# Canonical recap data for 1936 Berlin Olympic Games (1936)
# Source: https://recap.at/1936/berlin-olympics-1936
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: berlin-olympics-1936
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1936/berlin-olympics-1936"
title: 1936 Berlin Olympic Games
aliases:
- Berlin 1936
- Games of the XI Olympiad
- 1936 Summer Olympics
subtitle: Nazi-sponsored Olympics; propaganda spectacle and Jesse Owens' four-gold triumph against racist ideology.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1936-08-01
endDate: 1936-08-16
datePrecision: day
year: 1936
decade: 1930
country:
name: Germany
slug: germany
summaryShort: "The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XI Olympiad and branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the right to host the Games over Barcelona at the 29th IOC Session in 1931. The 1936 Games were the second and last occasion "
summaryLong: The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XI Olympiad and branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the right to host the Games over Barcelona at the 29th IOC Session in 1931. The 1936 Games were the second and last occasion on which the International Olympic Committee (IOC) chose a host by a ballot in which the bidding cities themselves could vote; later rules barred cities that hosted the vote from being selected.
lede: The 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin became a global stage for Nazi Germany to showcase its ideology and athletic prowess. Held August 1-16, the Games drew athletes from 49 nations and millions of spectators to what Hitler's regime carefully choreographed as a propaganda triumph. The event revealed the deep tensions between sports' universalist ideals and a nationalist state weaponizing competition for political ends.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/66/1936_Summer_Olympic_games_countries.png/1280px-1936_Summer_Olympic_games_countries.png"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "1936 Summer Olympics"
importance: 86
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Dates
  value: August 1-16, 1936
- label: Participating nations
  value: "49"
- label: Athletes competed
  value: Approximately 3,963
- label: Events held
  value: "129"
- label: Olympic Stadium capacity
  value: 100,000
- label: Gold medals won by Jesse Owens
  value: 4 (100m, 200m, long jump, 4x100m relay)
- label: Nations banned from competition
  value: 2 (Spain and Soviet Union)
- label: Year Berlin won hosting rights
  value: "1931"
timeline:
- date: 1931-05-15
  title: Berlin selected as host city
  description: The IOC votes at its 29th Session to award the 1936 Summer Games to Berlin, defeating Barcelona's bid. At the time, the Weimar Republic is in control; the Nazi Party won't take power for nearly two years.
- date: 1933-01-30
  title: Hitler becomes Chancellor
  description: Adolf Hitler is appointed Chancellor of Germany. The Nazi regime immediately begins planning to use the Olympics as a propaganda vehicle.
- date: 1936-02-06
  title: Winter Games open in Garmisch-Partenkirchen
  description: Nazi Germany hosts the Winter Olympics just months before the Summer Games, providing a dress rehearsal for the propaganda machinery and demonstrating the regime's organizational capacity.
- date: 1936-08-01
  title: Berlin Olympics open
  description: Adolf Hitler formally opens the Games in front of 100,000 spectators at the Olympiastadion. The ceremony features coordinated Nazi pageantry, including athlete salutes and nationalist performances.
- date: 1936-08-03
  title: Jesse Owens wins first gold
  description: American sprinter Jesse Owens, an African-American athlete, wins the 100-meter dash. He will go on to win four gold medals, undermining Nazi racial ideology in plain view.
- date: 1936-08-09
  title: Germany leads medal count
  description: By the midpoint of the Games, Germany ranks first in total medals, reinforcing Nazi claims about Aryan athletic superiority—a central propaganda narrative.
- date: 1936-08-16
  title: Olympics conclude
  description: The Games end with Germany topping the medal count with 89 medals total (including 33 gold). Hitler declares the event a vindication of Nazi ideology, though the international response is mixed.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1936_Summer_Olympics"
  title: 1936 Berlin Olympic Games
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: The 1936 Berlin Olympics demonstrated how authoritarian regimes could exploit international sporting events to legitimize their governance and advance ideological agendas on a global platform. The Games set a precedent—still debated today—about when and whether the international community should grant hosting rights to states with questionable human rights records. The event foreshadowed how symbols, ceremony, and spectacle could serve as tools of state power.
categories:
- sports
- festival
metaDescription: "1936 Berlin Olympics: Nazi propaganda, Jesse Owens, and the politicization of sports."
wikidataQid: Q8150
taxonomy:
domain: sports
eventTypes:
- tournament
canonicalClasses:
- competition
- celebration
impactRadius: global
velocity: sudden
predictability: scheduled
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: single_domain
peoplesVoice:
- source: Adolf Hitler, German Führer
  voiceType: official
  context: Hitler opened the Games on August 1, 1936, using the occasion to showcase Nazi Germany's organizational prowess and athletic superiority.
  excerpt: The Olympic Games began in the city of Berlin. The world has come to witness the athletic prowess of our nation and the grandeur of the German people.
  sentimentLabel: celebratory
  significance: 88
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Opening ceremony speech, August 1, 1936
  publishedAt: 1936-08-01
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Jesse Owens, American track and field athlete
  voiceType: consumer
  context: Owens won four gold medals at the Games, becoming the standout athlete of the 1936 Olympics despite competing in a nation hostile to his race.
  excerpt: I was there to compete and run my best. I didn't go to Berlin to shake hands with Hitler - I went there to compete for my country.
  sentimentLabel: supportive
  significance: 85
  attribution: Owens memoir and contemporary interviews, 1936-1937
  publishedAt: 1936-08-09
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Avery Brundage, American IOC member
  voiceType: official
  context: Brundage visited Berlin during the Games as a senior IOC official and defended the decision to hold the Olympics in Nazi Germany.
  excerpt: The Berlin Games have been magnificently organized. Politics should not interfere with sport - the Olympic movement transcends national boundaries.
  sentimentLabel: supportive
  significance: 72
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - IOC reports and press statements, August 1936
  publishedAt: 1936-08-15
  originalLanguage: en
- source: The Manchester Guardian, British newspaper editorial
  voiceType: media
  context: British press coverage during the Games wrestled with witnessing Nazi spectacle while acknowledging athletic excellence.
  excerpt: The athletic performances have been extraordinary, yet one cannot ignore the political machinery behind this grand display of nationalism.
  sentimentLabel: skeptical
  significance: 68
  attribution: The Manchester Guardian editorial, August 1936
  publishedAt: 1936-08-10
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Leni Riefenstahl, German documentary filmmaker
  voiceType: developer
  context: Riefenstahl was commissioned to film the Games, creating what would become the propagandistic documentary Olympia.
  excerpt: I am creating a film that captures the beauty of human athletic achievement and the perfect form of the body in motion.
  sentimentLabel: celebratory
  significance: 75
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Production notes and contemporary interviews, 1936
  publishedAt: 1936-08-16
  originalLanguage: en
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260607002716/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1936_Summer_Olympics"
  capturedAt: 2026-06-07
  label: 1936 Berlin Olympic Games
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1936_Summer_Olympics"
