IOC sells 1936 Berlin Olympics shirt despite criticism

Controversy Surrounds Hitler’s Olympic Legacy

Almost 90 years later, Adolf Hitler’s Olympic legacy is once again generating debate.

The official Olympic online store has sold out of a T-shirt featuring graphics from the 1936 Berlin Games, an event Hitler used to promote Nazi Germany and its Aryan supremacy agenda.

This shirt, part of the IOC’s heritage collection, is a re-creation of the original 1936 poster designed by German artist Franz Würbel.

The artwork showcases a male figure adorned with a laurel wreath, the Olympic rings, and the iconic Brandenburg Gate.

Politicians in Germany and Jewish advocacy groups are urging the IOC to withdraw the item from sale.

“The 1936 Olympics served as a key propaganda tool for the Nazi regime,” stated Clara Schedrich, sports policy spokesperson for the Green Party in Berlin, in remarks to a German news agency.

She added that the IOC is “clearly not adequately reflecting its own history” and described the choice of artwork as “questionable and inappropriate for a T-shirt” when lacking proper context.

Liora Rez, founder of Stop Antisemitism, deemed the sale “disgraceful.” She pointed out a long history of antisemitism at the Olympics, referencing the tragic events of the 1972 Munich Games when terrorists attacked the Israeli team without halting the competition.

“Yet decades later, the IOC still refuses to properly acknowledge that massacre, while this year has seen official recognition of antisemitism,” she said.

Yoav Potash, director of the documentary *Among Neighbors*, called the T-shirt a “sickening affront to human decency.” He said that calling the sale in poor taste would be a gross understatement.

The IOC acknowledged that the shirt was part of a limited run and is now sold out.

This Berlin design is included in the IOC’s Heritage Collection, which presents artwork from all Olympic Games, described on their website as “Celebrating art and design about the Olympics.”

In response to critics, including gold medalist Jesse Owens, the IOC emphasized the participation of 4,483 athletes from 49 countries competing in 149 medal events.

“Many of them, including Jesse Owens, astonished the world with their athletic achievements,” a spokesperson noted. Owens won four gold medals at the Berlin Games, directly contesting Nazi claims of Aryan superiority.