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V. The 1936 Olympic Games in the Mirror of the Foreign Press

Even taking into account that the reception of the Berlin Games in the tension-filled year of 1936 could not remain uninfluenced by the respective foreign and domestic political positions of the press organs, the critical tenor of many overall appraisals in the press of neutral foreign countries is surprising.

The criticism of the smaller nations focused not only on the new dimension of pomp and gigantism of the Games, but on the obvious political instrumentalization of sport by the host, which was branded as a contradiction to the idea of sport and the spirit of Olympism. What happened in Berlin was valued by the liberal "Baseler Nachrichten" as "record mania, nationalistically ordered and staged sports compulsion." The sporting success of the host was criticized, especially in the Swiss press, as the product of a "dictatorially fashionable sport, which is not practiced by individuals out of need, but which an entire people is forced to practice". More general sports-critical considerations were put in the foreground of the summary by the conservative "Berner Tageblatt": "Sport is no longer practiced for its own sake, but it is a means to an end. Vanity, honor, social position, and false national pride are the driving factors, which in any case is contrary to the Olympic idea."

While the bourgeois press of smaller countries, e.g., Sweden, feared a loss of Olympic motivation due to the dominance of major sporting powers, the press of fascist Italy styled "the Olympic Games as the life barometer of nations." The "Gazetta dello Sport" (August 19, 1936) summed up this fascist understanding of sport as follows: "Individual races and nations are on the rise in their achievements at the world games, while others, like England and France, are on the path of decadence. It is the young peoples who are marching forward."

The French right-wing press, otherwise critical of Germany, joined in this judgment and, for domestic political reasons, called for the German model of sports promotion and youth mobilization to be transferred to France, while the high-circulation papers "L'Auto" and "Paris Soir," after initially positive reporting, followed the critical tendency of the left-wing press and eventually surpassed it in polemic and sharpness: "Too often we have heard the 'Germany above all' and the 'Hitler song' bellowing, no longer was the athlete celebrated, but the whole nation, the victory of the race, the government, the army! ... No nation should be allowed to use the Games to fanatize its people and to try to humiliate foreigners!" However, when the sports paper "L'Auto" brought the critical retrospective to a head with an article by its publisher Jacques Goddet under the Zola headline "J'accuse", even the re-founder of the modern Olympic Games intervened in the discussion in favor of the Berlin organizers. In doing so, Coubertin contradicted the presiding president of the IOC, who complained that with the magnificent staging, sport had been sacrificed to ceremonial: "Enough of these festivals, eternal receptions, and demonstrations. ... We must return to the classical sporting Hellenistic atmosphere."

This criticism from Henri de Baillet-Latour hit the organizers harder than the restrained reporting in Great Britain and the criticism in the USA, where the verdict "The greatest Propaganda stunt in history" (New York Times) was already a foregone conclusion for many papers after the bitter boycott discussion.

In general, it can be stated that much of what filled the Nazi propagandists with pride was viewed with critical, even anxious, eyes abroad. This was especially true for the political main person of the Games, Adolf Hitler. Thus, the reporter of "La Metropole" (Antwerp) noted as his most important Olympic impression: "... the enthusiasm and absolute faith (of the German public) in its new god, the Führer. This enthusiasm, the extent of which every Olympic guest could experience, is incredible, crazy, fanatical. The Führer could proceed with his people, who not only respect him but also revere him like a higher being, like a deity, as with a will-less machine. In Berlin, one has seen that Germany is ready for all tasks that its leaders will set."

A Swedish correspondent compared the Berlin of the twenties with that of the thirties and noted a change from a "Spree-Athens" to a "Spree-Sparta". However, it could happen that the political commentary on the opinion page was critical, while the pure sports reports were positive. None of the international correspondents, on the other hand, seemed to have taken offense at the Diem verses from his festival play "Olympic Youth," which have been so frequently quoted recently—"All games' holy meaning Fatherland's high gain—Fatherland's highest commandment in need—Death by sacrifice." Similarly, one searches in vain for critical statements on the Langemarck Hall and the death cult associated with it. Even the naming of the neighboring amphitheater after a literary champion of National Socialism did not seem to bother anyone. The stadium was internationally unanimously praised and at most criticized in connection with the gigantism of the Games. The bourgeois papers of foreign countries were obviously so familiar with this architectural style and the conception of art expressed in the sculptures from their own countries that they took no offense. The left-wing press did not dwell on such questions of style at the time, but dealt with the suppression of trade unions, the banning of workers' parties, political trials, and the discrimination against Jews.

This criticism from the left was denounced in Germany as agitation. But the critical comments of the bourgeois papers also fell victim to censorship in the Reich. Only positive voices had the chance to be excerpted. If many contemporaries still report today of a unanimously enthusiastic foreign press, they owe this image to the coordinated German media. This too must be regarded as a long-term success of Nazi propaganda, just like and comparable to the tale of a Germany almost free of capital crimes during Hitler's time. A typical summary of the Nazi press reads: "Despite an immeasurable agitation of Marxist and Jewish papers all over the world even before the beginning of the Olympic Games, the events of the Berlin Olympics found a strong echo in the foreign press, whereby almost unanimously the unsurpassable organization and implementation of the Games, the beauty and functionality of the buildings on the Reichssportfeld, and the German sporting success were emphasized."

The German media makers knew better: in system-typical double work, or in our case even quadruple work, the international press echo had been carefully observed (Press Department of the Foreign Office, Ministry of Propaganda, Foreign Policy Office of the NSDAP, and Press Office of the Reich Sports Leader). These press reviews also contained critical voices. However, in the summary prepared for Hitler by the Ministry of Propaganda, the tendency to relativize and blank out the voices of criticism or to dismiss them as hostile malice that could not be expected otherwise is unmistakable. Even in the streamlined version of the US criticism, there was still room to quote a press voice stating that according to the impression of foreign Berlin visitors, Hitler was "one of the greatest, if not the greatest political leader in the world".