The 2020 Olympic games are happening right now in Tokyo. They will probably be remembered as the 'pandemic/covid games' and take a special place in Olympic history. If you would ask historians about the most significant Olympics in history, most will say Berlin 1936 and start talking about this iconic photo. So what is the story behind it? 

In 1933, Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party had seized all power and started to reform Germany. Hitler wanted to totally reform the country and not only rebuild the broken economy, but also indoctrinate all citizens with Nazi ideology, create perfect citizens and make life miserable for anyone who did not meet the nazi criteria because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, political views, health etc. 

By hosting the Olympics in 1936, Hitler could show Germany's growth and power to the world. He also wanted to prove the superiority of the 'Aryan' race.

It would be a perfect propaganda moment. The Nazi party commissioned Leni Riefenstahl, the famous director who produced more propaganda movies, to capture the olympics. The 1936 Olympics were also the first to be televised and also reached a large public by radio broadcasts.   

Leni Riefenstahl did manage to make a successful movie, but one athlete famously spoiled this big propaganda event for the Nazis. His name was Jesse Owens, an Afro-American athlete from the US. He won four gold medals and showed that the Aryan race was not as superior as HItler claimed, crushing his race theory. On the photo you see him during the award ceremony while the German silver medallist is bringing the Nazi salute. 

Jesse Owens is seen nowadays as an American hero and used in the narrative of the 'good' Americans versus the 'evil' Nazis, but one must also remember that at that time there was no equality in the US between races. One iconic fact illustrating this is that president Roosevelt never invited Owens to the White House to celebrate his successes and that he couldn't enter the hotel where a reception was held for him through the front door. 

Originally posted on Instagram on July 31, 2021