GERMANY from 1896-1936 Presented to the Graduate Council
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6061 TO THE BERLIN GAMES: THE OLYMPIC MOVEMENT IN GERMANY FROM 1896-1936 THESIS Presented to the Graduate Council of the North Texas State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Science By William Gerard Durick, B.S. Denton, Texas May, 1984 @ 1984 WILLIAM GERARD DURICK All Rights Reserved Durick, William Gerard, ToThe Berlin Games: The Olympic Movement in Germany From 1896-1936. Master of Science (History), May, 1984, 237epp.,, 4 illustrations, bibliography, 99 titles. This thesis examines Imperial, Weimar, and Nazi Ger- many's attempt to use the Berlin Olympic Games to bring its citizens together in national consciousness and simultane- ously enhance Germany's position in the international com- munity. The sources include official documents issued by both the German and American Olympic Committees as well as newspaper reports of the Olympic proceedings. This eight chapter thesis discusses chronologically the beginnings of the Olympic movement in Imperial Germany, its growth during the Weimar and Nazi periods, and its culmination in the 1936 Berlin Games. Each German government built and improved upon the previous government's Olympic experiences with the National Socialist regime of Adolf Hitler reaping the benefits of forty years of German Olympic participation and preparation. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 0 0 - LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS....... ....--.-.-.-.-.-. iv Chapter I. ....... INTRODUCTION "~ 13 . 13 II. IMPERIAL GERMANY AND THE OLYMPIC GAMES . 42 III. SPORT IN WEIMAR GERMANY . - - IV* SPORT IN NAZI GERMANY. ...... - - - - 74 113 V. THE OLYMPIC BOYCOTT MOVEMENTS . * VI. THE NATIONAL SOCIALISTS AND THE OLYMPIC GAMES .... .. ... - - - .- - - - - - . 159 - .-193 VII. THE OLYMPIC SUMMER . - - .- -. - - 220 VIII. CONCLUSION . * . -* - - - - " . 231 BIBLIOGRAPHY .0. .* - -00- - - - . - -® -* - iii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 1. Reichssportfield .... 95 2. Olympic Stadium. Interior View. 97 3 Swimming Stadium . 99 4. The Olympic Torch Relay Route . 162 iv "AmoolwMWOM-4 I WA*T" "I'll",.11 "1 1111111 1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The preparations were complete. The actors had been selected, rehearsed their scripts, and were now ready for the grand opening. The curtain rose, exposing to the entire world the Berlin showcase--the XI Olympic Games. One hundred and ten thousand spectators filled the newest and largest stadium in the world to witness the long- awaited international festival. The distinguished visitors began to arrive. Heading the list of dignitaries were three individuals largely responsible for this Olympic celebration: Count Henri Baillet-Latour, president of the International Olympic Committee (I.O.C.); Dr. Theodor Lewald, head of the German Olympic Organizing Committee; and Adolf Hitler, chancellor of Germany and patron of the Berlin Games. The triumvirate emerged from the Olympic motorcade and entered the overflowing arena. Kings, crown princes, and distinguished Olympic officials and guests followed. The blast of thirty trumpets greeted the Olympic entourage; a German orchestra and three thousand voice choir escorted the dignitaries with song to their viewing stand--the Tribune of Honor. The Olympic Bell's toll signalled the fifty-three nation athletic parade to begin. Greece, the originator of 1 ----- 2 the Olympic Games, led the nations into the stadium, fol- lowed in alphabetical order by the largest field of participat- ing nations in Olympic history. One by one, each filed past the Olympic viewing stand paying tribute to the Olympic officials. The predominantly German crowd acknowledged each team's arrival with loud and enthusiastic ovations. The Austrians greeted the crowd with the Nazi salute, the Bul- garians goose-stepped, the French gave the Olympic salute, and the Swiss flag bearer entertained the crowd with his juggling tricks. The loudest ovation occurred as the German team, the last team according to Olympic procedure, entered the stadium. The orchestra's rendition of "Deutschland ber Alles", and "Horst Wessellied" brought the German crowd to its feet as they welcomed their team to their Olympic Games. After the teams had settled in their infield position, Dr. Theodor Lewald performed his official Olympic duty. His twenty minute speech eulogized Adolf Hitler as the man most responsible for this great international contest. Hitler then stepped to the microphone and "proclaimed the opening of the Olympic Games of Berlin, celebrating the XI Olympiad of the modern era."l The Olympic flag was then raised, a twenty-one gun salute sounded, twenty thousand doves were released, and the orchestra played the new Olympic Hymn. The last runner of the Olympic relay, holding high the sacred 1 "Olympic Games," Time, 10 August 1936, 40. 3 Olympic flame, appeared at the East Gate. He ran down the stairs, across the arena, and up the West stairs to the Olympic cauldron. Dipping his torch into the bowl, he lit the Olympic fire. The Olympic Games had finally come to Berlin. For the next fifteen days, the world was witness to the achievements and accomplishments of the "new Germany." The Berlin Games afforded the Nazi government a golden opportunity to impress the world with a positive image of the Third Reich. During this Olympic period, Germany's new master dazzled all in attendance and entertained with a splendor that rivaled the displays of le Roi Soleil or.. the Tsars of Russia.2 The Third Reich used the XI Olympic Games to produce the greatest publicity stunt in history with Adolf Hitler emerging as its chief beneficiary. This thesis will attempt to show that the Imperial German government of Kaiser Wilhelm, the Weimar government and the National Socialist government of Adolf Hitler all believed their national life as a whole could only benefit from the healthy enthusiasm and competition found in sport. They supported sport as an agent of German nationalism and a builder of invaluable prestige in the world community. All three governments sought the Olympic Games, the greatest international sports contest, to bring the world to Germany 2 Alan Bullock, Hitler: A Study in Tyranny (New York: Harper and Row, 1962), 355. 4 and use the Games to convince foreigners of the accomplish- ments and achievements of the Fatherland. Imperial Ger- many's preparations of its Olympic team and the Olympic facilities for the VI Olympiad scheduled for Berlin in 1916 was the most complete and determined effort in Olympic his- to tory up to that time. Imperial Germany was determined show the world the best athletic team ever assembled per- forming in the finest athletic facility in the world. The Weimar government sought the Olympic Games to con- vince the world that they were not the outlaws of Europe to be that the Allied Powers had branded them. Germany wanted accepted back into the European community and the Olympic Games would be its opportunity to show the world they were peace loving and were capable of staging a great sports event just as Antwerp, Paris, and Amsterdam had done since the end of the war. The National Socialists used the Olym- pic Games scheduled for Berlin in 1936 to unite the German people and rejuvenate the confidence and pride missing since the Treaty of Versailles. They sought to bring the world to Germany and show foreign visitors the achievements and accomplishments of a peace loving Germany, a new Germany. This thesis, like Richard D. Mandell's The Nazi Olym- pics, will take the reader from Pierre de Coubertin's establishment of the modern Olympic Games in 1894 through the first ten Olympiads and focus on the 1936 Berlin Olym- into-areas pics. This thesis, however, will take the reader - - - - -- - - -- - - 7-1 - m W- 5 that Mandell neglected or only mentioned. A case in point is the 1916 Berlin Games which were cancelled because of World War I. The German preparations for these Games can only help the reader understand the German interest in sport that culminated in the German success in the 1936 Olympic Games. This thesis will also discuss the trip that German sports leaders made to the United States in their attempt to Americanize German sport. It will also discuss the sports movement in Germany after the war in which ath- letic training was based on scientific research and the establishment of German National Games, similar to the Olympic Games in which they were denied. This thesis will also inform the reader of information found concerning the 1936 Olympic Games since the publication of The Nazi Olympics. Chapter II describes Germany's participation in the first five Olympic Games and its acceptance as the site of the VI Olympic Games scheduled for Berlin in 1916 as well as its preparation for both its Olympic team and the Olympic athletic facilities for this grand occasion,. The third chapter recounts the role sport played in Germany during the Weimar period. The chapter ends with Berlin's selection as the site of the XI Olympic Games in 1936. The National Socialist's views toward the Olympic Games are discussed in Chapter IV. This chapter relates . 6 the Nazi totalitarian doctrine as it pertains to sport and in particular to the 1936 Games; how the National Socialists gained control of the German Olympic Committee and prepared the Olympic facilities and Olympic team in a manner that reflected their philosophy. Chapter V describes the reaction throughout Europe and the United States to Nazi totalitarian policies especially Germany's racial policies and their suspected violation of the Olympic ideals. The chapter ends with boycott movements dying and the largest contingent of countries ever to partic- ipate in the Olympic Games coming to Berlin. Chapter VI and VII recount the Olympic sideshow and attractions which the Nazis used to rekindle the pride and glory that was Germany's during the Second Reich; it was Hit- ler's chance to convince the German people of how far they had come since the days of Versailles and how far they were yet to go under his leadership.