BERLIN 1936

BERLIN 1936

Berlin was already awarded the 1916 summer olympic games by the International Olympic Commitee but because of the First World war the games were cancelled and German athletes were banned from the Olympics until the Amsterdam 1928

German sports authorities decided to apply for the games again after the ban and the IOC decided on their Barcelona conference 1930  to give the XI Summer Olympic games to the German capital in 1936

Organising commitee was set up immediately and decision was made to make abandoned horse race course in Gruenwald as the central olympic park where the majority of the events would take place.   However the preparations for the building of the venues started very slowly and there were doubts if the Berlin would get games ready before 1936

The history would have it's own part on the organising of the games as in 1932 Adolf Hitler came to power and his own personell would take over the organising of the games.  With the Nazi Party's efficiency the organising started to take it's own pace.

In two years a Reich's sports field was risen in Gruenwald.  Olympic Stadium, Swimming Stadium, Hockey Stadium, Tennis Fields and a beautiful open air theatre were build inside one mile radius so the spectators had an excellent chance to see sports without travelling between the venues

Some of the football games were played on smaller stadiums around Berlin, rowing and canoeing were competed in the Grunau regatta course,  shooting in Wannsee and sailing in the coastal town of Kiel.

The German Reich organised also the majority of the funding needed for the games.  Rest of the funding came from the public collections, olympic collectables and of course the ticket sales which really gave the big part of the funding.  Most of the events were sold out.

First time in the Olympic history the politics were also playing a big part of the games as there were lots of countries and also persons demanding the games to be moved away from Germany because of the Nazis' racial politics.  Specially the American audience and sport leaders were the loudest asking people to boycott the games.  However,  sports won over the politics and in my personal opinion so far the best organised games were held.

Personally the Berlin was so far the most successful city at my Olympic Adventure as most of the venues were still in there and I was able to visit the sites to see how do they look now 80 years after the closing ceremonies.  

Despite all the talks about boycott and politics, the 1936 Olympic games got most participating countries and number of athletes so far.  4.484 Athletes representing 49 countries were sent to Germany.  New entrants were Afghanistan, Bermuda, Bolivia, Costa Rica and Liechtenstein. A small interesting trivia is that Liechtenstein athlete Xavier Frick participated also in the Winter Olympic games 1948.  He was the first ever athlete in the Olympic history to do so.  He also became later the president of Liechtenstein Olympic commitee.

A sports event of this size naturally required organised accommodation for athletes and officials. The organisers decided to change a military camp 9 miles outside Berlin in Elfstal to a major Olympic village or Olympische Dorf as the locals would say.

The village is the first remaining olympic village that still can be seen after the games.  It is also open for public to visit.  Probably due to the distance from city center, the locals don't know much about the location of the former Olympic Village and it has been unfortunately let to collapse quite badly.  However the main buildings are still there and for example the barrack occupied by Jesse Owens has been refurbished as a museum.

In addition to the accommodation huts, the area also included a swimming hall, inside sports hall and a full size athletics field. For the athletes a great combined reception and dining hall was built. In this hall all the teams had their own dining areas and when the teams arrived to the games, an official reception was held to the team.  A separate Hindenburg Haus was built to take care of athlete's general needs e.g.  medical, barber, administration.  On the Finnish team's request a very beautiful sauna was built by a forest pond.  The sauna was very popular amongst all the teams, not only Finns.

A daily transport was organised from the village to the venues.  In addition to Elstal's village a separate accommodation was organised to Kiel for the sailors and in Grunau for the rowers and canoeists

Female athletes were not yet allowed to accommodate together with the male athletes and the women were organised their own accommodation e.g. in local hotels and some of the teams were accommodated in the Reichs Sportsfeldt close to the olympic stadium.

As mentioned, the present conditions in the olympic village were dreadful and for example public were not let in in he buildings.  The village has been tried to be restored, but probably due to lack of interest of local authorities this has not been successful.  For example the beautiful forest pond where the sauna was located has been drained.  Locals said that the sauna is still in there but could not be seen in the middle of overgrown forest.

Probably due to the distant location and very strict security there are not many original photographs left of the Olympic Village.





After the Olympic games the village was restored to it's original purpose as German's army's training camp.  During the Second World War the village was a field hospital for the wounded German soldiers.  After the war the Russian occupying troops took over the village and they built their own buildings in there.  These buildings are still visible in the area

Olympic Village 1936

Finnish Sauna 1936

Location of the Finnish Sauna and the lake 2016

Entrance to Olympic Village 1936

Entrance to Olympic Village 2016

Jesse Owens House

Location of one of the Finnish Olympic Team's accommodation

Swimming hall 2016

Hindenburg House 1936

Hindenburg House 2016

Personally the visit to the Olympic village left me feeling very bad.  How could they let such a beautiful place get in such a horrible condition.  After asking about this from the local guide, I got as an answer a shrug of shoulders and one word "Geld" - money





Not very well known fact is that one of the most spectacular traditions of the modern olympic torch relay was created in Berlin 1936.  The father of this tradition was the German Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels, who introduced his idea of torch relay from acient Greek city of Olympia to Berlin. The organisers found the idea a very good one and so one of the most known traditions was born.

The 1936 olympic torch was lit in Acient stadium of Olympia in Greece on 20th July and it was run as a relay from Greece through Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Austria and Checkoslovakia to Germany.  The relay stopped on its route in major cities bringing the knowledge of the biggest sports event to the public.

The torch arrived in Berlin evening before the opening ceremonies on 31st July where the flame was lit first in the Lustgarten in the city center.  The next morning the flame was transferred to the Olympic Stadium at the opening ceremonies where the fire was lit by German sprinter Fritz Schilgen.

In addition to the Olympic stadium and Lustgarten the flame was also brought to city of Kiel where the sailing competitions were held

Olympic Flame Cauldron 1936

Olympic Flame Cauldron 2016

Close shot of the Olympic Flame Cauldron 2016

The 11th Summer Olympic Games were opened officially by the Reichs Chancellor Adolf Hitler on the 1st August and two weeks' sports festivities were ready to begin.  With this I'm also now ready to begin my adventure in 80 years old sports history



OLYMIC STADIUM - OLYMPISCHE STADION


Still on 1928 the site of olympic stadion was an old horse race stadium, which was supposed to be the main venue for the cancelled 1916 olympic stadium.  However the anticipated ticket sales for the -36 games required a much larger stadium to be built.  So a decision was made to build a new main stadium that can accommodate 100.000 spectators.

Site of the olympic park 1928

The construcion work  for the new venues were started immediately with architect Otto March in charge and brand new gigantic stadium was ready on 1934.  Comparing to the previous main stadiums the Berlin Olympic stadium had a new tunnel system beneath the stadium so that the athletes, officials and VIP guests had chance to move between the venues flawlessly.  Not many people visiting the site know that there is a small pool of water in the middle of the stadiums football pitch.  This was used in the equestrian competitions during the olympics and can be still opened should there be any equestirian competitions in the future.

During the olympic games the stadium was a venue for athletics, equestrian and final of football and handball.  The opening and closing ceremonies were held at the stadium

The last combats of the Second World War fought had between the Red Army and the Wehrmacht in the area of the Olympic park.  Surprisingly the stadium itself was not damaged during the war, however there are still some signs of machine gun fire visible in the walls of the stadium.

After the war the English occupying troops had their headquarters in the Olympic park and the park became off limits for the locals.

In 1994 when the occupying allied forces left the newly unified Germany, the Olympic park was also opened for the Berliners.  FC Herta Berlin took the olympic stadium as their home venue.

On 1998 there was a heated debate in Berlin about the future of the old stadium.  It was set to be demolished so that a new super stadium would be built on the area.  For Olympic historical benefit the debate got a happy ending and the stadium was decided to have a total refurbishment.  For example the stadium was covered and the race track got it's new special blue colour.

Thanks to the refurbisment, the stadium became one of the major sports and concert venues in the Europe.  For example it has been the main venue for Football World Cup and Athletics World Championships.

Now the stadium is one of the great tourist attractions in Berlin and also very active forum for different events.

Olympic Square 1936

Olympic Square 2016

Olympic Stadium 1936

Olympic Stadium 2016

Olympic Stadium 2016

Marathon Gate 2016

Fuhrer Tribunal 1936

VIP Tribunal 2016

OLYMPIAPARK - SCHWIMMSTADIUM

The venue for the second favourite olympic sport, swimming, was a swim stadium built next to the main stadium.  Again the demand of tickets proved to be higher than anticipated so the capacity was risen from original 4.000 seats to 6.000 with temporary tribune.


The swimming pools were dug 13 feet lower than the spectators' area to give the competitors and official their own peace apart from sometimes too enthusiastic sport fans.  For a first time in Olympic history the water in the swimming pools was heated and this got a lot of positive feedback from the athletes.  During the games the swimming stadium served as a public bath when there were no competitions.

The complex also included a diving pool with 10 meter diving tower and a wading pool for children on grassfield outside the stadium

Swimming stadium was a venue for swimming, diving and waterpolo.  Also the swimming session of the Modern Pentathlon was competed here.

After the olympic games the stadium served as a public bath and after the war it was a recreational pool for the British occupying forces.  In 1994 the swimstadium was again opened for public after the occupying forces left the city.  The stadium still operates as a public bath however during my visit to Berlin, the stadium was closed for refurbishment and I was unable to have a swim in historical olympic venue

Swimming Stadium 1936

Swimming Stadium 2016

Diving Tower 2016

Swimm stadium under construction 1934

DIETRICH ECKART OPEN AIR THEATRE

One of the most beautiful olympic venues I have so far seen is located deep inside a forest in outer limits of the Olympic Park.  Dietrich Eckart open air theatre got it's name from German author who was a good friend of Mr Hitler and he was one of founders of the National Socialist party in Germany

The amphtheatre is not very easy place to find as it is hidden inside the forest so well that you are not able to see it from outside.  Of course the fences and main entrance will give you a quite good idea that there may be something behind the trees.

During the olympics the capasity of the theatre was 12.000 and I was told that the capacity is still the same as the stands are still the same as they were on -36.  In the olympics the theatre hosted the gymnastics of the games and the stands were sold out every day

After the games the old theatre was forgotten almost totally, local Nazi organisations had their meetings in there and some amateur theatres gave their performances in there

After the war the theatre was let down quite badly as the British occupying forces did not have much interest in the theatre.  In 1994 when the olympic park was opened again for the public, the theatre was found again.  The name was changed to Waldbuehle and now it operates as a venue for different concerts.

During my visit to Berline the personell were preparing again a concert in there and I had to use all my negotiations skills to gain a short visit to see the old olympic venue

Dietrich Eckart Theatre 1936

Dietrich Eckart Theatre 2016

Dietrich Eckart Theatre from the bell tower

HOCKEY STADION

Close to the Olympic stadium by the Olympic Square the games organisers built a hockey stadium.  The venue had two hockey fields next to each other and sometimes there were two games played simultaniously.  The main stadium could accommodate 8.000 spectators and smaller could accommodate 2.000 spectators.  As per it's name, the hockey stadium was the venue for the Field Hockey events.

After the games, the German Government took over the stadium for the Reich's youth's sports training and the venue was also used as a training field for larger gymnastics presentations.

After the war the British occupying troops used the stadium as a training arena.  When the British troops left Berlin, the stadium was taken back to it's original use and it is now functioning as a training venue for Berlin hockey teams.  Also German national hockey team gathers for it's training sessions every now and then in Berlin.

Unfortunately the hockey didn't get much attention during the olympic games and because of this there are not many pictures of the original Olympic tournament left

Hockey Stadium during the Final 1936

The original entrance 2016

Hockey Stadium 2016

MAY FELDT

In the eastern end of the Olympic Stadium was a large field built for coming large meetings and demonstrations.  The arena was named May Feldt.  Prior the olympic games the field hosted large meetings of the National Socialist Party.  For the olympic games a tower was erected by the field and it was named Bell Tower.  The tower was easily seen from all over the Olympic Park

The tower was opened for the public as an observation tower where the guests were able to see the area

250 feet above the ground.  On the base of the bell tower there is a Langemark Halle to honour the German soldiers fallen on the First World War.  In the bell tower the organisers set up an olympic bell which was sounded during the opening ceremonies to let the world know that the Olympic games have started and during the closing ceremonies to let the world know that the games had ended.  The original olympic bell was damaged during the war but it still can be seen outside the stadium.

The May Feldt itself was a venue of polo and dressage.  In addition a large gymnastics exhibitions were given by German schoolchildren.  A good idea of the size of the field can be seen in the number of the spectators that could stand around the field.  The field could accommodate 40.000 spectators to see the games.

After the olympic games the May Feldt was still a venue for large meetings for the German Reich.

After the olympic games, the British occupying troops used the May Feldt as a cricket ground.  When I visited the bell tower I could clearly see the cricket lines on the ground.  However the May Feldt is now mainly used as an area to support the major events at the Olympic Stadium

Dressage Competition 1936

May Feldt and Bell Tower 1936

May Feldt 2016

May Feldt 2016

Bell Tower 2016

The Original Olympic Bell 2016

HAUS DES DEUTSCHEN SPORT

Translated as the House of German Sport was mainly the head quarters of the Olympic Organising Commitee during the games.  The building had the administration and the medical services of the games. As an annex to the building there was a Coupole Halle which was the venue for the fencing competitions.

After the games the Reich's sports ministry continued in the building and during the war it was one of the biggest military hospitals in Germany

After the war the House was the headquarters of the British occupying forces and after the British troops left country, the building has returned back to it's original and it is now the research centre for the German sports.  The former fencing arena hosts a temporary sports museum where they had very interesting exhibition for the Berlin games.

I was unable to visit the coupole halle as no one in the building had an entrance there, but I got an archive picture taken this year to be added to my blog

 Haus des Deutschen Sport 1936

Olympic Fencing in Coupole Halle 1936

Haus des Deutschen Sport 2016

Inside Coupole Halle 2016

However, the Olympic Park was not the only place where the olympic venues were located during the -36 games. This meant that my Olympic Adventure continued around the beautiful German capital filled with parks and my first goal was the area of the Berlin Mässe

DEUTSCHLANDHALLE

Deutschlandhalle or German Hall translated in English, was built specifically for the Olympic games in the western part of Berlin.  The architecht was perhaps one of the most famous archtitects in Germany that time - Albert Speer.  The venue hosted during the games boxing, wrestling and weightlifting events.

Unfortunately there are not so many pictures of the Olympic events, but in the archives I found a picture of a public meeting of Nazi party just before the games.  From the picture we can see well the size of this magnificant building.

After the games the Deutschlandhalle was used generally for the public events of the Nazi party.  An aviation history was also made in 1938 when Mr Hitler's private pilot Hanna Reitsch flew first time in the aviation history inside a building with German built helicopter.

During the second world war the venue was badly damaged in the areal bombings but it was re-built to it's previous glory.  It was used as a concert and sports venue in the West Berlin.  For example Jimi Hendricx gave his penultimate concert prior his death in Deutschlandhalle.  On sports side the main use of the venue was for ice hockey.  The final of basketball's Europa League was played here in 1970.

After the re-unification of Germany the use of the venue was reduced radically and the future of the hall was uncertain.  The building was granted a landmark status in 1995.  However the building required so many refurbishments that it was decided that it became cheaper to build a new one.  The beautiful olympic venue was demolished in 2008.  In the location there is now one of the exhibition halls of the Berlin Mässe.                                               

Deutschalndhalle 1936

Inside Deutschlandhalle 1936

The position of Deutschlandhalle 2016

MOMMSEN STADION

Football had started gaining it's worldwide popularity due to first ever world cup in 1930. The organisers in Berlin noticed that football tournament needed now more than just a couple of stadiums.  The search for stadiums suitable for a olympic football tournament started. Next to the Deutschlandhalle the organisers found a football stadium of SCC Berlin and organisers decided to refurbish the stadium for the Olympic tournament.  The refurbishment finished in 1930 and it was re-named after German historian Theodor Mommsen.  The new stadium had a capacity of 15.000 spectators.

During the games Mommsen Stadium hosted three first round football games and one quarterfinal match

The post-olympic history the Mommsen stadium is best known as a venue of IAAF Golden League Berlin competitions.  The stadium hosted the Golden league until the Olympic Stadium's refurbishment was finished and the League was transferred to the olympic stadium

During the 2006 Football World cup the Mommsen stadium was the training venue for the German National team.  At present the stadium is the venue for local football teams Tennis Borussia Berlin and SCC Berlin

Mommsen Stadium 1936

Mommsen Stadium 2016

AVUS

Automobil-Verkehrs und Ubungstrasse or easier called AVUS was opened for traffic in 1921 and it is still the oldest controlled highway in the Europe.  Originally the Avus was 19,5 kilometers long and it consisted of two equally long straight roads and they were attached to each other by a deep bend in the northern end of the track.

After opening of the track the AVUS hosted the predecessor of the present Formula 1 races.  AVUS also hosted several attempts to break speed records.  This was very easy as the two roads were straight for such a long distance.

A refurbishment for improve the track for faster cars and bigger competitions was started in 1933 but this was stopped to host the Olympic games.  The AVUS was the venue for cycling's road race and it was a part of marathon and 50 kilometers race walk.

After the war the American occupying forces took the control of the AVUS and again the area was let go down very badly.  The road racing returned back to AVUS in 1950 and it hosted for example the German Grand Prix for F2 and F3.  However the F1 races were never competed in the AVUS.

The last car races in AVUS were competed in 1998 and it became a part of German Bundesautobahn 115.  From the good old days there are still left the original Jury tower and the wooden grandstands.  Both are protected by the city of Berlin.  The jury tower is now a Motel.

AVUS 1936

Cycling Road Race at AVUS 1936

AVUS From Berlin TV-Tower 2016

The original Jury Tower 2016

BERLIN POSTSTADION

Out of three stadiums built for the football tournament Berlin Poststdion was built in 1929 in the city center of Berlin.  The field was originally a training field for Prussian soldiers but it was transferred eventually to more peaceful meanings.  The first football game played in Poststadion was a game between Germany and England and it was one of the first ever games played between these two teams.

In the Olympic games the majority of the football matches were played in Poststadion. For example for us Finns there is not very well known fact that Finnish team played against Peru in the stadium.  The game was very clearly won by Peru 7-3. 

Perhaps the most remarkable match was the quarterfinal between Germany and Norway.  The Norwegians caused the biggest shock of the tournament by winning the hosts 2-0 in front of 55.000 spectators.

After the games the stadium continued as it's original purpose as a football stadium.  At present it is located very close by the main railway station of Berlin and it is a venue for three local lower division football teams.

Poststadion 1936

The main entrance of Poststadion 2016

Poststadion 2016

BERLINER SPORT-CLUB STADION

A new olympic sport - handball - was introduced in Berlin to the olympic family.  The matches were played in 1936 a little bit different way than present as the matches were played outside at the football fields.  However the rules and the size of the goals were already that time the same as they are now.

At the Berliner Sport-Club Stadion also hosted the events of the track cycling on the track which was built around the football field.

Today the area is still an active training area for the local sports teams, but not very many local knew that this same place hosted 80 years ago olympic games.  Unfortunately the old stadium has now been demolished and the area has been split in smaller fields.  With a kind permission of the local coaches I had a chance to visit one of the fields to see what does the area look like now

Berliner Sport-Club 1936

The same end of the stadium 2016

WANNSEE GOLF CLUB

A beautiful suburban area of Wannsee was chosen to host the cross county run of the modern pentathlon. The venue was chosen to be at the local golf club which was proven to be a very good choice as the changing course was very demanding for the athletes who had already been competing four days with the pentathlon.

For the olympic events there are not so many pictures left but again I found one picture from the IOC archives of the competition.  Personally I managed to talk myself a short visit to the club as it was a private golf club closed for the public.

After the games the golf club returned back to it's original use and it is still an active golf course.

Cross County event in Wannsee 1936

Wannsee Golf Course 2016

Wannsee Golf Course 2016

GRUNAU ROWING STADIUM

My adventure to the history of Berlin Olympic games was getting now to the end and there was only one venue left.  The suburb of Grunau hosted the rowing and canoeing events of the Olympics at the stadium built by the lake of Langer See.  The canoeing was introduced to the audience as a new olympic event.

The stadium was built for 8.000 spectators and also a lot of spectators had a chance to follow the competition on the beaches of Langer See

The stadium is still in active use and when I visited the venue, there were lots of boats practicing on the course.  Grunau also hosts an annual Grunau Regatta which brings top rowers around the world to compete at the old rowing stadium.

Stadium has also a museum for watersports and in the museum I found out that Grunau was also used for motorboating races, but these are no longer held in there.

Grunau Rowing Stadium 1936

Grunau Rowing Stadium 2016

The XI summer olympic games were a huge success to the German government - in sports wise, economically and also the games were a big propaganda win for the German people.  Everything was spot on, people were happy - no problems at all.

The best team in the medal table was Germany with 33 gold medals, USA was second with 24 gold medals and Hungary with 10 gold medals was on the third place.  The games will be probably remembered best for Jesse Owens and his 4 gold medals count where he beat the thoughth of Arian supremacy against Afro-American sprinters.

When at the closing ceremonies the youth of the world were traditionally invited to join the XII summer olympic games in Tokyo, nobody could have predicted the dark clouds of the war gathering in the horizon.  It would take another 12 years  until the Olympic movement gets together again in London 1948.  There would be a lot Olympic athletes who would never see the olympic games again as they have given their lives in the coming war


Berlin experience on personal side was a great success.  Most of the original venues were still there to be seen and even in a good condition.  My next research will take me to my home town of London when I research the games of 1948.  I will see you in London


DID YOU KNOW ?

* Berlin games were the first Olympic games to be televized.  However the chance to see the games was  very limited to the audience

* Berlin games were also the first Olympic games to have a good radio commentator coverage around the world

* One can say that Paavo Nurmi took a part in the olympic games this time as the winner of the Equestrian Ludwig Stubbendorf had named his horse as Nurmi to honour the great athlete.

* Mr Nurmi was however also present in Berlin, where he was as a VIP guest of the organisers