Author Evan Weiner joins the library for a virtual presentation about the 1936 &1972 Berlin Olympics

Glickman, Stoller, Bergman, Spitz and Cosell. Germany’s Two Summer Olympics On The Global Stage

There are a few people in Germany who want to see Berlin bid for the 2036 Summer Olympics to mark the 100th anniversary of the Hitler-Nazi Games. The proponents think it could be a teachable time for the world in how propaganda was used to promote the Games and the Nazi regime. The 1936 Olympics in Berlin was described as the finest ever by Avery Brundage who was involved with the Olympics first as an athlete and then the President of the International Olympic Committee. Germany has hosted two Summer Olympics in 1936 and 1972. There was a stain on both athletic competitions.

The 1936 Berlin Olympics was where Marty Glickman and Sam Stoller were denied an opportunity to run and Gretel Bergman was not allowed on the German Olympic team because they were Jewish It is also the story of how some Americans wanted to boycott the Games so it would seems they were not going to legitimize the Nazi regime. It is the story how an American American athlete Jesse Owners ruined Hitler’s coming out party. In 1972, the Black September attack. Mark Spitz won his gold medals at Munich and was considered a high value target as the terrorist attack in the Olympics Village was unfolding. Spitz was whisked out. The International Olympic Committee did not acknowledge the tragedy until 2016.