Winner of the Spring 2017 StMU History Media Awards for
Best Article in the Category of “People”
On January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany. Hitler quickly turned Germany’s fragile Weimar democracy into a one-party dictatorship. During his rule, Hitler pursued a plan to harass one half-million German Jews to leave Germany. Hitler promoted a “master race” scheme that sought to keep the so-called Aryan race pure from racial contamination from all other races he deemed to be inferior. This Aryan race consisted of only Germanic peoples who had the characteristics of blond hair, blue eyes, and light colored skin. Three years after taking power, Hitler hosted the 1936 Olympics in the German capital of Berlin. This was his opportunity to put his “New Germany” on display for all the world to see.
As Hitler’s Nazi government prepared for these Olympics, athletes from the United States were also preparing themselves for the coming competition in Berlin. In the United States, African Americans were dealing with their own problems of racism. Not only was life hard as an African American in the 1930s, but life was even harder as an African American athlete. One African American, who would later become one of the most famous athletes in the history of Track and Field, was James Cleveland “Jesse” Owens. At the age of eight, he had moved to Cleveland, Ohio with his family, who had sought for better work and educational opportunities. “On his first day of school, he introduced himself as ‘J. C.,’ but his teacher misunderstood him to say “Jesse.” The young Owens bashfully accepted the mistake, thus taking on the name by which he would become famous.”1 Jesse Owens would grow up loving to run. He was the fastest runner in his school and loved competing against others. His dream was to attend the University of Michigan, but there were no scholarships offered in those days and his parents could not afford tuition. Instead, he attended Ohio State University, where he worked for the boosters to pay for his expenses.
In the Summer of 1936, at the Olympic trials, Jesse finished first in all three of the events that he competed in. He had trained hard in the preceding months, and the hard training paid off, allowing Owens to attend the Olympics of 1936, known as “The Nazi Games” or as “Hitler’s Games.” In actuality, these Olympic games were not originally intended to be games hosted by the Nazis: the “Nazis were never invited to host the Games—and probably never would have applied to do so. Instead, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had awarded the Olympics to Germany’s Weimar Republic in 1931 before the Nazi takeover as a way of welcoming Germany back to sports respectability.”2
Ironically, Adolf Hitler knew nothing about sports and expressed little interest in hosting the Olympics; instead he wished to host an all-German athletic celebration. “But Dr. Josef Goebbels, the influential minister of propaganda, glimpsed how Germany might score a tremendous public-relations coup and convinced Hitler to support both the Winter and Summer Games.”3 Influenced by Dr. Josef Goebbels, Hitler used these Olympic games as a political relation with other countries.
Several weeks after the Olympic trials, Jesse Owens competed in the Berlin Olympics and made a name for himself. He won four gold medals, in the 100m, 200m, 4x100m relays, and in the long jump. Jesse Owens had set records and represented America in a humble and most respectable way, considering the circumstances. Even though many have claimed that Adolf Hitler refused to congratulate Jesse Owens, others go further by claiming that Hitler actually “snubbed” Owens:
By the end of that fabulous week in Berlin, an attractive yarn attached itself to the name of Jesse Owens. Supposedly, he was ‘snubbed’ by Adolf Hitler, who reportedly refused to congratulate him publicly after his victories. Actually, the story was concocted by American sportswriters, who were all too willing to read the worst of motives into Hitler’s behavior and to assume innocent excellence from America’s newest hero. Although it had no basis in fact, the story of ‘Hitler’s snub’ was repeated so often that people took it as truth. It remains one of the great anecdotes of American popular culture.4
Racism was as alive in the United States as it was overseas in Germany in the 1930s. German Jews were a persecuted minority in the 1930s, and African Americans were experiencing similar treatments of racism in 1930s America. “World reaction to Hitler’s program resulted in a movement to boycott Nazi goods and services, which included a movement to take away the 1936 Olympics from Berlin in an attempt to force the German government to cease its discriminatory practice against the Jews.”5 It was not until the United States entered World War II that sentiment against racism began to penetrate the American social consciousness. Even though Owens continued to face white racism in his own country subsequent to his Olympic victories, he later reflected on his experiences of racism: “What I’ve done is no more than countless other Negros (and Jews, Poles, Greeks and just Americans in general) have done…. I’ve been a Negro in America for fifty-seven years, and I want to tell you that [being black in America] can be pure hell at times and can shake anyone’s sureness. Often it’s worse if you were the world’s fastest human.”6 When Owens returned to the United States after the Olympics, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt refused to acknowledge his accomplishments or even invite him into the White House. It was not until 1979 that President Jimmy Carter presented Jesse Owens with the Living Legend Award. Forty-three years after his Olympic victories, Jesse Owens had finally been properly recognized for his great achievements.
Despite all the controversy that Jesse Owens encountered while doing what he loved, he is a true representation of perseverance and determination. Jesse Owens passed away in March of 1980 from lung cancer.
- Salem Press Biography Encyclopedia, January 2017, s.v. “Jesse Owens,” by William J. Baker. ↵
- John Rodden and John P. Rossi, “Berlin Stories,” Commonweal 143, no. 13 (August 12, 2016): 25. ↵
- John Rodden and John P. Rossi, “Berlin Stories,” Commonweal 143, no. 13 (August 12, 2016): 26. ↵
- Salem Press Biography Encyclopedia, January 2017, s.v. “Jesse Owens,” by William J. Baker. ↵
- D. A. Kass, “The Issue of Racism at the 1936 Olympics,” Journal of Sports History, no. 3 (1976): 223. ↵
- Joseph Boskin, “Jesse Owens: Running in the American Dilemma,” Review in American History, no. 3 (1987): 457. ↵
161 comments
Clarissa Bustamante
I’ve always known about Jesse Owens and how successful he was in his career. But I didn’t know how much racial issues he went through but it does make sense due to the time period it occurred in. Reading about his story is so inspiring because it comes to show how much drive and heart he had for his sport. He didn’t let anyone dictate whether or not he would pursue his dreams. Despite the little credit he received from the Olympic games everyone already knew how much he earned it.
Rebekah Esquivel
This was a very well written article. The first thing that grabbed my attention was the title I thought he was going to have a different kind of encounter with Hitler but as described it was more of Owen’s surviving that era. I had no idea who Jesse Owens was before reading this article. This really helped me learn a lot about who he was, what he accomplished and the struggles he had to go through when he was in his prime. It is pretty sad to know he had to wait so long for acknowledgement of his accomplishments but the fact that he overcame adversity in those years to be the worlds fastest runner is amazing.
Morghan Armenta
Although this topic is very interesting and I did learn a bit I don’t feel like there was enough elaboration or facts provided. There isn’t much here that shows what Hitler did to Jesse Owens, there is a point where you insert a quote on a possible snub that may not of happened and then nothing more besides already commonly known facts about one of the worst genocides in modern history. Secondly, it seems like the information is trying to connect the xenophobia’s between U.S. and Germany yet the article never seems to even cite what Owens went through personally, and if the point of the article was to be a bibliography and none of the above themes then I didn’t find it very informational. I would of liked to of seen more information about Owens career or more of an emphasis on the relationship between barriers faced by Owens in his home country and overseas at the Olympic games.
Briana Bustamante
That would be a great article that you could write about!
Thank you for your opinion.
Ernie Sano
The topics of racism in America and the persecution of Jews are widely known to be recollections of the faults that humanity has shown. Jesse Owens’s tale will forever be embedded into the minds of humanity as a reminder of the socially accepted way of conduct and morality. While the specific story itself is one that has been retold many times, the thematic and ethical qualities that are found will forever be used to influence and guide civilization into a mindset that has been deemed the most efficient in maintaining a proper moral and ethical foundation.
Michael Mandujano
During my first semester at St. Mary’s, I had become familiar with Jesse Owen’s historical achievements in the 1936 Olympics. However, I enjoyed how this article goes into further depth on racism being a major issue in the 19th century. I have gained a greater understanding that Owen’s competed against star athletes from other countries, but the competitor that imposed the greatest threat towards Owen’s success was racism. In fact, it is a shame that Owen’s was not recognized for his accomplishments.
Christine Sackey
I had heard about Jesse Owens before but I never knew all the racial encounters that he faced. It is amazing to see how graceful he was in the face of it all. I liked the fact that though it all Jesse Owens still fought for his spot and his dream. It is really encouraging. It is still sad to think of how one man could run a whole country based on stupid ideas and morals.
Erin Vento
I had known of Jesse Owens and the 1936 Olympics, but this article was truly enlightening. He had such an amazing story and it’s disappointing to hear of his lack of recognition (at the time) from both the competitors at the Olympics and from America. I really liked how you drew a parallel from the racism in Germany and the racism going on in America as well as the quotes you used.
Thomas Fraire
This article is so cool, I had seen trailer for a movie about this but like a year ago but other then that I have never heard of Jessie Owens and these events the occurred during world war two. People seem to think sports have no significance at times or degrade professional athletes because they are over paid. But this man did something incredible, gave people hope, and shook the world. This is truly and amazing underdog story.
Ian Hammock
I was aware of Jesse Owens incident during the 1936 Olympic Games before I read this article but there are facts in the article that I had no knowledge of. I didn’t know that Owens was not invited to the White House following his outstanding victory in Germany. It makes my skin crawl the he wasn’t acknowledged properly for his efforts and achievements until decades after due to the presence of racism and prejudice in our country.
Zeresh Haman
This was a very informative article. I think that this article did an amazing job of showing a parallel between racism not only in Germany, but also in the U.S. I was unaware of how Owens failed to get recognized not only in Berlin but also in the United States.That is truly shocking that he had to wait almost 50 years to finally have someone realize how great he truly was, and all the barriers that he managed to break in such a bad place during a bad time. He is truly a legend and deserves all the recognition that he earned all those years ago. Great article!