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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhat happened last Evening was a repeat of Germany 1936
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x118878Voice for Peace
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formercia
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Owens
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In 1936, Owens arrived in Berlin to compete for the United States in the Summer Olympics. Adolf Hitler was using the games to show the world a resurgent Nazi Germany.[6] He and other government officials had high hopes that German athletes would dominate the games with victories (the German athletes achieved a "top of the table" medal haul). Meanwhile, Nazi propaganda promoted concepts of "Aryan racial superiority" and depicted ethnic Africans as inferior.[6][7]
Owens surprised many[6] by winning four gold medals: On August 3, 1936, he won the 100m sprint, defeating Ralph Metcalfe; on August 4, the long jump (later crediting friendly and helpful advice from Luz Long, the German competitor he ultimately defeated);[4] on August 5, the 200m sprint; and, after he was added to the 4 x 100 m relay team, following a request by the Germans to replace a Jewish-American sprinter,[8] he won his fourth on August 9 (a performance not equaled until Carl Lewis won gold medals in the same events at the 1984 Summer Olympics).
Just before the competitions, Owens was visited in the Olympic village by Adi Dassler, the founder of the Adidas athletic shoe company. He persuaded Owens to use Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik shoes[9], the first sponsorship for a male African-American athlete.[10]
The long-jump victory is documented, along with many other 1936 events, in the 1938 film Olympia by Leni Riefenstahl.
On the first day, Hitler shook hands only with the German victors and then left the stadium. Olympic committee officials insisted Hitler greet every medalist or none at all. Hitler opted for the latter and skipped all further medal presentations.[11][12] On reports that Hitler had deliberately avoided acknowledging his victories, and had refused to shake his hand,
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Ikonoklast
(23,973 posts)formercia
(18,479 posts)Ubermensch, meet Canvas.