Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

International Olympics Committee removes video celebrating 1936 Berlin Olympics

(JTA) — The International Olympics Committee apologized for including a video of the first Olympic torch relay at the 1936 Berlin Olympics along with the words “stronger together” in a series of short videos celebrating the “message of unity and solidarity” of the Olympics.

But the apology did not note the substance of the objection to the inclusion of the video.

The Nazis used those Olympics to spread their propaganda and showcase Germany as a model country. Two American sprinters were kept from participating because they were Jewish.

The video was posted Thursday, exactly one year before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics — postponed due to the coronavirus crisis — are slated to start. It was removed by Friday following a flood of negative responses.

The Auschwitz Memorial and Museum condemned the IOC in a tweet.

“For 2 weeks the Nazi dictatorship camouflaged its racist, militaristic character. It exploited the Games to impress foreign spectators with an image of a peaceful, tolerant Germany,” the tweet said. “Later, Germany’s expansionism, the persecution of Jews & other ‘enemies of the state’ accelerated.”

A second tweet suggested that the IOC turn to information about those Olympics on the website of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial and Museum.

In its tweeted apology, the the IOC said: “We apologize to those who feel offended by the film of the Olympic Games Berlin 1936. We have deleted this film, which was part of the series of films featuring the message of unity and solidarity, from the @Olympics.”

The IOC said in a series of tweets that the video included information about Black American athlete Jesse Owens, who “had to suffer at home from the painful reality of racial segregation,” but that “in the Olympic Village he was living together as an equal with all the other athletes, enjoying the same rights.”

It never uses the words Nazi or Hitler.

The post International Olympics Committee removes tweeted video celebrating 1936 Berlin Olympics appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.