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Nazi Games: The Olympics of 1936
Athletics and politics collide in a critical event for Nazi Germany and the contemporary world. The torch relay―that staple of Olympic pageantry―first opened the summer games in 1936 in Berlin. Proposed by the Nazi Propaganda Ministry, the relay was to carry the symbolism of a new Germany across its route through southeastern and central Europe. Soon after the Wehrmacht would march in jackboots over the same terrain.
The Olympic festival was a crucial part of the Nazi regime's mobilization of power. Nazi Games offers a superb blend of history and sport. The narrative includes a stirring account of the international effort to boycott the games, derailed finally by the American Olympic Committee and the determination of its head, Avery Brundage, to participate. Nazi Games also recounts the dazzling athletic feats of these Olympics, including Jesse Owens's four gold-medal performances and the marathon victory of Korean runner Kitei Son, the Rising Sun of imperial Japan on his bib. 25 b/w photographs
The Olympic festival was a crucial part of the Nazi regime's mobilization of power. Nazi Games offers a superb blend of history and sport. The narrative includes a stirring account of the international effort to boycott the games, derailed finally by the American Olympic Committee and the determination of its head, Avery Brundage, to participate. Nazi Games also recounts the dazzling athletic feats of these Olympics, including Jesse Owens's four gold-medal performances and the marathon victory of Korean runner Kitei Son, the Rising Sun of imperial Japan on his bib. 25 b/w photographs
424 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2007
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543 people want to read
About the author
David Clay Large
26 books15 followersDavid Clay Large is a senior fellow at the Institute of European Studies, University of California, Berkeley, and professor of history at the Fromm Institute, University of San Francisco. He has also taught at Smith College, Yale University, and Montana State University.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
July 21, 2014
Avery Brundage- the famous IOC president famously said that the Olympics should exist above the political issues of the day. This is ironic considering that every modern Olympics from the Greek revival through the recently completed Sochi Games has been subject to some sort of political intrigue. It is further ironic considering Mr. Brundage’s own actions in the lead-up into the highly controversial Berlin Summer Olympics of 1936, which brought into question the very spirit of the Olympics, that Brundage so championed.
Nazi Games by David Clay Large is primarily about the political and social contexts of the Berlin Games, although many pages in the tail end of the book are dedicated to the athletic events themselves. Nazi Games is in equal parts informative and entertaining as it is utterly infuriating. I say infuriating in that we have a group of men who talked about Olympic ideals of a shared peace and equality through sport and yet fought so ruthlessly against people who advocated a boycott on the grounds of German treatment of minorities, particularly Jews.
Nazi Games is a story about how the Reich government exploited the Olympic movement to conceal their ultimate militaristic intentions against the rest of the world. It is also a story about how the IOC willfully turned a blind eye to the marginalization and persecution of Jews and other minorities within the Third Reich by taking the word of German officials as the gospel. By accepting the whitewashed view presented by Hitler’s cronies, the members of the IOC damaged the Olympic movement by accepting racism and entrenched the marriage between the Olympics and politics that endures today.
Nazi Games by David Clay Large is primarily about the political and social contexts of the Berlin Games, although many pages in the tail end of the book are dedicated to the athletic events themselves. Nazi Games is in equal parts informative and entertaining as it is utterly infuriating. I say infuriating in that we have a group of men who talked about Olympic ideals of a shared peace and equality through sport and yet fought so ruthlessly against people who advocated a boycott on the grounds of German treatment of minorities, particularly Jews.
Nazi Games is a story about how the Reich government exploited the Olympic movement to conceal their ultimate militaristic intentions against the rest of the world. It is also a story about how the IOC willfully turned a blind eye to the marginalization and persecution of Jews and other minorities within the Third Reich by taking the word of German officials as the gospel. By accepting the whitewashed view presented by Hitler’s cronies, the members of the IOC damaged the Olympic movement by accepting racism and entrenched the marriage between the Olympics and politics that endures today.
January 27, 2023
This year, I am marking 50 years as a professional journalist, mainly focusing on coverage of religious and cultural diversity. For that reason, I have been reading a good deal about a pivotal moment in shaping our current history: the era of World War II and the Holocaust.
I am impressed with David Clay Large's breadth of research in producing this book. He not only has looked at the array of global media concerning the rise of the Third Reich and the convoluted politics of Olympic history, but also has looked into the many sports associated with this milestone in Olympic games and even into the work of Leni Reifenstahl and her Olympia films.
It's got the comprehensive breadth that I appreciate as a journalist.
I recently reviewed Rick Atkinson's trilogy on World War II and would compare Large's work favorably to Atkinson's in-depth style of reporting how events affected people in many different situations around these events.
The most important value of this book is correcting the myth that somehow Jessie Owens' appearance in Berlin upset Hitler's hopes for these Olympic games. In fact, Large documents that Owens was startlingly accommodating of the Nazis before, during and after the games. And, in terms of a larger balance of the games' impact, the Nazis succeeded in their plans to aggrandize themselves with this spectacle.
Especially when Riefenstahl's films debuted later, the Nazis felt they had benefited hugely from these games. Owens' victories were a minor story in the overall epic that Nazi planners achieved here. As a film historian myself, I also was pleased at Large's detailed reporting on Riefenstahl's work and on her films. For example, he points out how prints of the film for German audiences revealed obviously Nazi-friendly phrasings in the narration, which were removed or softened in prints available for distribution outside the homeland.
This is a book well worth reading today.
I am impressed with David Clay Large's breadth of research in producing this book. He not only has looked at the array of global media concerning the rise of the Third Reich and the convoluted politics of Olympic history, but also has looked into the many sports associated with this milestone in Olympic games and even into the work of Leni Reifenstahl and her Olympia films.
It's got the comprehensive breadth that I appreciate as a journalist.
I recently reviewed Rick Atkinson's trilogy on World War II and would compare Large's work favorably to Atkinson's in-depth style of reporting how events affected people in many different situations around these events.
The most important value of this book is correcting the myth that somehow Jessie Owens' appearance in Berlin upset Hitler's hopes for these Olympic games. In fact, Large documents that Owens was startlingly accommodating of the Nazis before, during and after the games. And, in terms of a larger balance of the games' impact, the Nazis succeeded in their plans to aggrandize themselves with this spectacle.
Especially when Riefenstahl's films debuted later, the Nazis felt they had benefited hugely from these games. Owens' victories were a minor story in the overall epic that Nazi planners achieved here. As a film historian myself, I also was pleased at Large's detailed reporting on Riefenstahl's work and on her films. For example, he points out how prints of the film for German audiences revealed obviously Nazi-friendly phrasings in the narration, which were removed or softened in prints available for distribution outside the homeland.
This is a book well worth reading today.
February 23, 2021
Took me longer to read than expected, because I found myself looking up breifly mentioned people on wikipedia every other page. The book may have dragged at points, but it gave a very in depth look at all of the events leading up to, and surrounding, the 1936 Olympics. I especially enjoyed the epilogue where the impact of the 1936 games on future olympics was discussed.
February 5, 2020
A very good read. The background details on the Winter Games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and on the various boycott campaigns were especially interesting.
June 7, 2019
I've read "The boys in the boat", one of my favorite books ever and new about Olympia, so I really wanted to find out more. This book delivers.
This is a very detailed account of the Olympic games held in Nazi Germany, the controversy surrounding them, boycott movements, treatment of minorities, the blend of sports and politics and of course the games themselves and their outcomes. The author did a great job with research - this book is very meticulous and detailed and analyzes the games from many points of view. It's also a pretty entertaining read which does not shy away from showing the hypocrisy of boycotting the Olympics in USA due to the treatment of Jews while black Americans were not allowed to train together with whites back at home.
Overall, a very informative book giving me the information I was looking for. When it comes to a book with heart though, The boys in the boat remains my choice.
This is a very detailed account of the Olympic games held in Nazi Germany, the controversy surrounding them, boycott movements, treatment of minorities, the blend of sports and politics and of course the games themselves and their outcomes. The author did a great job with research - this book is very meticulous and detailed and analyzes the games from many points of view. It's also a pretty entertaining read which does not shy away from showing the hypocrisy of boycotting the Olympics in USA due to the treatment of Jews while black Americans were not allowed to train together with whites back at home.
Overall, a very informative book giving me the information I was looking for. When it comes to a book with heart though, The boys in the boat remains my choice.
January 6, 2018
Summer Olympics of 1936 was an opportunity for Nazi Germany to showcase itself, ideology and everything, to the world. Indeed, it spared no expenses in preparing for it. However, for all of the rhetorics about supremacy of the ‘Aryan race’, Jesse Owens and other ‘Black Auxiliaries’ from USA brought embarassment to the faces of Hitler when they came to dominate the track and field numbers. The other irony was that, being a masculine society, the Germans came to depend to the number of medals won by women to assure itself of the first place in national medal rankings. Other than that, 1936 Olympics featured many new things at the time, the mass usage of radio coverage, for example. The book also featured many interesting moments in 1936, the politics behind the decision to grant the Olympics to Germany, and also the future politicization of Olympics, just like in 1980 and 1984.
January 29, 2022
It took me some time to get into this book (it’s pretty long) but once I did, I couldn’t put it down. It was extremely detailed and informative but never dry or boring, which is never an easy feat for non-fiction. The history that led to 1936 Games, the protests with which they were met, the mood in Berlin before and during the Games and the competitions themselves are often described through bits of interviews of participants themselves, journalists who witnessed the events surrounding the Games, which makes the narration even more interesting. Objectively written and meticulously researched, “Nazi Games” offers almost an insider’s glimpse into the most controversial Olympic Games.
July 20, 2020
LIBRO CHE PARLA DI SPORT Germania 1936, Hitler è da 3 anni al potere per consolidarlo ha bisogno di un evento che gli consenta di guadagnare consenso anche all'estero. Nonostante si fosse sempre dichiarato contrario, reputa che le Olimpiadi invernali e quelle estive del 1936 saranno il palco sul quale il nazismo metterà in scena un maestoso spettacolo.
Libro ricco di aneddoti sull'organizzazione delle Olimpiadi di Hitler.
Libro ricco di aneddoti sull'organizzazione delle Olimpiadi di Hitler.
September 27, 2013
A Thorough Examination of the ‘36 Games …
Having been previously impressed by David Clay Large’s detailed account of the tragic ’72 Summer Games (“Munich 1972”), I was more than eager to delve into the story of the 1936 Olympic Games held in Germany. With NAZI GAMES, Large provides an equally enthralling and informative look at how athletics took a back seat to politics in the first truly modernized Olympics.
It is both disappointing and ironic that (arguably) the two most iconic symbols of the 1936 Olympic Games are Jessie Owens and Adolph Hitler. One would have to dig fairly deep to find any definitive information on the ‘36 Summer Games (aside from seeing Leni Riefenstahl’s remarkable and lengthy 1938 film, “Olympia”), let alone realize the Winter Games of that year were held in Germany as well. What NAZI GAMES does is provide a well-written and authoritative summary of the entire ‘36 Olympics and underscores their significance in athletics as well as modern world history.
As with most Olympics, global politics plays a huge role as to which country is permitted to host the Games and nowhere is this more evident than the IOC’s controversial decision to award Germany the ‘36 Games. Still facing global condemnation for being the main aggressor in the disaster known as World War I, the “new” Germany under Hitler was eager to prove itself as a reformed society and regain its place as a major world power. Large delves into the fragile decision to let Germany host both the summer and winter Games, even though the world was well aware of the alarming rise of social repression and anti-Semitism at the hand of the Nazis (who smartly reminded the politically powerful United States of America’s own on-going racial issues). The back-and-forth debate of this period (rife with threats of boycott) highlighted the weakness and fear of Western Europe and the obvious economic and political pull of the United States and its cranky IOC representative Avery Brundage (who also played a crucial role in awarding Munich the Games in 1972 and someone David Clay Large does not view favorably in either book).
While NAZI GAMES covers both summer and winter Games, most of the attention is diverted to the summer Games in Berlin, designated by Hitler as the quintessential event to showcase the “superior” Nazi state to the world. The much smaller-scaled Winter Games (held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen) are covered in the book, but they are portrayed more as a tune-up for the massive propaganda project being prepared for Berlin. Large details the extent of Germany’s investment toward the Summer Games … economically and politically. It is quite interesting to see the efforts made to hide anti-Semitism and political/social suppression during the Olympics, alluding to this brief period as being the eye of the Nazi hurricane for those targeted by the Nazis. While history may dictate the Berlin Games being viewed in a negative light, Large reminds readers of its significance in terms of truly modernizing the Olympics by showcasing the first televised broadcast, using aerial photography, advanced filming techniques, sport-specific architecture and the introduction of new sports (Alpine skiing in the Winter Games and baseball, as an exhibition sport, in the Summer Games).
The chapters devoted to actual athletic competition are more-or-less summaries with notable highlights being detailed. While the spectacular exploits of Jesse Owens gets ample coverage, Large digs deeper and provides readers with an in-depth perspective of Owens’ Olympic experience including controversies within the American track and field delegation and Owens’ heartwarming friendship with a German competitor. I found much of the coverage of the various competitions to be particularly well-written and exhilarating as some of the competitions seem to take on a life of their own. Interesting facts and smaller storylines, such as the death toll on horses during the equestrian events or US decathlete Glenn Morris’ infatuation with filmmaker Riefenstahl are peppered throughout and add to the overall picture of the Games.
NAZI GAMES concludes by putting the 1936 Olympics in perspective as fleeting moment of universal celebration before the world descends into a total nightmare. We learn that a significant number of the German medalists were killed in the war (including Jesse Owens’ friend Luz Long). While World War II dictated that no Olympics would be held again for another twelve years, Germany had to wait thirty-six years before it would receive another opportunity to prove itself worthy of hosting another Olympics, only to have the ghosts of 1936 rise again.
I found NAZI GAMES to be a delightfully informative read as there was so much more to the 1936 Olympics than Hitler and Jesse Owens; much, much more. After finishing the book, it is hard not to see these particular Olympics as one of the most significant Games in history due to its timing and locale. Individual stories within the 36 Games were significant enough to spawn two current best-selling books “Unbroken” and “The Boys in the Boat” (which is one of the more compelling athletic accounts in NAZI GAMES). I credit David Clay Large in providing such a well-written, interesting account of a forgotten chapter in sports history.
Having been previously impressed by David Clay Large’s detailed account of the tragic ’72 Summer Games (“Munich 1972”), I was more than eager to delve into the story of the 1936 Olympic Games held in Germany. With NAZI GAMES, Large provides an equally enthralling and informative look at how athletics took a back seat to politics in the first truly modernized Olympics.
It is both disappointing and ironic that (arguably) the two most iconic symbols of the 1936 Olympic Games are Jessie Owens and Adolph Hitler. One would have to dig fairly deep to find any definitive information on the ‘36 Summer Games (aside from seeing Leni Riefenstahl’s remarkable and lengthy 1938 film, “Olympia”), let alone realize the Winter Games of that year were held in Germany as well. What NAZI GAMES does is provide a well-written and authoritative summary of the entire ‘36 Olympics and underscores their significance in athletics as well as modern world history.
As with most Olympics, global politics plays a huge role as to which country is permitted to host the Games and nowhere is this more evident than the IOC’s controversial decision to award Germany the ‘36 Games. Still facing global condemnation for being the main aggressor in the disaster known as World War I, the “new” Germany under Hitler was eager to prove itself as a reformed society and regain its place as a major world power. Large delves into the fragile decision to let Germany host both the summer and winter Games, even though the world was well aware of the alarming rise of social repression and anti-Semitism at the hand of the Nazis (who smartly reminded the politically powerful United States of America’s own on-going racial issues). The back-and-forth debate of this period (rife with threats of boycott) highlighted the weakness and fear of Western Europe and the obvious economic and political pull of the United States and its cranky IOC representative Avery Brundage (who also played a crucial role in awarding Munich the Games in 1972 and someone David Clay Large does not view favorably in either book).
While NAZI GAMES covers both summer and winter Games, most of the attention is diverted to the summer Games in Berlin, designated by Hitler as the quintessential event to showcase the “superior” Nazi state to the world. The much smaller-scaled Winter Games (held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen) are covered in the book, but they are portrayed more as a tune-up for the massive propaganda project being prepared for Berlin. Large details the extent of Germany’s investment toward the Summer Games … economically and politically. It is quite interesting to see the efforts made to hide anti-Semitism and political/social suppression during the Olympics, alluding to this brief period as being the eye of the Nazi hurricane for those targeted by the Nazis. While history may dictate the Berlin Games being viewed in a negative light, Large reminds readers of its significance in terms of truly modernizing the Olympics by showcasing the first televised broadcast, using aerial photography, advanced filming techniques, sport-specific architecture and the introduction of new sports (Alpine skiing in the Winter Games and baseball, as an exhibition sport, in the Summer Games).
The chapters devoted to actual athletic competition are more-or-less summaries with notable highlights being detailed. While the spectacular exploits of Jesse Owens gets ample coverage, Large digs deeper and provides readers with an in-depth perspective of Owens’ Olympic experience including controversies within the American track and field delegation and Owens’ heartwarming friendship with a German competitor. I found much of the coverage of the various competitions to be particularly well-written and exhilarating as some of the competitions seem to take on a life of their own. Interesting facts and smaller storylines, such as the death toll on horses during the equestrian events or US decathlete Glenn Morris’ infatuation with filmmaker Riefenstahl are peppered throughout and add to the overall picture of the Games.
NAZI GAMES concludes by putting the 1936 Olympics in perspective as fleeting moment of universal celebration before the world descends into a total nightmare. We learn that a significant number of the German medalists were killed in the war (including Jesse Owens’ friend Luz Long). While World War II dictated that no Olympics would be held again for another twelve years, Germany had to wait thirty-six years before it would receive another opportunity to prove itself worthy of hosting another Olympics, only to have the ghosts of 1936 rise again.
I found NAZI GAMES to be a delightfully informative read as there was so much more to the 1936 Olympics than Hitler and Jesse Owens; much, much more. After finishing the book, it is hard not to see these particular Olympics as one of the most significant Games in history due to its timing and locale. Individual stories within the 36 Games were significant enough to spawn two current best-selling books “Unbroken” and “The Boys in the Boat” (which is one of the more compelling athletic accounts in NAZI GAMES). I credit David Clay Large in providing such a well-written, interesting account of a forgotten chapter in sports history.
May 17, 2022
Nazi Games is incredibly dense and full of information. It’s extremely well researched with lots of end notes and sources (filling about a quarter of the book). It covers pretty much everything you can imagine about the 1936 Olympics (both winter and summer) including the aftermath and how it changed later Olympic games. It’s a good choice for someone who is interested in the Olympics.
February 4, 2018
Olympic Story
An interesting history of the 1936 games in Germany, this book tells a complete story of a politics-ridden Olympiad. It also tells the story of the athletes who competed in it, and the people who were involved in putting on the games.
An interesting history of the 1936 games in Germany, this book tells a complete story of a politics-ridden Olympiad. It also tells the story of the athletes who competed in it, and the people who were involved in putting on the games.
January 17, 2019
A good account of the pre-1936 Olympics drama, the games themselves, the key players (both on and off the field) and the aftermath. A good book if you are interested in Olympics, their history and the broader way in which they affect the existing sociopolitical environment.
June 14, 2018
Good book on the 1936 Winter and Summer Olympics. Quite a bit of attention given to boycott efforts.
May 10, 2021
Fascinating book, even if you have no interest in sports.
October 15, 2024
A lot of facts, sometimes more than you need!!
What a mind boggling time. IBM has a chilling past!
What a mind boggling time. IBM has a chilling past!
May 10, 2010
Interested in Olympic sports and Nazi history? This is a must read.
The Nazi games are quite a story. Hitler's ideology didn't apply to reality since Jesse Owens, an American black man, outperformed all his best athletes of the Aryan race.
Hitler also had much of the anti-Jew, anti-gypsy and anti-homosexuality propaganda removed from view during the games so athletes and visitors wouldn't see what was really going on in Germany in 1936.
The Reich even provided young, virgin women to "service" the white male athletes with appropriate characteristics. The women had sex with these athletes nightly, often multiple times, for the entire time the athletes were there, collecting a keepsake pin from those they serviced. One woman would usually "mate" with one man to encourage a pure pregnancy of known origin.
Should a woman become pregnant with an athlete's child, the pins guaranteed the Reich would provide full medical and financial care for the pregnant women, and would fully support them after the children were born. They would be raised as Aryan purists, educated and trained by the best to be the best, sent to the best schools, and groomed for high rank in the thousand year Reich. Given the youthful ages (17-21) and excellent health of both the athletes and women, along with two or more weeks of daily sex, most became pregnant.
The men were assured that they would not be contacted about nor responsible for any children they conceived. This was only discussed if an athlete asked his young woman. The Reich was essentially sperm-stealing and gene-stealing.
The social engineering story and what the Reich did to hide the reality of life in Germany is fascinating, and all the signs of the trouble to come were evident at the games, but one had to look carefully to see them. The visitors and athletes were not looking that carefully. They were distracted with all the sports and other events scheduled for the entire length of the games. Even visits to the city were cleverly orchestrated so visitors wouldn't see anything they weren't meant to see.
The Nazi games are quite a story. Hitler's ideology didn't apply to reality since Jesse Owens, an American black man, outperformed all his best athletes of the Aryan race.
Hitler also had much of the anti-Jew, anti-gypsy and anti-homosexuality propaganda removed from view during the games so athletes and visitors wouldn't see what was really going on in Germany in 1936.
The Reich even provided young, virgin women to "service" the white male athletes with appropriate characteristics. The women had sex with these athletes nightly, often multiple times, for the entire time the athletes were there, collecting a keepsake pin from those they serviced. One woman would usually "mate" with one man to encourage a pure pregnancy of known origin.
Should a woman become pregnant with an athlete's child, the pins guaranteed the Reich would provide full medical and financial care for the pregnant women, and would fully support them after the children were born. They would be raised as Aryan purists, educated and trained by the best to be the best, sent to the best schools, and groomed for high rank in the thousand year Reich. Given the youthful ages (17-21) and excellent health of both the athletes and women, along with two or more weeks of daily sex, most became pregnant.
The men were assured that they would not be contacted about nor responsible for any children they conceived. This was only discussed if an athlete asked his young woman. The Reich was essentially sperm-stealing and gene-stealing.
The social engineering story and what the Reich did to hide the reality of life in Germany is fascinating, and all the signs of the trouble to come were evident at the games, but one had to look carefully to see them. The visitors and athletes were not looking that carefully. They were distracted with all the sports and other events scheduled for the entire length of the games. Even visits to the city were cleverly orchestrated so visitors wouldn't see anything they weren't meant to see.
Read
January 26, 2016I'd read Munich 1972 by this same author, not realizing that he'd previously written this about the 'pre-quel' - when the Olympics were first held in Germany. The topic material is fascinating - I think the author's style is more readable in his later book (makes sense - we SHOULD get better at what we do over time). Definitely recommended - again, if you like sports/history/politics.
Probably most notable given today we accept as a given that Nazi/Hitler views are abhorrent, very much NOT so at this time. Numerous, very high ranking folks (see Henry Ford), are very openly anti-Semitic, white supremacist (in today's vernacular)... There was also the thinking that the world had unnaturally carved up Germany's rightful possessions after WWI, so allowing Hitler to grow and expand the footprint of Germany was a step towards world peace and stability - returning things to their natural order, so to speak.
Bottom line - hindsight is 20/20. This book does a great job of painting the picture of a time when a man like Hitler could actually be welcomed by most and praised after the event for having put on the BEST Olympics to date! Great stuff.
Probably most notable given today we accept as a given that Nazi/Hitler views are abhorrent, very much NOT so at this time. Numerous, very high ranking folks (see Henry Ford), are very openly anti-Semitic, white supremacist (in today's vernacular)... There was also the thinking that the world had unnaturally carved up Germany's rightful possessions after WWI, so allowing Hitler to grow and expand the footprint of Germany was a step towards world peace and stability - returning things to their natural order, so to speak.
Bottom line - hindsight is 20/20. This book does a great job of painting the picture of a time when a man like Hitler could actually be welcomed by most and praised after the event for having put on the BEST Olympics to date! Great stuff.
September 19, 2012
While the title is accurate, I was about half-way through when I realized that the author would enlighten us about both the Winter and Summer Games, both hosted by Germany. The beginning chapters give a good overview of the International Olympic Committee's formation and work from 1896, and the Games prior to 1936. The overall Winter and Summer Sports pagentry, coupled with the state-of-the-art radio, TV and film coverage of the games, illuminates an aspect of German history that, for me, was largely overlooked.
As an Alan Furst fan, I was able to picture the Olympic aura during Hitler's 1930's reign.
Author David Clay Large uses extensive primary source material throughout, with minimal editoralizing. Whether readers would have wanted more is a matter of opinion: just as I would have appreciated more photos.
As an Alan Furst fan, I was able to picture the Olympic aura during Hitler's 1930's reign.
Author David Clay Large uses extensive primary source material throughout, with minimal editoralizing. Whether readers would have wanted more is a matter of opinion: just as I would have appreciated more photos.
March 7, 2009
A very well written book filled with about as much information about the 36 Olympics and the events leading up to it as anyone could have a right to expect. There's lots of various facts about the games, did you know that Jesse Owens was one of 19 Black American atheltes to participate in the games? Or that Owens felt more resentment against Roosevelt for failing to welcome him home after the games than against Hitler for refusing to shake his hand? However, if there is a villain in this piece, it's not Adolf Hitler, it's Avery Brundage, the head of the US Olympic committee and later the International Olympic Committee, who held steadfast against various efforts to boycott the 36 Games, and even removed 2 Jewish athletes from a US relay team just before the final event.
March 26, 2011
An interesting, critical look at the 1936 Olympics that were played out in Berlin, a country gearing up for war. Large plays out all the little dramas and stories, as well as well known ones, like the "snub" of Jesse Owens. He also points out the obsession with the Third Reich being the next "Greece," and so the Olympic Committee in Germany invented all these little myths and rituals that mostly carry over to today's games (most notably is the torch relay carrying the "Olympic Flame).
Very well done.
Very well done.
March 31, 2010
Most everyone knows the basics of the story: Hitler's agenda of proving the Aryan race superior through sport, Jesse Owens' landmark victory. "Nazi Games", unfortunately, majors on this common knowledge without really deepening our understanding of the games importance beyond pointing out the obvious.The style is perfunctory and utilitarian, and the historical and social analysis, again, is one that most people are already familiar with. A strictly introductory work, and an unengaging one at that.
September 25, 2014
Really interesting book on the history of the 1936 Berlin "Nazi" Olympics. Not a super in-depth treatise, but a great over view. For me, it went into just the right amount of history, politics, people and sport. I'm a huge fan of the Olympics and reading about them during such a difficult period in time was fascinating.
April 16, 2013
I really wanted to like this book. It sounded so interesting, so I kept reading one boring chapter after another. The details were all there, but wow, pretty dry delivery and way too many of them. I made it halfway and then quit.
May 13, 2016
A comprehensive account of the 1936 Olympics from the initial approval for Berlin to host the games through the actual games . Hitler's ambitions for his "reign" and the opposing views which caused much misery when war was finally declared figure prominently in the discussion.
October 24, 2015
interesting read. ironically, the most boring part was the text concerning the actual sporting events.
March 7, 2016
Good detailed book, written in an interesting way. It is a good companion if you want to know more about the 1936 Olympics referenced in "Unbroken". Worth the read.
July 27, 2016
I liked boys in the boat much better.
Want to read
July 13, 2012on page 64
February 23, 2018
very good book. It gives a history of the Olympics and how the NAZI held the summer and winter games. It went through all the sports and winners and losers. Very informative being this is a Olympic year.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews