1936 Olympics Boycott

The 1936 Olympics will always be remembered as the games that Jesse Owens dominated. But it almost never happened. The Games of the XI Olympiad were held in Berlin, Germany while under the rule of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. Many Americans feared sending a team to Berlin would imply U.S. support of Nazi ideologies. Many African-American newspapers sympathized with athletes, stating that their triumph over Aryan athletes would ignite pride in African-Americans as well as undermine Aryan supremacy. Many Jewish athletes, for fear of maltreatment and as a sign of opposition, were largely against participating in the XI Olympiad.

Many big names chimed in on the matter. Among them were United States Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Ernest Lee Jahncke and Judge Jeremiah Mahoney who were opposed to participation in the Olympic games and future IOC President Avery Brundage, as well as Franklin D. Roosevelt, who insisted the U.S. send athletes to Berlin. As history tells us, the efforts of a boycott failed, which ultimately set the stage for Jesse Owens profound victories in Track and Field. However, some athletes held their personal boycotts, among them where Jewish athletes Milton Green and Norman Cahners.