Description:

American Olympic Committee
Chicago, IL, January-April, 1936
1936 "Nazi Olympics" 4pp Archive of American Committee re: German-American Engagement
Archive

A collection of three TLS from members of the 1936 American Olympic Committee regarding the Games in Germany, which would later be described as the "Nazi Olympics". 4pp total, measuring 8.5" x 11", Chicago, IL, ranging from January to April, 1936. All pages have been staple-bound along left side edge. Exhibits varying degrees of flattened folds and handling creases, with moderate staple soiling present throughout. Overall, very good with interesting contents. Please see accompanying images for further condition information.

The correspondence, highlighted by a signed letter from Committee President and former Olympic athlete Avery Brundage (1887-1975), pertains to a series of outreach initiatives targeting German-Americans. Addressed throughout to Mr. Otto Greiner of Chicago who, in 1932, evidently filmed participating German athletes at the previous Summer Games in Los Angeles. Taken on approximately 400 feet of silent 16mm film, he offered this for use by the Committee at a promotional event.

Brundage's letter to Greiner of January 18, 1936 reads in part:

"Your initiative in stimulating Olympic Fund collections among Chicagoans of German extraction is appreciated. I am sure the films and lectures accompanying them will be welcomed by every gathering here and in other cities.
We will send you a list of German American committees in other cities as soon as they have been organized so that you may get in touch with them… Incidentally, there are several reels of the 1932 Games here which may be used if you desire."

The Winter and Summer Games of 1936, held in Bavaria and Berlin respectively, marked the last year in which both events took place in the same country. To Hitler, appointed Chancellor two years earlier, the Olympics became an opportunity to promote his own political agenda and ideals of racial supremacy. German Jewish athletes were largely prevented from taking part in the Games by a variety of methods, and indeed, Jewish athletes from other countries were said to have been sidelined to avoid offending the Nazi regime. Despite his initial doubts, Brundage became a main supporter of the German Games, arguing that "politics has no place in sport". Just twelve days after the Games closed, Hitler would send troops to remilitarize the Rhineland, marking his first territorial violation of the Treaty of Versailles.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 8.5" x 11"
  • Medium: Archive

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