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Two years before Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany in January 1933, the International Olympic Committee awarded the 1936 Summer Olympics to Berlin. These games would become a propaganda bonanza for the Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.
In just the first months of Hitler’s appointment as chancellor of Germany, he consolidated his power and began implementing his antisemitic policies. His Nazi regime opened Dachau, the first Nazi concentration camp, to imprison their political opponents. They organized a boycott of Jewish businesses, removed Jews from some of the professions and excluded Jewish and Roma (Gypsy) athletes from all German sports organizations.
Nazi racial ideology motivated some democratic nations to consider boycotting the 1936 Nazi Olympics. Avery Brundage, president of the American Olympic Committee, maintained that the Olympics should not be influenced by politics, and that the United States should send their athletes to Berlin. Echoing Nazi propaganda, he alleged that a Jewish-Communist conspiracy was responsible for the opposition to hold the games in Berlin. Boycott supporters believed that the United States would be endorsing the Nazi racial policies if they participated. They also recognized that holding the games in Berlin would be a propaganda coup for the Nazis. Some American Jewish athletes decided individually to boycott the Nazi Olympics. Ultimately, Avery Brundage manipulated the American Olympic Committee to vote in favor of participation in the games.
A huge sports stadium was constructed in Berlin. Behind the scenes, there was a mass roundup of Roma in the city. They were interned in a camp outside of Berlin. Shortly before the games began, antisemitic posters and signs were temporarily taken down.
The games were officially opened on August 1, 1936. Hitler presided over the event. The Olympic torch, having been carried from Athens to Berlin by over 3,000 runners, was brought into the stadium. Athletes from 49 countries marched with their teams around the venue. The American team, which had some Black and Jewish athletes, was led by Avery Brundage. The competitions were about to begin.