Hitler's Olympics

by Christopher Hilton

  SATURDAY 25 JULY

  The flame reached Kula on the Bulgarian frontier at 2 a.m., the rain still falling and the roads bad. The intrepid and dogged radio car crew broadcast the moment the torch crossed over from Greece into Bulgaria; it had covered 1,108 kilometres and, because of the allocation of one runner per kilometre, had so far been carried by 1,108 runners.

  In Bulgaria 235 runners took the flame to the capital, Sofia. The whole route was marked by road signs bearing the five Olympic rings, and officials on horseback helped with problems and directions. Virtually every village it passed through celebrated and the big cathedral square in Sofia was packed for a ceremony. Some in the crowd, no doubt Germans, gave the Nazi salute and a banner hung nearby with a swastika on it. The intrepid radio crew were almost undone (the Official Report says they received a ‘surprise’) because no cables had been provided. The Bulgarian Radio Company stepped in and offered their facilities, and the broadcast went ahead.

  Owens had woken to find himself gazing into a gloriously blue, unbroken sky. He needed to make the most of it because changeable weather returned and during his two weeks in Germany rain fell every day, including later this day. He noted in his diary: ‘The weather in Germany is somewhat funny. In the morning the sun is shining beautiful and suddenly it will rain.’ The food compensated – generous quantities of steak, bacon, eggs, ham, fruit and juices. He made friends, too, with ‘people from strange lands & most of them could speak some English’. He liked the Australians and wrote, ‘sitting around listening to a Victrola having a bull session with some of the boys. What liars they are.’21

  Wayne was woken at 6 a.m. to take part in Leni Riefenstahl’s film. ‘I could hardly stand on the platform. I was still partly seasick. I did the worst diving in that film I have ever seen, and they’ve been running it for the last forty years, for God’s sake. My legs were like lead. All of ours were. I mean, 6 a.m. in the morning and we had barely gotten any sleep and were still half seasick.’22

  The American team began to train, although sporadic rain and cloud decorated the day. They had plenty to sustain them: an immense quantity of Philadelphia turkeys and Long Island ducks had been shipped over, clams for chowder, crab, 1,000 honeydew melons, 2,000 muskmelons. (Before the end of the Games, the team – plus the Canadians – would eat 36,000 grapefruits.)23

  Some American competitors, especially the hockey players and swimmers, did some light training while others simply unpacked or took a look around. Stephens wrote that she got her competitor’s badge and, perhaps subconsciously in writing that, reflected the quickening pace towards the beginning of the Games, because the photographers started arriving and so did the autograph hunters.24

  Stephens carried an injury – the shin – because she limped. She was already the centre of some attention because of her bitter rivalry with Walsh, whose sprinting career blossomed in Cleveland, Ohio. (Mercifully, for every contemporary journalist – except the Poles, of course – she did not use her full name, Stanislawa Walasiewicz. No doubt many subsequent authors share the relief.) Stephens seemed relaxed and said she’d take care of Walsh even with the injury. For her part, Walsh seemed relaxed and said she had vowed to herself that Stephens wouldn’t beat her again, here or anywhere else. Stephens said, ‘Yes, we’ll see about that.’

  Like Owens, Stephens appreciated the food and the generous American-style helpings. Moreover her sexual predilections led her to a German waitress called Ruth who gave her special food and generous helpings. There would be accusations and counter-accusations of sexual impropriety between Stephens and Walsh, however, culminating in the assertion by Walsh’s supporters that Stephens was in fact a man, and much more plausible assertions that Walsh – known as ‘Stella the Fella’ – was.

  Esther Myers, the student, remembers that

  everyplace in the city there were always people completely armed but they never molested us, never harmed us in any way – never stopped us, except we were certainly aware that they were there and we’d better not try anything. I was young and having fun – a wonderful time – and it didn’t bother me. Berlin itself was a perfectly beautiful place to be, magnificent city, just magnificent. But you wondered what was going to happen [afterwards] because you knew something would. It was bound to.

  We got the impression that they wanted to do away with the Jewish people and the black people and anybody else they didn’t think were as good as they were. There weren’t many propaganda posters – no, it was all so wonderful, they were the supreme people and they had accomplished so much.25

  Holland and Norway arrived at the Village, and the Canadian team of 120 competitors and officials reached Le Havre on the liner Duchess of Bedford.

  Holm gave vent to her grievances in a great outpouring of feeling, printed in the New York Times on 26 July 1936:

  Since the American Olympic Committee apparently has definitely decided that my behavior during the trip to Germany was such they won’t alter the decision to keep me from competing in the event which I won at the last Olympics and for which I qualified as the No. 1 American in the final tryouts, I feel now that my friends as well as the Committee are entitled to have a statement of the facts from me.

  I’ve never made any secret of the fact that I like a good time, particularly champagne. Everyone knows that, including the Committee. The newspapers published my statements on that subject during the final tryouts at New York.

  Why then, if they felt so strongly on the subject, didn’t all the American Olympic Committee keep me off the team right away? Why did they have to wait until we were in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean before suddenly deciding that my conduct was too unbearable to permit my remaining on the team, or that I was such a bad influence on the rest of the boys and girls?

  In the first place I wasn’t the only athlete to break training rules or stay up after the curfew sounded. There were at least one hundred offenders one way or another.

  I’m not attempting to condemn any athletes for so doing, nor do I wish to single out any one of them for mention. They are my friends. They are just as innocent of any real wrongdoing as I am. They’ve shown through their action in petitioning the Committee to reinstate me that they don’t think I should be made an example of.

  The Committee refused to reconsider this, believing they would be made ridiculous and that their laxity in maintaining discipline would be disclosed.

  Brundage’s statement that I was the sole serious offender and that I alone was responsible for any impression detrimental to the team as a whole is absolutely false. It is well known by all connected with the American team that Brundage not only warned me but specifically referred to members of two teams, namely, field hockey and fencing. Newspaper men assure me that Brundage’s statement to that effect was dispatched from the Manhattan.

  I’ve no feeling against Brundage nor any other member of the Committee personally. Dr. Raycroft [Dr Joseph E. Raycroft of Princeton, vice president of the American Olympic Committee] was particularly considerate in giving me an opportunity to be heard after I had been condemned without a hearing.

  The fact remains that officers accompanying the team, who were presumed to be setting a good example for all on board, failed to do so. Cocktail parties were a nightly occurrence. Not only was the social activity such on the upper decks that the athletes as a whole received scant attention from committeemen, but officer-members of the Olympic party disgraced themselves during a performance given for the benefit of the athletes.

  I refer to the mock marriage and mock trial ostensibly given as an entertainment feature but so shocking that many athletes walked out of the social hall.

  The trial was presided over by Gustavus T. Kirby who so handled the dialogue having to do with marital situations that it was open to questionable interpretations and altogether unsuitable for youthful ears.

  The reaction to the whole show was such that it was the talk of the boat for days afterward.

  Furthermore, there was no general
rule against drinking among the athletes. The bar was open daily and nightly in two of the sections in which the athletes were quartered. On at least one occasion the bar didn’t close until well after midnight.

  Under such conditions how did the American Olympic Committee think it could maintain such absolute discipline as it appeared to desire or condemn me because I was unwilling to make a secret of the fact that I like champagne?

  They told me that if I wanted to take a drink I should be more careful. In effect they said it was all right as long as they didn’t see me.

  This is my third Olympics trip and I had my heart set on winning the back-stroke gold medal for the second time.

  In spite of all these things they have said about me and all the criticism, the fact remains that I have been unbeaten for seven years in competition and that I am the only member of the swimming team, except the divers, to make the team for the third time.

  I’m pulling for the American swimming team as well as all our athletes to win. I only wish I could be there to help them. I expect to be there as a spectator cheering for them.

  Kirby, still in Hamburg, defended himself vigorously. ‘All I have to say is that only an evil mind could see anything improper in the performance. There was nothing to offend anybody. I acted the part of the judge and prosecuting attorney; the bride carried a bouquet of vegetables. We were all merry and the whole thing was done in the spirit of fun without anything offensive whatsoever.’

  Holm was by now being flooded with offers, including working for an American media syndicate during the Games. The American Olympic Committee told her they would pay her hotel bill and a ticket for home on the Manhattan, due to leave Hamburg on Wednesday.

  Brundage said he was saying nothing more.

  The ceremony at Sofia finished at eight in the evening. The flickering flame and the padding feet set off towards the Yugoslav frontier, the transfer regarded as a gesture of friendship between the two countries. As the torch left the last town in Bulgaria there were 1,772 runners to go and, at midnight, six days to the Opening Ceremony.

  SUNDAY 26 JULY

  The flame reached the Bulgarian–Yugoslav frontier at 1 a.m.

  At 7 a.m., the United States 10,000 metres runner Don Lash from Indiana went out for a run which (although he took a break for lunch) lasted until early evening. A collegiate, he had been a leading distance runner for a couple of years. During the Games he’d celebrate his twenty-second birthday.

  By 8.40 a.m. the flame had reached the town of Niš for the obligatory hour-long ceremony. One competitor, who evidently hadn’t made the Yugoslav team for Berlin, mounted a bicycle and, reserve torch in hand, ‘rode beside the runners hour after hour through the heat and dust, singing and encouraging them on their way’.26

  The American team had a more concentrated training session at the Village’s track but so did plenty of other countries because the New York Times said the track resembled Times Square ‘in the theater hour’. The Japanese avoided this by setting off for a training ground near the stadium, although not before their high-jumper, Yoshiro Asakuma, impressed the Americans by doing 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 metres) in his tracksuit.

  The Italian team, under an American coach, spoke English and their Luigi Beccali, who had won the 1,500 metres in Los Angeles, impressed the Americans by circling the track dressed in black – the rest of the Italians wore blue. Beccali, a Milanese who originally came to running through a love of cycling, had been the first athlete to give a Fascist salute when he won in Los Angeles.27

  There was a lot to be impressed about, not least the Indian 10,000-metre runner Ronak Singh – bearded, a handkerchief knotted in his hair as if he were attempting to balance ‘a white dove on the top of his head’ – trying to get used to spikes because at home he ran barefoot.28

  Evidently Owens trained at the stadium. Later he’d claim that Hitler had said Long would demonstrate Aryan superiority by beating him, and Owens professed himself ‘shocked’ that Hitler would be so specific or potentially unwise as to name anybody.29 Owens, who now knew Long by reputation of course, was naturally curious about what he looked like.

  About a quarter of an hour after reaching the stadium Owens found himself gazing at the other athletes; he knew immediately which one was Long: Aryan, blue eyes, sandy-coloured hair, taller than Owens. As Long practised Owens thought he’s good. They ought to have been more than sporting rivals because politics decreed that. They ought, in the authentic meaning of the word, to be enemies. In effect, one of the great sporting friendships was about to be born.

  At 3.10 that afternoon the flame reached a small town, Pojate. There the schoolmaster entered into the spirit of the run with wholehearted enthusiasm.

  During the final 15 days before … he had his 12 runners cover the course each day in order that they should attain the correct speed. In addition, all of the stones had been removed from the 12-kilometre stretch; a large sign with the inscription ‘Heartily Welcome’ was set up, and a youth on a festively decorated bicycle was stationed at each lap to accompany the runner. The schoolmaster’s preparations did not stop here. He posted youths at every crossing to indicate the correct route by waving flags, and he himself accompanied the runners, standing on the running-board of an automobile with a large placard containing a sketch of the route in one hand and a watch in the other for controlling the speed of the torch-bearer.30

  The flame’s third stage this Sunday, to a place called Jagodina, might have brought disaster and did bring official intervention. A torch failed – its material was faulty – and the runner was picked up by one of the accompanying vehicles and driven to the next relay point as fast as possible.

  Torch after torch was ignited in this manner until, after 25 kilometres had been covered, the torches again proved to be in order. This incident, which gave rise to rumours that the Olympic Fire had gone out, meant that a considerable amount of time had been unintentionally gained, and in order to equalise this so that the runners could continue according to schedule, a bonfire was ignited in front of the gates to the town of Jagodina from which the next runner ignited his torch and departed promptly on the following lap.31

  Stephens recorded how, visiting the city of Berlin, Berliners gawped at the coloured American athletes as if they were seeing such people for the first time.32 Berliners came to the Unter den Linden to stroll and get a sense of proximity to the Olympics through the flags and symbols there. This seems to have been both a manifestation of communal feeling and an expression of mounting excitement. One estimate suggested that they came in their tens of thousands and by evening must have totalled several hundred thousand.

  Close to the stadium a second Olympic Village called ‘Strength through Joy’ neared readiness. It consisted of several vast halls and the idea was to bring in 20,000 German workers a day by train to watch one of the Olympic events then go to the Village for food, beer, wine and cabaret. It could accommodate 24,000 people. The soup pot alone held the equivalent of 125 US gallons (460 litres). Foreign visitors were welcome.33

  Canada, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Liechtenstein, Romania and Sweden arrived at the Village. The Canadians were awestruck, a feeling captured in their Official Report:

  The Reception Building was long but comparatively narrow, and semi-circular in shape, with the concave side across the outer Front entrance to the Village. To the left of the main gate was a luggage room, in the charge of an Olympic Forwarding Agent, he alone authorised to be in complete charge of the transportation of all team luggage – from the depot to the Village, then to the living quarters, and later back to his central office, whence it was sent on its way to all parts of the world.

  Here also was the customs office, where incoming parcels or baggage were inspected, eliminating formalities at the frontier, and the team leaders were advised of the hour they would be cleared. For the convenience of the athletes there were small shops for the sale of sporting goods, stationery, souvenirs, photographic supplies, fruit and confectionery
, and a travel office with information on excursions, etc.

  Next to the press quarters was the post office, which took care of both local and foreign mail. Mail was ready at 7 a.m., 12 noon and 7 p.m. for delivery to a representative appointed by each nation, who had to return the mail bag used to take away one delivery before he could get another. Card notice of registered mail was sent the athletes at their cottages, and they had to call in person for it. A branch of the Deutsche Bank was a great accommodation in buying marks and exchanging money. Here also were the Sports Department headquarters, where the team leaders upon arrival received the team badges and medals for distribution, training schedules and the names of the athletic fields which had been allotted them.

  Over the main entrance, between the two wings of the Reception Building, were the administrative headquarters, or main business offices. As in large hotels, a registration card was kept for each inhabitant of the Village, and here you paid all accounts, and gave notice to the athlete for home after their events were over. The Village Police Office was next door. Officers and patrolmen were specially trained.

  The safety system arranged for the welfare and benefit of the dwellers was perfect. The first room in the right wing of the Reception Building included offices and reception room of the Commandant. He was appointed by the German Army, which was host at the Village. He looked after the welfare of the teams and made their lives pleasant. Incidentally Sam Manson [chef de mission of the Canadian team] made a hit with him and the whole German staff the very afternoon we arrived. Spaced around the front of the Reception Building were flagpoles, on which each team as it arrived hoisted its colors. Then the band played the team to their housing quarters, and when Manson came to haul up our flag on the pole in front of the Canadian office, he insisted on the Commandant assisting him hand over hand. After that gesture Canada almost owned the place.