The 1936 Berlin Olympics

Listen to Jewish survivors and other eyewitnesses to the Holocaust describe watching the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. In preparation for the start of the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, the Nazis in power decided to minimize the presence of antisemitism in the city.

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  Discrimination: Rita Feder remembers the 1936 Olympics

  Language: English

  Rita Feder was a young girl during the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and remembers how desperately she wanted to attend the games but was unable to because she was Jewish. Feder recalls how dangerous it was for Jews during that time even though there was an international audience in Berlin.
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  Margaret Lambert on the 1936 Berlin Olympics

  Language: English

  Margaret Lambert recalls her experience as an athlete on the Olympic team in Nazi Germany in 1936. Lambert's testimony is featured in the IWitness Activity, 1936 Olympics: Race, Politics & Civil Rights.
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  Hugo Beckerman on the atmosphere in Berlin before the start of the 1936 Olympics

  Language: English

  In preparation for the start of the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, the Nazis in power decided to minimize the presence of anti-Semitism in the city. Hugo Beckerman recalls how he was able to identify the Jewish businesses that were still allowed to run at that time.
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  Agnes Adachi on the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games

  Language: English

  Agnes Adachi remembers attending the Olympic Games in Berlin 1936; and describes what it was like to watch Jesse Owens compete and win the gold medal. She recalls that the anti-Jewish restrictions and propaganda had been eased at the time because of the international presence in Germany.