Key moments in Olympic history

This Friday sees the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

As well as being the focus of remarkable sporting achievements, the Olympic Games have often provided a spotlight on key historical issues and controversies - most of which also feature in the IGCSE history course.

This seems a good time to review these episodes which could be the focus of an interesting history display in your classes or for an assembly.

The most notorious of these political controversies include:

1920 post war 'farce'

After a break of 8 years, Belgium went ahead in hosting the post war Olympics in difficult circumstances - lack of money, war weariness and fears of further encouraging the Spanish flu epidemic. Although promoted as a celebration of peace  (the interlocking rings were introduced for the first time to represent the interlocking of the five continents), in fact none of the recently defeated Central powers were invited. The  UK assistant under-secretary for foreign affairs, Eyre Crowe, decried the Olympics as 'an international farce' and joined a chorus of government officials arguing against funding a British Olympic team.

This article from The Conversation explains more about these Olympics including the impact of low funding - one sardine for breakfast, no mattresses and inadequate sporting facilities...

Note that Germany was also not invited to the 1924 Olympics and Germany and Japan were not invited to the 1948 Olympics.

Nazi propaganda in Berlin, 1933

Nazi Germany used the 1936 Olympic Games for propaganda purposes. The Nazis promoted an image of a new, strong, and united Germany while masking the regime’s targeting of Jews and Roma as well as Germany’s growing militarism. However Hitler's message of Aryan racial superiority was undermined by Black American Jesse Owen's stunning victories for which he secured four gold medals.

This section from the Holocaust Memorial Museum gives a full overview of Nazi policies before and after the games as well the international reaction. It also includes videos from the time:

Tensions and boycotts in 1956

The 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne were marked by intense political tension following the Soviet Union's invasion of Hungary. Several countries boycotted the event after the International Olympic Committee allowed Soviet athletes to participate. This tension culminated in a violent water polo match between the Soviet and Hungarian teams, known as the 'Blood in the Water' match, adding another controversial chapter to Olympic history.

Children of Glory is an excellent movie to show for covering the Hungarian Uprising as well the infamous polo match.

China also boycotted the Melbourne games because the IOC had decided to include Taiwan.

The 1968 Mexico Games; a massacre and civil rights protest

The 1968 Olympics in Mexico City were marked by student protests against the authoritarian government. These students used the media attention leading up to the Olympics to voice their dissent. However, the government responded with military force, resulting in deaths of students in what was known as the  Tlatelolco Massacre. Fifty years later, the death toll from the massacre is still unknown, though at the time student leaders estimated 190 protesters had died (the government claimed it was only 26). Historians say the massacre stemmed from the government’s fear that the student protests would disrupt the upcoming Olympic Games.

Once the games started, there was another political drama when Black American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos climbed the podium shoeless to receive their medals, wearing only black socks to symbolize Black poverty, and raised black-gloved fists into the air. The Black Power salute raised on the Olympic podium was a powerful moment of protest seen around the world, and a demonstration of solidarity with the U.S. civil rights movement. Both men were then removed from the US Olympic team.

Tragedy at the 1972 Olympic Games

Palestinian militants took 11 members of the Israeli delegation hostage inside the Olympic village in Munich, Germany, on September 5, 1972. The terrorists, who claimed to be part of the Black September movement, were demanding the liberation of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. After killing two hostages, they negotiated for a plane to take them out of the country. But a German police operation to rescue the Israelis went horribly wrong. In the end, all the hostages were killed, along with five of the eight attackers and a German police officer.

1976, 1980 and 1984: Boycotts

Boycotts have been a feature of many of the games. In 1976 more than twenty African countries staged a last-minute boycott of the Montreal Olympics after the IOC allowed New Zealand to compete. The nations had called for the IOC to ban New Zealand after its rugby team played in racially segregated South Africa.

Following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and during the 'Second Cold War' the two superpowers were the focus of the boycotts. Sixty nations joined the US' call to boycott the 1980 games in Moscow. The Soviet Union then retaliated in 1984 when the summer games were held in Los Angeles; most of the Warsaw Pact countries refused to compete.

There is definitely more on this theme! See this CFR site for a timeline of Olympic political controversies:

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