The Greatest Sporting Event in History

[PullTogether73]

That's an interesting one because it's a combination of fact and myth. His on track exploits are obviously fact, the Hitler stuff, who knows.

The following narrative always seemed to me to be closer to a logical truth

Myths and Truth: Jesse Owens in Germany

Hitler did shun a black American athlete at the 1936 Games. On the first day of the Olympics, just before Cornelius Johnson, an African-American athlete who won the first gold medal for the U.S. that day, was to receive his award, Hitler left the stadium early. (The Nazis later claimed it was a previously scheduled departure.)

Prior to his departure, Hitler had received a number of winners, but Olympic officials informed the German leader that in the future he must receive all of the winners or none at all. After the first day, he opted to acknowledge none. Jesse Owens had his victories on the second day, when Hitler was no longer in attendance. Would Hitler have snubbed Owens had he been in the stadium on day two? Perhaps. But since he wasn't there, we can only surmise.

Which brings us to another Olympic myth. It is often stated that Jesse Owens' four gold medals humiliated Hitler by proving to the world that Nazi claims of Aryan superiority were a lie. But Hitler and the Nazis were far from unhappy with the Olympic results. Not only did Germany win far more medals than any other country at the 1936 Olympics, but the Nazis had pulled off the huge public relations coup that Olympic opponents had predicted, casting Germany and the Nazis in a positive light. In the long run, Owens' victories turned out to be only a minor embarrassment for Nazi Germany.

In fact, Jesse Owens' reception by the German public and the spectators in the Olympic stadium was warm. There were German cheers of “Yesseh Oh-vens” or just “Oh-vens” from the crowd. Owens was a true celebrity in Berlin, mobbed by autograph seekers to the point that he complained about all the attention. He later claimed that his reception in Berlin was greater than any other he had ever experienced, and he was quite popular even before the Olympics.

“Hitler didn't snub me—it was [FDR] who snubbed me. The president didn't even send me a telegram.” ~Jesse Owens, quoted in Triumph, a book about the 1936 Olympics by Jeremy Schaap.

I would say the Luz Long stuff is true as well because we have film evidence of it (and the above).



Even more interesting, from Wikipedia: His achievement of setting three world records and tying another in less than an hour at the 1935 Big Ten track meet in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has been called "the greatest 45 minutes ever in sport" and has never been equalled.

I (sincerely) appreciate the info on Owens you provided above.
I always suspected that Owens treatment in his own country was likely almost as bad as anything he received while in Germany. Your reference seems to confirm it.
And I see how you can comment that there is fact and myth in the Owens/Hitler story.
Thanks again for this.

[Argoknot]

I (sincerely) appreciate the info on Owens you provided above. I always suspected that Owens treatment in his own country was likely almost as bad as anything he received while in Germany. Your reference seems to confirm it. And I see how you can comment that there is fact and myth in the Owens/Hitler story. Thanks again for this.

No problem, a hundred years ago when I got out of the news biz I seriously considered getting a degree in sports history. Unfortunately IIRC the place where I had to do it was the University of Birmingham in England and I ain't British and didn't live there, so that idea soon went by the wayside.

I love debunking myths and I have a saying that "things are often not as they seem" And by debunking myths, I don't believe in revisionism or conspiracy garbage, just the facts. They are usually far more interesting than any fairy tale.

[Ron]

I (sincerely) appreciate the info on Owens you provided above.
I always suspected that Owens treatment in his own country was likely almost as bad as anything he received while in Germany. Your reference seems to confirm it.
And I see how you can comment that there is fact and myth in the Owens/Hitler story.
Thanks again for this.

Owens was treated far better in Germany than at home.

For the 2 weeks of the games Owens was the biggest story in Germany. Headlining all the media and for the first (and only) time pushing Hitler off the front page. German's couldn't get enough of him. Heck, if you watch the 100 race it's a German runner who's first to congratulate him. There's always a little myth involved as propaganda tends to work both ways.