In 1936 the Olympics were held in Berlin. Hitler wished to make this a memorable event for Germany and more so of the Nazi party. He and Dr. Goebbels conceived the idea of an Olympic flame that would be lit in Greece and carried by relay runners through German dominated areas like Austria and Czechoslovakia to Berlin. The idea was to create a favorable impression about Germany and distract the world from the anti- antisemitism and other negative policies of Hitler.
The runners were chosen with great care and special German race men with blonde and Aryan features were chosen to carry the Olympic torch. This was a revolutionary step and Hitler was able to rivet the attention of the world to this new innovation. Dr Goebbels was able to create a aura with the torch as an example of Nazi socialism.
This was the first occasion that a torch from Greece was taken by relay runners. Hitler received favorable comments for this act and his popularity all over the world went up. After the defeat of Germany this was one relic of Hitler that was not discarded. In the 1948 Olympics at London the torch was duly lit at Greece and carried by runners to London. Hitler after all did leave something durable behind.
The runners were chosen with great care and special German race men with blonde and Aryan features were chosen to carry the Olympic torch. This was a revolutionary step and Hitler was able to rivet the attention of the world to this new innovation. Dr Goebbels was able to create a aura with the torch as an example of Nazi socialism.
This was the first occasion that a torch from Greece was taken by relay runners. Hitler received favorable comments for this act and his popularity all over the world went up. After the defeat of Germany this was one relic of Hitler that was not discarded. In the 1948 Olympics at London the torch was duly lit at Greece and carried by runners to London. Hitler after all did leave something durable behind.
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