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long into the plans of Nazi Führer
Adolf Hitler to turn the Games in
Carmisch-Partenkirchen and Ber–
l ín into showcases of Aryan
supremacy.
The Berlín Games, in particu–
lar, scored a major propaganda
victory for Adolf Hitler. Despite
the Führer's much-publicized em–
barrassment over the sterling per–
formance of the black American
ath lete J esse Owens, Germany
sti ll walked away with the largest
overall number of medals. The
prestige of the Third Reich soared
at home and abroad. Joseph Goeb–
bels, Adolf Hitler 's Minister of
Propaganda and Enlightenment,
claimed that the 1936 O lympics
were wor t h 20 d ivisions to Nazi
Cermany!
Cold War and Post-Colonial
Problems
The Olympic Games were post–
poned for the duration of World
War 11 . They resumed in London
in 1948 and in Helsinki, Finland, in
1952.
The Helsinki Carnes were con–
sidered by many to be the happiest
si nce the modero Games were
res umed in 1896 in Athens ,
C reece. They appeared to come
closest to the original Olympic ide–
als. However, the seeds of future
division a nd dissension-in the
form of the burgeoning East-West
rivalry- were sown at these con–
tests.
The Soviet Union, unexpectedly
entering the Games for the first
time, was permitted to set up a sep–
arate Olympic Yillage for its ath–
letes, along with those from H un–
gary, Poland, Bu1garia, Romanía
and Czechoslovakia.
"This broached the O lympic
spirit," writes Peter W ilson in the
book
The 0/ympic Games, 1984.
"It
is hard to understand how the
International Olympic Committee,
which· had strai ned at so many
gnats, allowed itself to swallow
this par ticular carne!. Probably
they were anxious to accommo–
date the lost sheep wh ich had
returned."
With the inclusion of the Com–
munist East bloc, there developed,
more than ever, an emphasis on the
medaJs won not by individuaJs, but
by national teams.
4
At one stage in H elsinki, it
looked as though the U.S.S.R. was
going to win in the unofficial point–
scoring system. In fact, so sure of
victory were the Russians that they
had a large scoreboard constructed
s~owing
the relative positions of
the various competing countries.
Toward the end, however , t he
United States carne with a rush,
winning no fewer than five gold
medals in the boxing competition.
As soon as the Russian officials saw
they were going to be overhauled,
they began to dismantle the score–
board, but not before an American
journalist spotted the demolition in
process and headlined an article,
"Russians Caugh t With Points
Down."
The Soviets were determined not
to be upstaged again, however, and
in subsequent Olympiads sent for–
midable teams.
Melbourne-New Problems
The Games in Melbourne, Aus t ra–
lia, in 1956 were conducted under
the shroud of the crisis in H ungary
and the summer war in the Middle
East.
The Netherlands, foUowed by
Spain, pulled out in protest over
the Hungaria n situation. Egypt
withdrew after demanding t hat
nations "guilty of cowardly aggres–
s ion against Egypt" (meaning
Israel , Britain and France) should
be expelled from the Games. Leba–
non followed Egypt.
The People's Republic of China
aJso withdrew because the Repub–
lic of China (Taiwan) had been
aJiowed to compete. The intra-Chi–
nese rivalry was to continue in sub–
sequent Games, to cometo a head
in Montreal in 1976.
Avery Brundage, president of
the IOC, meanwhile insisted: "We
are dead [set] against any count ry
using the Games for political pur–
poses, whether right or wrong. The
Olympics are competitions between
ind ividuals and not nations."
Real ity, however, was just the
opposite. T he way was being pre–
pared for further política! disrup–
tions.
Pressures, Then Dlsaster
The breakup of the colonial
empires in the late l950s and the
subsequent emergence of new
nations in Africa and elsewhere had
their impact upon tbe conduct of
the Olympics as well.
Specifically, pressure began to
be brought upon the Republ ic of
South Africa, which had through
1960 fielded a ll-white teams. Con–
sequently, South Africa was not
invited to send a team in 1964.
A threat by 40 count ries to with–
draw from the Carnes in Mexico
City in 1968 influenced the IOC to
again withdraw an invitat ion to
South Africa. Finally, succumbing
to the pressure, the IOC expelled
South Africa in 1970.
lnternational disputes continued
to plague the Olympics, threaten–
ing the very existence of the Carnes
in 1972 in Munich.
Even though white-ru1ed Rhode–
sia (today Zimbabwe) comp1ied
with al l IOC requests-namely, it
should compete under the Bri tish
flag and anthem rather than its
own- a big row over its participa–
t ion erupted right on the eve of the
Carnes. Two weeks before the
Games were to start, 20 count ries
vowed to withdraw if the Rhode–
sian team was allowed to compete.
Then the most terrible event in
the history of the Olympic Games
occurred on September 5, 1972,
the 11th day of the Munich specta–
cle. Eight Arab commandos of the
"Biack September" organizat ion
entered the Olympic Village in
Munich and commandeered the
Israel í team's residence. After 20
hours of high drama ending in a
police shoot-out, 11 Israelí athletes
and five commandos lay dead.
1976-Mo re Troubles
T he 1976 Montreal Games were
marred by more bitter política! dis–
putes. The first one involved the
unsettled issue over
which
China
would be the
ojficial
China.
The People's Republic of Chi–
na- which had walked out of the
IOC in 1958 over the issue of Tai–
wan 's re prese ntation-brough t
pressure to bear on the Canadian
government to exclude Taiwanese
athletes from competition.
Canada, enjoyi ng a profitable
commercial agreement with Bei–
jing, bowed to the pressure and
informed Taiwan that its athletes
would not be allowed to compete
under the name "Republic of Chi-
The PLAIN TRUTH