There are many different factors that have shaped the modern Olympic movement from 1892 to 2002. It was originally revived so people of different races could interact with other people without conflict. They wanted to have a temporary time of international peace. This idea is expressed in Document 1. The author, Pierre de Coubertin, explains how the athletes are exported into other lands without any hostility. The author is credible because he is also the founder of the modern Olympic movement. However, many countries were motivated by political, social, and economical reasons. The reasons altered the competitiveness of the Olympics.…
Many critics talked highly of the Soviet Union when the Olympic games were to be held in Moscow for the 1980 games. Saying that the Soviet Union “is a beacon of peace, democracy, and social progress.” (Doc 6) But when it came to what they Americans thought, it was far from that. Bob Matthias form the United States, once said “You just loved to beat’em. You just had to beat’em.” (Doc 4) This is because of the long rival that these two countries have had ever since the cold war had started. His perception of the Russians was skewed because he had a long standing with them. He didn’t see them as real competitors. Some countries always went up and down, like Pakistan. There “social values which have shrunk from that of national pride to self-promotion.” (Doc 10) Ali Kabir, a sports writer states that they have lost what has once made them great, and that is work. “The current national team is clueless and has tarnished the country’s name.” For a few countries it was more than national pride, for Japan it was more of a national crusade. They felt that this was a perfect time to come back as a world trade power. (Doc 5) For other countries like Germany, it was also more than just national pride. For Hitler it was a way to show that Germans were superior. He always made protests that always helped the Germans and no one else. (Doc 3) Although he was less concerned about medals, he was more concerned about…
In some ways, the 1936 Berlin Olympics were a propaganda coup for the Nazis. This was because they placed a great emphasis upon physical…
Another reflection of the Olympics is the state of the economy. If you read document 5, it talks about a major from Japan wanted the 1964 games to be held in his country. Ryutaro Azuma wanted the games to be held in Tokyo because he believed that it would help the economy and the trades in Japan get stronger. It worked well and in document 7 you can see that Japan is one of the countries, as well as the United States, that gets selected to be one of nine of the sponsors for the 1988 Olympic Games. To be able to become a sponsor, your country has to be able to avail itself of an opportunity to display its industrial and economic power to a worldwide televised…
Political tensions were also another factor that shaped the Olympics. A 1936 British Olympic team official, Arnold Lunn, stated that the Nazi skiers would use any method possible to win the games (Doc 3). Bob Matthias, a United States…
Adolf Hitler was the leader of the Nazi party when it came into power in 1933. He personally didn’t like the idolization of the modern Olympiad. The real reason for hosting the Olympics and not canceling was to show off the “New Germany” as suggested by Minister of propaganda Joseph Goebbels (Bachrach Pg.32-33). This was his chance to show the world his military and Aryan superiority (Encyclopedia Pg.1). At the 1936 Olympiad, a total of 49 countries,…
There were no limitations to Hitler’s elaborate plan to promote propaganda in every sector of the games. He intended the 1936 Olympics to be greater than any sporting event created and therefore careful planning was crucial for absolute effectiveness (). Diem designed medals, awards certification, new gold chain of office for international committee members, special postage stamps and advertised posters, press passes and entrance tickets (87, Mandell). The new electronic innovations were created to improve the speakers for the new stadiums consisting of 100,000 people (87, Mandell). The Nuremberg rallies speakers were of good use for the German electrical industry to enhance the voice for the Olympics games therefore increase the power of…
The prologue is set in Greece, displaying the columns of the Parthenon and the Diskobolos of Myron. The use of this Greek heritage implies a connection between the ancient roots of the Olympic Games to that of the German nation. When further researching my topic I found an interesting statement, that Hitler himself took a likening to the artworks of the Ancient Greeks as he found their artwork void from any Jewish influence. This perhaps explains the homage to the roots of the Olympics at the start of Olympia.…
In a time period with a stalemate such as the Cold War nobody knows what to think and any positive info feels like a triumph. The way the game against the Soviets affected them was by inspiring the people of the U.S. restoring their nationalism. The boycott in 1980 was “The most extensive diplomatic effort ever connected with an Olympic celebration and demonstrated unequivocally that nations saw the Olympics as an effective tool to try to influence the foreign policy of nations with opposing political ideologies.” Meaning the U.S. directly used the Olympics to try and change the Soviet Union’s mind on their affairs in Afghanistan. Although President Reagan understood The Soviet Union’s real reason for boycotting 1984 the people of the Soviet Union did not and the athletes were upset.…
The 1936 Berlin Olympics were the first Olympic Games to ever be televised. Many countries around the world compete in a sporting event called the Olympic Games, and although considered an athletic event, some countries have taken it upon themselves to also make a political statement. The 1936 Olympics, for example, used physical competition as a means of superiority to other competing nations, while also proving their governmental power (Bendersky 37). For two weeks in August, Adolf Hitler’s Nazi dictatorship camouflaged itself in the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympic Games, hiding its real agenda; the regime exploited the Games to bedazzle the world, and to fool it with an image of a peaceful, tolerant Germany.…
The Olympics of 1936 were perhaps one of the most controversial and iconic sporting events that have taken place in history. This was caused in large part by the circumstances surrounding the games and was complicated by the many world conflicts taking place. Because he had been elected chancellor of Germany in 1933, Hitler was in charge of the games and the proceedings that would follow. Given his record of discriminatory behaviors like devising the Final Solution, Jews and other undesirables were not allowed to participate. In addition, HItler frequently chose not to acknowledge medalist winners that he rejected. Three important components of the Olympics of 1936 include Jesse Owens’ record-breaking performances in the games, the discrimination of the Jews, the start of propagandization.…
“The committee hoped this would help Germany return to the world community after its isolation in the aftermath of defeat in World War I” (The Nazi Olympics…). Two years after awarded the 1936 Olympic games, Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany and quickly turned Germany’s democracy into a one-party dictatorship. This dictatorship persecuted Jews, Gypsies, and all political opponents. The Nazi claim to control all aspects of German life also extended to sports. Adolf Hitler did not want the games to go on but saw them as a good…
The 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre was the bloodiest hostage taking the world had yet seen. It was a devastating situation which no one was expecting, let alone prepared for. The Munich massacre will be remembered as the beginning of the new age of international terrorism.…
Leni Riefenstahl later staged the torch relay for the 1938 film Olympia. The film was part of the Nazi propaganda machine's attempt to add myth and mystique to Adolf Hitler's regime. Hitler saw the link with the ancient Games as the perfect way to illustrate his belief that classical Greece was an Aryan forerunner of the modern German Reich.…
If several hundred years from now archaeologist were investigating our society, they would find endless examples of sport in the United States: stadiums, swimming pools, running shoes, hockey sticks, skis, baseball gloves, posters of sports stars, etc. Even today a basic survey of our country would reveal sports and physical education everywhere: Little League baseball, Physical Education classes, Special Olympics, neighbourhood basketball, jogging, and televised professional sports. Various forms of sport and physical education have been around since the late 1400's and have only gained momentum and recognition in the centuries that followed. One of the first men to recognize the importance of physical activity in school curriculum was Johann Bernard Basedow in Germany. He included gymnastics as part of the daily curriculum devoting up to three hours per day to educating through the physical. Basedow required a specific uniform for his students so they could have unrestricted movement. He also offered camp for two months during the summer for his students. In 1810 Friedrich Jahn, "the father of gymnastics", began working outdoors with his students using simple exercises and games sometimes taking long hikes. The thing that motivated Jahn to develop a system of physical training was his deep sense of patriotism. Germany had been soundly defeated in the Napoleonic wars. So, he developed his system with the hopes of creating strong, sturdy and fearless youth who would help secure Germany's freedom and could defend the Fatherland from outside forces. Charles Beck who was a student, friend and follower of Friedrich Jahn teamed up with a friend and they made their way to Switzerland, France and eventually America. George Bancroft who had opened the Round Hill School in America had been looking at and studying the German system and immediately hired Beck to teach Latin and Physical Education in the form of German gymnastics. So,…