Kosher Bookworm

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Nazi Games: The Olympics of 1936 by Dr. David Clay Large

Reviewed by Alan Jay Gerber

Issue of August 15, 2008

The Olympic Games in Communist-ruled China are nearly half over. Much has been written about this international athletic event, the first held in a totalitarian state since 1980, but it is not my intention to reprise those articles and opinions. Rather, I would like to bring to your attention a unique and historically interesting book on the most infamous Olympic Games of all, the Berlin Olympics of 1936.

I am assuming a certain amount of knowledge on the part of the reader concerning the historical events of that era. Yes, Hitler and his Nazi stooges ruled Berlin in 1936. Yes, those Olympics were a propaganda boon to a public relations-starved, totalitarian state, stained with the stigma of bigotry and war-like bluster. And yes, this book, entitled "Nazi Games" by Dr. David Clay Large, an acclaimed and accomplished historian of modern Germany, deals extensively with the history of just about everything about the events and personalities of the 1936 games.

Dr. Large, in close to 400 pages, introduces us to the heroes and anti-heroes of those games. Large paints a graphic picture of the bigotry and anti-Semitism and otherwise indifference of prominent Americans who turned a deaf ear and a blind eye to what Hitler represented.

Led by Avery Brundage, the villain of this epic, the Olympic leadership simply could not care less as to the rancid nature of Hitler's Germany, and of the PR boost the Berlin games would provide for fascism and its followers, worldwide. Large had access to all the files relating to these games. He describes the hateful inner thoughts and mouthings of Brundage, and even of members of the Roosevelt administration toward Jews - and toward those who were in sympathy with the Jews' plight. Yet, there is more to this Olympic saga that Large brings to our attention.

The myths of that era that Large exposes concern the regard that American athlete Jesse Owens, who was black, had toward Adolph Hitler. Long thought to be the target of racist derision by Hitler and his entourage at the games, Large informs us, in a non-sensational manner, that Owens, a darling of civil rights advocates, reacted in a manner that would totally amaze the contemporary leader. At best, we can describe his reaction as "clueless."

According to Large, Owens himself had no inkling of any animosity toward him by the Fuhrer. He certainly never claimed to have been snubbed by Hitler. On the contrary, on his return to America after the Games, he told an audience of 1,000 blacks in Kansas City, MO that it was President Roosevelt and not Hitler who had shown him disrespect at his moment of triumph in Berlin.

"Hitler didn't snub me - it was our president who snubbed me. The president didn't even send me a telegram."

Owens also claimed that while he managed not to meet Hitler in Berlin, he had once caught the Fuhrer's eye at the stadium and that Hitler had gracefully acknowledged him. Later Owens described Hitler as a "man of dignity."

Now that's a mouthful that flies directly in the face of one of the greatest myths of the '36 games.

Another myth that is questioned was whether it was bigotry and anti-Semitism that blocked the participation of American athlete Marty Glickman, a Brooklyn native (of Borough Park) from the games. Large claims that contrary to all the protestations by Glickman, who went on to become a prominent sportscaster to several generations of sports fans, there is no evidence in writing that anti-Semitism was a factor in the blocking of Glickman from the games. This fact even extended to the private files of Brundage who was long suspected by many, including Glickman, to have been behind his exclusion. They provide no mention of this sad episode.

Large's book provides us with detailed descriptions of how the Nazis went to great pains to remove all anti-Semitic signs, posters and other bigoted displays throughout Germany during the duration of the games. Other episodes in the book deal with the interesting role played by Hitler's favorite movie film producer in the filming of the Olympics at the Nazi government's behest. The details brought forth here further confirm the deep Nazi sympathies of Leni Riefenstahl, who went out of her way to give the Nazis a most favorable face as the hosts for this premier international event. Her Nazism is indisputable, despite her later protestations.

Also of interest is the role that American aviation hero Charles Lindbergh played in the propaganda hype on behalf of his Nazi hosts before and during the games. His treason was to become one of the great and true legends of the pre-war era. The Olympics in Berlin only provided for him just another venue to display his hatred for our people.

Historically, Jews were no strangers to the Olympic scene, having played in previous Olympics, and were destined to play continuously in just about every Olympic game after the war. Here are just a couple of examples for your edification.

In a sensitive article in The Jewish Week, writer Steve Lipman relates the saga of Attila Petschauer, a native of Budapest, who won gold and silver medals in the 1928 and 1932 Olympic games. Unfortunately, he was to become a victim in the Holocaust where he died a gruesome death in a slave labor camp in the Ukraine.

Petschauer's legacy is memorialized by a distant cousin of his, Richard Markowitz, a Hewlett internist, with the establishment of The 2008 Petschauer Sabre Open to be held at Vassar College this coming September 14.

In a recent essay penned by Carrie Kahn for NPR, she related the participation of her grandfather, Sam Balter, who according to her, would not let anything stop him from participating in the 1936 Olympics. Although he did not actually play in any basketball game, his team did win and as a member of that team, he, too, won a gold medal. Kahn relates how her then 26-year old grandfather marched in front of Hitler and flaunted his gold medal to the world. In later life he developed a successful career as a sportscaster.

Coming back to the book under review, I would like to devote a few words about the author, Dr. David Clay Large, a true "oheiv yisrael."

Large is a gifted teacher of Modern German history, and teaches at both Montana State University and in San Francisco, California.

Dr. Large was an accomplished athlete who ran the marathon in Berlin some years ago, sculled on the Muggelsee where the rowing events were held, and hiked the ski hills above Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the site of the 1936 Winter Olympics. This experience gives Large an added dimension to his ability to tackle so delicate a topic as the 1936 Olympics. It was as if he was personally there.

Among his previous works that I am familiar with are "And The World Closed Its Doors: One Family's Abandonment to the Holocaust," and "Berlin," a detailed history of that city. Large is no stranger to Holocaust history and his work should be recognized accordingly.

I trust that as you continue to watch the current incarnation of the Olympics being held in a communist country, you consider the past history of the 1936 Olympics and of the lessons unlearned. Consider this: when the International Olympic Committee decided to hold the 2008 games in Communist China, its president, Sandra Baldwin stated, "I think the Olympics should supersede politics, it is the greatest peacetime event in the world."

Hmm...to which I would join with Dr. Large in stating in the firmest of terms: "One can almost hear Avery Brundage cheering from the grave."