During months before and after the 1936 Olympics Games, the Nazi tore down their anti-Jewish campaign for reasons of policy and reasons of image. On Aug. 16 the Berlin Olympics ended with new record crowds, a smashing success for the German organizers, there were 53 competing nations and 50,000 athletes. Sixteen records were set on track and field games. The USA took 12 first places, than all of the other nations put together. The Nazi Olympics in Berlin, chronicles the Nazi rise to put power in Germany, the Nazification of German sport.

Hans Wolk won the shot put on the opening day of the Olympics. Adolph Hitler had the first German Champion before anybody else did.

Archie Williams and John Woodruff were Americans and they won the 400- and the 800- meter races. Also another American was Glen Morris and he won the decathlon.

One of the best athletes was Jesse Owens, he was a modest Negro from Ohio State. He won both the 100 and the 200-meter dash. He won the running broad jump and was on the winning 400-meter team. He also was in a drama Hitler. Jesse and other African Americans as well as the exclusion of German Jewish High jumper. Gretel Bergmann was from Olympic competition. Owens ran the 100-meter in a record time 10.2 seconds, but it was disallowed because of the following wind. A lot of others Negro’s dominated their events. But Owens competed his performance at the Olympics by winning the 200-meter dash.

Jesse Owens

James Cleveland Owens was born on 1913 in a town in Alabama. His mom and dad were Henry and Emma Owens. When James was eight he and his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio. His family did not have that much money and his dad was hoping to find a better job. James got enrolled into a public school and his teacher asked him what his name was and she herd Jesse instead of JC and that what will be his name from that point on. Jesses family was still poor, but after school Jesse would do a lot of different jobs like deliver groceries, load freight cars, and work in a shoe store. He also discovered that he liked running, which would be the turning point of his life. One day in gym class, the gym teacher Coach Charlie Riley was going to time the students in a 60-yard dash. The coach saw that Jesse had a natural talent for running. Coach invited him to race on the track team but he couldn’t because he had work after school. So the coach asked him he could practice in the morning before school and he said ok. When Owens graduated out of high school he went to Ohio State University. He also saw that there was a lot of competition on the track. At the Big Ten Meet in Ann Arbor on May 25, 1935, Jesse set three world records and tied with a fourth, in about 70 minutes. He also had a back all week leading up to Ann Arbor. Jesse got married to Ruth Solomon and they had 3 daughters. Their names were Gloria, Beverly, and Marlene. On March 31, 1980 Owens died at the age of 66 because he had cancer.

In San Diego, CA, Marty Glickman won tons of races as a sprinter. He was a college football hero. 63 years after the 1936 Olympics he had a chance to win a gold medal, but he couldn’t because he was a Jew. Marty Glickman and Sam Stoller were the only Jews on the American track and field at the 1936 Olympics. They were supposed to race on the next to the last day of competition. But the next day their coach Dean Cromwell said that they weren’t going to race. Jesse Owens and Frank Metcalfe replaced them for the race.  Glickman said that Owens asked not to run saying “coach, I have won my three gold medals; I’ve won my three races I set out to win. I’ve had it. I am tired. I am beat. Let Marty and Sam run. They deserve it.” However Cromwell “pointed his finger at him and said, “you will do what you are told,” Glickman said “after all, black athletes – in those days – did as they were told”. Even though Owens and Metcalfe raced, in fact Glickman said, “the team that will finish third will be (the Dutch Team) disqualified for passing out of its lane. Owens and Metcalfe finished 15 yards before all of the other teams. Glickman “why did they wait until that morning, that day, to tell us that we weren’t going to run? Because

they knew there was going to be some furor about it. Some objection about it” Glickman said, “If they did it earlier they might be forced to make a change, but they did it that morning”. “The only people on the team who didn’t get to compete were Sam and me”. Glickman added. Glickman, 81, says there is absolutely no truth to the condition the American team needed the admittedly faster Owens and Metcalfe in order to win the gold medal, which became Owens fourth.

Marty Glickman & Sam Stoller

Michael Provencher

7^th Social Studies

Rossville Jr. High

Holocaust Project

Spring 2003

Bibliography