Exclusion of Jews from Olympics



Initially Hitler saw little value in the 1936 Olympics, it was only after his Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels convinced him of the potential of the Olympic stage for proliferating Aryan propaganda on a world stage.

One of the main tenants of Hitler's ideology was the inferiority and inherent 'evil' of the Jewish race. Starting soon after his rise to power Hitler began a systematic exclusion of the Jewish race from the German nation.

In relation to the 1936 Olympics the Nazi regime banned all Jewish youth from participating in any public and school related physical education. Jewish athletes (regardless of talent) were not allowed in any gymnasiums or training facilities effectively banning their inclusion as competitors in the Berlin Olympics.

The establishment of the Nuremburg Laws in 1935 took away the citizenships of German Jews, stripping away any legal ability for a Jewish athlete to participate in the Olympics as they were no longer citizens of Germany and therefore not eligible to participate.

The exclusion of Jews from legal citizenship and any sporting venues should have been reason alone for the boycott and political statement to be made by the world community to send a message to the Third Reich