1936 Olympics
Summary
The 1936 Olympics was held in Berlin, Germany in a time of great hostility between Germany and the rest of the world. Hitler was a brutal dictator and the world has heard rumors about what life is like in Germany and the Olympics was the perfect time to show the world what was wrong with Germany; instead Germany used this to their advantage and changed their whole country to a society which was perceived to be ideal. There was no racist propaganda or internment camps nothing that would show that Germany was a bad place at all. This whole façade was to prove to the rest of the world that they are superior, that the Aryan race was superior.
Jesse Owens
(Dailymail)
Jesse Owens proved to the world that the Aryan race was not superior but inferior to the other races. Jesse Owens proved this in front of the Germans in there own country. This was a turning point in history the picture above foreshadows the war that was going to happen; The U.S.A. taking the gold and Germany and Japan falling short. Jesse Owens risked his life to participate and win the events of the Olympics but he did it for the greater good of the world and the U.S.A. he is a hero. Without Jesse Owens the world would be a very different place. To most people he just competed in the Olympics but it was much more then that according to this document.
(letterofnote)
Walter White the secretary of The National Association For The Advancement Of Colored People wrote a letter to Jesse Owens after hearing that he would be competing in Berlin for the 1936 Olympics. Germany was a place of fascist dictatorship based off of the prejudiced of other races. If he were to compete and win the Olympics it would show that the Arian race was not the strongest race and it would anger the dictator fearing that he would take it out of the African Americans. This letter is a warning to Jesse Owens not to compete in the Olympics for the good of America and the African American race.
Walter White thought that Jesses efforts would anger Hitler and he would take it out on Jesse, the African American society, and the U.S. in general but it did quite the opposite against all the odds Jesse made a statement and proved that the Aryan race was inferior. After these Olympics that's exactly how Hitler felt after the 1936 Olympics.
Jesse Owens and Luz Long
(OSU)
"Twenty-two-year-old American Jesse Owens didn't care much for Hitler's politics—or any politics for that matter. He just wanted to show off his immense skills and represent his country to the best of his abilities. Just over a year earlier, on May 25, 1935, Owens recorded one of the more mind-boggling performances in track and field history. He broke three world records and tied another at the Big Ten Track and Field Championships in Michigan—in just 45 minutes!
Hitler viewed African-Americans as inferior and chastised the United States for stooping to use these "non-humans." Despite the endless racial epithets and the constant presence of the red and black swastika, Owens made Hitler eat his words with four gold medals.
The first gold was in the 100 meters, where Owens edged out teammate Ralph Metcalfe in a time of 10.3 seconds.Gold number two came in the long jump, where he fouled on his first two attempts. One was just a practice run where he continued down the runway into the pit, but German officials didn't buy it and counted it as a jump. Top German long jumper Luz Long suggested Owens play it safe and jump a few inches before the usual take-off spot. He took his advice and qualified for the finals, where he won the gold with a leap of 26—5½. And Long was there to congratulate him. "It took a lot of courage for him to befriend me in front of Hitler," Owens would later say. "You can melt down all the medals and cups I have and they wouldn't be a plating on the 24-karat friendship I felt for Luz Long at that moment.
The third gold was in the 200-meter dash, where he defeated, among others, Jackie Robinson's older brother Mack and broke the Olympic record with a time of 20.7 seconds.
Gold number four was a controversial one—not with the Germans, but with his fellow Americans. American Jews Marty Glickman and Sam Stoller were supposed to run for the United States on the 4x100 relay team. At the last minute, they were replaced by Owens and Metcalfe and it was reported that Hitler asked U.S. officials not to embarrass him any further by having two Jews win gold in Berlin. Whether that's true or not, the Owens-led U.S. team rolled to victory in a world record time of 39.8 seconds and Owens' magical Olympics came to a close."(Infoplease)
Work cited-
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/summer-olympics-jesse-owens.html
https://kb.osu.edu/dspace/handle/1811/53250
http://www.lettersofnote.com/2009/11/this-issue-transcends-all-others.html