Olympic Cavalcade

BERLIN, 1936 201 resting-place before the Old Museum, appeared at the top of the long flight of stairs down which Hitler and his entourage had come to_open the Games. He hesitated with dramatic effect before running lightly down the steps with the torch held aloft in his right hand. He aircled the arena to mount the steps at the Western end, where ne set fire to the brassier of Olympic Fire which he kindled to burn throughout the Games. Next came Loues, the Greek winner of the Marathon at the Olympic Games of 1896, to present Hitler with the olive branch which Loues had brought from Olympia. · . · · One of the German competitors, Rudolf Ismayer, who had won the Middle-weight Weight-lifting contest at Los Angeles, with the standard– bearers in a half-circle around him-their flags dipped-then took the · Olympic Oath on behalf of all the participants. The progress of the Athletic section of the programme during the Celebration was a complete refutation of the Nazi Creed of Nordic suprem– acy, for the man who had instituted the purge of the Jews from Germany had enlat:ged his creed to the banishment of Negroes as an inferior and unwanted race in the Reich, but now was forced to witness one triumph after anoth€r of those same Negroes whom he and his kind had despised and derided, for there were both Jews and Negroes in the U.S.A. team<and some also in those of Great Britain and her Dominions. Hitler was, norte the less, ready enough to pay tribute to and to praise the little men of Nippon, who were so soon to prove his allies in the Second World War. But first of all the IVth Winter Olympic Games, held in the Bavarian Alps at Garmische Partenkirchen in February, 1936, had forecast the over– whelming superiority of the other nations over the alleged Aryan aristocracy. U.S.A. won the 2-Man Bob and ·in the 4-Man event Switzerland was rst and 2nd and Great Britain 3rd. In Ice Hockey Great Britain defeated Canada and U.S.A. was 3rd. . At Figure Skating for Men the Austrian, K. Schafer, repeated his VIctory of 1932, while Miss Sonia Henie held the title for Women's Figure Skating, which she had first won at St. Moritz in 1928; Miss C. Colledge, Great Britain, was 2nd and Miss V. A. Hulten, Sweden, 3rd. Germany scored a lone victory in the Pair Skating, but Norway predominated in ~he Speed Skating. I. Ballangrud, of Norway, of whom we have heard before m thts book, won at 500 metres, 5ooo metres and at IO,ooo metres, and his compatriot, C. Mathisen, won at I)OO metres. Nor was Scandinavia by any means done with, for in the Ski-ing E. Larsson, Sweden, took the 50 kilo– metres, E.Viklund, Sweden, the 18 kilometres, while 0. Hagen, Norway, won the Combined event; B. Ruud, Norway, retained the Jumping event, which he had wori at Lake Placid in 1932. Germany, however, carried off the two newly instituted Slalom events, F. Pfnur taking that for Men and C. Cranz that for Women. Apart from the Winter Games just mentioned, the whole Olympic