ilja Szraibman, a Polish swimmer and Roman Office, a Polish fencer who competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

One lucky athlete was Alfred Nakache, a swimmer from France who had competed in the Berlin Olympics. He made it back to the 1948 Olympics which took place in London after surviving a concentration camp at Auschwitz.