The HDEC encourages you to view the following program offered by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Nazi Olympics: Black and Jewish Athletes Defy the “Master Race”.
The program was featured as part of the USHMM Facebook Live Series.
The Nazis embraced the 1936 Berlin Olympics as a chance to demonstrate their theory of the dominance of a “master race”. Both Jewish and Black athletes were motivated to shatter that myth. When the games came to an end, African American athletes claimed a quarter of America’s medals. Though they had brought glory to their county, they returned home to a segregated nation, and many soon felt their achievements were forgotten. – USHMM
Speakers:
Dr. Damion Thomas, Sports Curator, The National Museum of African American History and Culture NMAAHC
Dr. Daniel Greene, President and Librarian, Newberry Library and Curator, Americans and the Holocaust special exhibition, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Dr. Edna Friedberg, Historian, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
The program can be screened by clicking here.
