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
Khoa Tran
This article is definitely deserved a “HISTORY MEDIA AWARD”! You did a very creative job using the olympic to reflect the evil of humanity in both America and Germany. Owens has inspire many to do the “impossible”. We all should learn from Jesse and fight for our own values. I have read about Jesse Owens, but you have a whole different perspective that I have never read before. Outstanding article! Keep up the good work.
Nahim Rancharan
This article was a very interesting read. I did not know much about Jesse Owens or his role in the olympics. But, after reading this article, I could see the level of impact that Jesse had through his participation in the Olympics. For many, it might be difficult to understand that the Olympics does not only have influence because of the sport, but it also has a level of political influence as well. One may consider it to be a competition to determine the nations who are able to produce humans of caliber and skill. Due to the political tensions of the time, Jesse Owens’ win played a big role in the establishing the US’s dominance in the world, especially over countries such as Germany and leaders such as Hitler and this is clearly pointed from the very beginning with the title of the article! Overall it was a very well organized article. Good Work!
Nicolas McKay
You did a great job telling the story of one of the greatest, if not one of the most overlooked, athletes in history. He was certainly a hero for many, during a time when the world needed someone who could perform the impossible and act as an example for others. It is certainly sad what an impact he had mace in fighting racism overseas, all the while African Americans were suffering just as much back home. My uncle told me about Jesse Owens,so i was familiar with his story prior to reading it, but you were able to add a level of depth and emotion I had not previously heard, through great story telling.
Marissa Gonzalez
This article represents racism in both Germany and the United States, but it is mostly focused on Hitler and Jesse Owens. It is selfish for Hitler to use the Olympics for his own advantage even though he really did not care for it. I say this because athletes such as Jesse Owens work hard and train for this event. He deserved to be acknowledged for his accomplishments in which Hitler prevented this from him. Your article kept me engaged the entire time as I read it again.
Samuel Sanchez
I think this article to read even for a second time. It is sad to read about how racism was still from the president but I mean we can’t just say that what FDR did was bad it may have appeared as the norm. Plenty of presidents have been slave owners. In the present, we see that as racism but back then it could have been the norm. Owens still experienced rasicm when he got back to the U.S. it did not change immedatiely. Overall great article it was very intersting to read about the “worlds fastest human” and all he experienced.
Irene Astran
Again, I really appreciate that you set up the story here by describing the conditions that Berlin was under. It sets up the scene for where Owens was sent to compete and how the discrimination must have been exceptionally heightened for him. Your featured image is truly incredible. I remember it being one of the things that caught my eye when I first read it.
Mario De Leon
Great article and fun read. Great choice of a featured image. It captures what you are going to talk about and is just really cool image to look at. I didn’t know that Hitler planned to have a German only games. I thought that was pretty interesting. The article was well written and I like how you included that there was still racism even in the United States at the time.
Zander Barrera
Racism aside I think it was just sad that not even the president of the United States would want to even see the man that just earned America gold the apex of international competitions but that’s just how things were back then, its a shiner on the face of our country but in terms of Mr. Owens his achievement was colossal and your article did an excellent job in giving a worthy insight into the Fastest mans experience in Nazi Germany and here in the U.S.
Johnanthony Hernandez
Great article, I had seen a small segment on Jesse Owens when watching a documentary about Germany before World War II, but they didn’t mention much on him other than he took part in the Olympics. Your article did more for him in telling his story than this documentary did. It’s sad that he had to wait over forty years to be acknowledged by the President for his victories over the Germans during the Olympics, but it is some relief that he was.
Gabriela Medrano
I loved that you started off with a brief history on Adolf Hitler and what was happening on his end of the stick, because for people like me who are not familiar with this story it raises the question of “what does Hitler’s Germany have to do with the racial struggles of an African American in America. then you unravel this great story where both these men, Jesse Owens and Adolf Hitler, cross paths. Hitler’s infamous snubbing is simply an act of disrespect, if it truly did happen. I am glad Jesse Owens finally got the recognition he deserved. Great article and cool topic!