Remembering the Olympic Salute by Peggy Scholberg

1936 Berlin Olympics and 1924 Paris Olympics

In 1931, the city of Berlin was named as the official site for the 1936 Olympics.

During that five-year period, much changed in Germany. Adolf Hitler had pronounced himself Führer. Jews were no longer citizens. The Dachau Concentration Camp was established. Freedom of the press had been abolished.

Around the globe, athletic and political groups in many countries expressed concerns about attending the Olympics while Germany was under Nazi rule. In 1934, a member of the American Olympic Committee was invited to Berlin to see for himself. A tightly controlled inspection was provided. Antisemitic displays had all been removed. Athletes were told exactly what to say, and what not to say, to the visitor. The decision came in December 1935, just six months before the Olympics. The US would attend. Other countries followed. There would be no boycott of the Games.

The opening ceremony in Berlin in 1936 was the first Olympic ceremony of modern times. In the stadium, 100,000 people watched as the Olympic flame made its final leg of its journey from Olympia in Greece, representing the seed of Germanic civilization. All meticulously choreographed, invented just for this occasion. The lone runner, the epitome of the superior Aryan race, arrived at the front, paused, and then finally ignited the cauldron. The crowd erupted in a deafening roar.

People from across the globe were invited to this monumental event. Olympic values of friendship and respect would be used as a false façade for a more terrifying cause. Adolf Hitler was at the center of it all, starting with a grand entrance, declaring the opening of the XI Olympiad. 1,200 journalists were invited. It was the first live television broadcast of the Games.

However, the athlete who dominated the competition, becoming the most celebrated athlete of the Games, was Jesse Owens. Reporters commented that he “ran like the wind” in competition. He won four gold medals (100m, 200m, long jump, 4x100m relay). Singlehandedly, Jesse Owens destroyed the myth of Aryan superiority.

At age 16, my mother was one in the crowd that attended the Games. She went on a German propaganda tour that included visits to five countries. Germany advertised these tours in order to showcase what a great country it was, and how technologically advanced it had become.

One of my mother’s strongest memories of the Games was performing the Olympic salute. In years prior, it had been used in Olympic Games to celebrate an athlete. Yet the Hitler salute was now being used in these Games to salute Adolf Hitler, called the “Hitler Salute.” Years ago, when she told folks about this, they didn’t believe her. There was no internet to search for more information. Yet she always stood firm—after all—she was there.

Book Excerpt

Prologue

August 3, 1936

Olympic Stadium, Berlin, Germany

Adolf Hitler looked out into the vast stadium. This was the time for Germany to show the rest of the world Germany’s prominence. It was time to display their rightful place in Olympic history.

After years of preparation, building the Third Reich was well underway. Today would again be a day of magnificent celebrations with flags, bands, and parades.

Straight across, buried in the crowds, was Katherine Collens sitting with her favorite uncle. She had celebrated her 16th birthday just three days earlier. As a “Chicago Times” correspondent, her Uncle Fred Babcock was covering this event. Kathy giggled as she and her Uncle Fred continued to practice and learn their “secret” language, German.

At two p.m., a surprise upset shook the world. USA runner Jesse Owens came in first in the 100-meter dash. His time was a record-smashing 10.3 seconds. The crowd leapt to their feet and cheered. In unison they thrust their right arms out and pointed upward, performing the famed Olympic salute, an old tradition of honoring a winning Olympian.

Neither Kathy nor Uncle Fred were able to notice that Adolf Hitler did not acknowledge the

Black man’s victory. They were also unaware that the Olympic salute was being transformed to become a Nazi salute, along with the utterance of “Heil Hitler,” a signal of obedience to Hitler.

Kathy would forever remember that day. The time when the world was not at war—the time

when the Olympic salute celebrated excellence—the time before she would join the forces to

fight Hitler’s evil.

Girls in a World at War by Peggy Scholberg is available online wherever books are sold.