Games organizer’s Olympic oversight

Official Olympics Twitter account looks back fondly…on Berlin 1936

olympic
1st August 1936: The last Olympic runner reaches Lustgarten in Berlin. The Olympic flame has been carried from Mount Olympus in Greece by a relay team of over 3,000 runners. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)
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Given this year’s Tokyo games had to be called off because of the COVID pandemic, you would think those sitting around at Olympic HQ might have a bit of spare time to brush up on their history. Judging by the official Olympic Twitter account, it would seem not.
Some social media whizz-kid has decided to put together an inspirational vid celebrating the 1936 Berlin Olympics, complete with archive film of the Olympiastadion and a rousing classical number.

The post noted that the Nazi-organized games were the first in which a cauldron was used for the Olympic flame.
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Given this year’s Tokyo games had to be called off because of the COVID pandemic, you would think those sitting around at Olympic HQ might have a bit of spare time to brush up on their history. Judging by the official Olympic Twitter account, it would seem not.

Some social media whizz-kid has decided to put together an inspirational vid celebrating the 1936 Berlin Olympics, complete with archive film of the Olympiastadion and a rousing classical number.

The post noted that the Nazi-organized games were the first in which a cauldron was used for the Olympic flame.

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A fascinating historical tidbit, but perhaps overshadowed by the fact that Hitler’s fascists barred German Jews from participating in the games and interned hundreds of Romani Berliners in a concentration camp.

Somewhat inevitably, the post has now been deleted…

This article was originally published on The Spectator s UK website.