Myth and History

Sample History Internal Assessment by student at IST via www.activehistory.co.uk Myth and History Did Hitler really snub Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympics? - 1 - Sample History Internal Assessment by student at IST via www.activehistory.co.uk Myth and History............................................................................................................ 1 A. Plan of Investigation ...................................................................................................... 3 B. Summary of Evidence .................................................................................................... 4 C. Evaluation of Sources .................................................................................................... 7 D. Analysis.......................................................................................................................... 8 E. Conclusion................................................................................................................... 11 F. Appendices ................................................................................................................... 12 Appendix 1: Source A: Germany 1919-1945 ............................................................... 12 Appendix 2: Source B: Heroes of Ohio – 23 true tales of courage and character ........ 13 Appendix 3: 110,000 See Owens Set World Record At Olympic Games.................... 14 Appendix 4: “Letters to the Sports Editor” Calls for Fair Play .................................... 15 G. Bibliography ................................................................................................................ 16 - 2 - Sample History Internal Assessment by student at IST via www.activehistory.co.uk A. Plan of Investigation This investigation focuses on the myth surrounding Jesse Owens and Adolph Hitler during the 1936 Olympics. In order to evaluate what actually happened many different sources have been used including interpretations of the event as well as newspaper clippings and sources from the time period. Then we will asses these interpretations in an attempt to discover the truth of the event. In doing so, we will look at the purpose of the creation of the myth and also the effect of myth on history. This investigation does not consider the differences in ideologies of any countries mentioned. - 97 - - 3 - Sample History Internal Assessment by student at IST via www.activehistory.co.uk B. Summary of Evidence In 1936, the world was slowly moving towards World War II. The 1936 Olympics provided a ‘battlefield’ for the ideological struggle between the Aryan race and the rest of the world1. Hitler made the claim that his Aryan race was going to rule the Olympics.2 The popular belief is that Jesse Owens won four gold medals and broke several world records in the face of Hitler’s claim. Then, outraged at Owens’s performance, Hitler refused to shake his hand or be photographed with him.3 However, Rick Shenkman’s Legends, Lies, and cherished Myths of American History counterclaims that the myth concerning Mr. Owens and Adolph Hitler was completely unfounded. However, the synopsis was slightly different. He explains that Hitler had not left Olympic stadium in order to avoid congratulating Owens4. Rather, the event was the result of a previously committed offence against the African Americans5. In addition, Germany outdid the United States in every medal category that year. Hitler had little reason to be angry with his country’s performance. In comparison, the GCSE textbook had apparently left out and changed details. Many texts, of both accounts and historical analyses, have been written on the event. Particularly disturbing were those created for the education of children, the conclusions of which were hauntingly similar to those in Germany 1919-1945. Most portrayd the Fuhrer as an angry racist6. Although, he may have been as such, writers tended to leave out factual evidence in order to strengthen this outlook. Present day 1 “Jesse Owens, a black American athlete, won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. His achievement undermined the Nazi belief in the superiority of Aryan athletes and Hitler refused to congratulate Owens.” Grey, Paul and Little, Rosemary ‘Germany 1919-1945’ (p.257) 2 Streissguth, Thomas, Jesse Owens (A and E biography – The United States had dominated Olympic competition since the early part of the century. 3 “When an aide suggested he invite Owens up to congragulate him (as he had with successful German athletes), Hitler was outraged. ‘Do you really think I will allow myself to be photographed shaking hands with a black man?’ He hissed.” – Dowswell, Paul, True stories of heroes 4 A common misconception 5 “Five minutes before the United States jumpers moved in for the ceremony of the Olympic triumph Hitler left his box [because] Johnson and Albritton are negroes. None of the others were.” Daley, Arthur J., 110,000 See Owens Set World Record At Olympic Games August 3, 1936; The New York Times 6 “The Americans should be ashamed of themselves, letting Negroes win their medals for them. I shall not shake hands with this Negro…Do you really think that I will allow myself to be photographed shaking hands with this Negro?” (Adolph Hitler – www.Historylearningsite.com) - 4 - Sample History Internal Assessment by student at IST via www.activehistory.co.uk writers aiming for a mature audience attempted to set the record straight7. In other cases after Owens proved Hitler’s Aryan race to be little more than hot air, the myth succeeded adding to his already larger than life persona.8 Journalists of the period varied in terms of bias. Some were devoted to pursuing the facts; but a majority fed on the melee that ensued.9 The result was a blend of American and Nazi propaganda. Although the original offence was against Albright and Johnson, Jesse Owens ran soon after and was snubbed by Hitler. While denying the snub at first, Owens reportedly grew tired of the hassle and began to affirm Hitler’s racist atrocity.10 Facts were mingled and Owens, the most well known of the three, emerged as the primary icon of the insult. He came to represent, for the American culture, everything that was wrong with the concept of Aryanism11. On the other hand, the German media seized the opportunity to declare the collapse of the white American athletes12. The fallacy in Germany 1919-1945 opened the door to a new world of question marks. If the past is all of the presents that have been lost due to the passage of time, History then, is the present’s way of discovering the truth of the past. The current debate is whether History is already in existence, and simply waiting to be discovered, or, as the postmodernists argue, that History is an invention created by the historian13. It is not a 7 “The U.S. press, particularly the tabloid newsreels which embraced the propaganda spin of the moment, wrote that Hitler had ‘stormed’ out of the stadium in a ‘tantrum’. The New York Times proclaimed, ‘Hitler greets all medallists except Americans.” Entine, John, Taboo – Why black athletes dominate sports and why we’re afraid to talk about it (p. 184 ) 8– Although Shaap labels Owens a “true revolutionary”, a hero of the US ideology at the time, he argues, after looking at past sources, that a direct snub probably never occurred. Shaap, Jeremy, Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler’s Olympics 9 “ Reams of insanity have been prevalent in the press recently as a result of the failure of Reichsfuehrer Hitler to greet and congratulate Jesse Owens for his Olympic triumphs.” – Calls for Fair Play – The New York Times – Slaughter, Henry A. [Letters to the Sports Editor] – Possibly the myth is due to the fact that Owens was more well known than Johnson and Albritton, thus the American public reacted more strongly to this event, and it was thought that Owens was the primary bearer of the snub. 10 “Owens himself originally insisted it wasn't true, but eventually he began saying it was, apparently out of sheer boredom with the issue.” – Shenkman, Rick, Legends, Lies, and Cherished Myths of American History 11 “The 1936 U.S. Olympic relay team’s victory was…one for humanity.” 12 “German reporters scrambled to turn around the embarrassment and shape it according to Nazi propaganda. They pumped up the myth of the invincible black athlete as an excuse. There were stories of a sorrowful ‘physical decline’ in white American athletes that was so serious that the United States could not hope to compete in sports or war without its ‘black legion’ of ‘differently bred’ gladiators. ‘If the American team had not brought along ‘black auxilaries,’ editorialized one Nazi paper, ‘one would have regarded the United States as the biggest disappointment of the Games.” Entine, John, Taboo – Why black athletes dominate sports and why we’re afraid to talk about it (p. 185) 13 “He sifts, analyses, makes something coherent out of traces which are not in themselves coherent.” - 5 - Sample History Internal Assessment by student at IST via www.activehistory.co.uk contest of right or wrong, rather it is a question of the quality of truth that can be gleaned from the discipline of History. This led me to the question: to what extent is history a myth? The two are very much the same. Both are subject to the simplifying and editing of the historian, or in the case of myth, the story teller. Consider the sources and relics from the past; many facts can be known about ancient civilizations, their cultures, and ways of life. History clearly

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