Why Nazi Germany Needed To Host The 1936 Olympics?

Millions of viewers are glued to their television every two years to watch in anticipation as their respective countries participate in the thrilling Olympic games. This was started in 1936 when the first ever televised Olympic games were hosted by Nazi Germany. These Olympics were hosted during a fretful and politically hazardous time, many countries were picking sides and others were unsure which was the right side to pick, and there was controversy on whether or not many countries would attend or boycott. Germany was first chosen to host in 1914, but World War I started. They were chosen to host the 1936 Olympics because the other countries wanted to give them something to be pleased about and stop all their racism. Jews were allowed to
E was never very fond of the games. Joseph Goebbels, head of Nazi Propaganda, approached Hitler and informed him that this would be the perfect opportunity to present how magnificent Germany was. Germany believed that they had the best athletes and were the stalwart, magnificent country. Joseph Goebbel stated, “German sport has only one task: to strengthen the character of the German people, imbuing it with the fighting spirit and steadfast camaraderie necessary in the struggle for its existence" (Goebbels). What Goebbels meant by this statement was, that the Nazi’s only saw the Olympics as the means to an ends; to show how athletic, monumental, powerful, and wealthy Germany
Hitler entered the stadium in great pomp and ceremony, welcomed by fanfare and musicals directed by the famous composer, Richard Strauss. Hundreds of athletes marched into the stadium in full glory, in alphabetical order, greeted by millions of cheering spectators, most of the viewers there were German citizens. The Nazi’s were the ones who invented the tradition of having a lone runner run into the stadium bearing the Olympic flame from the site of the first Olympics; and also of having a dramatic and spectacular opening ceremony. A correspondent named William Shirer stated, “First, the Nazis have run the Games on a lavish scale never before experienced, and this has appealed to the athletes. Second, the Nazis have put up a very good front for the general visitors, especially big businessmen" (Shirer). This was the first time that such spectacular shows had been seen at an Olympic games before and this appealed to everyone both athlete and spectator. These Olympics had the most participants, 49 countries were participating. This was a higher country count than ever before. The Netherlands, Czechoslovakia, and Soviet Union had all boycotted, and the Soviet Union would not participate again until 1952. The Nazi’s chose to have a movie made about these games, made by Leni Riefensthal, to show the triumphs of