The 1936 Berlin Olympics were used by Nazi Germany as a global propaganda tool to project an image of peace and power, masking the regime’s racism and authoritarianism. Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbels cleaned up Berlin, muted antisemitic messaging, and used cinematic techniques—like Leni Riefenstahl’s film Olympia—to promote Aryan supremacy. But this illusion was shattered by Black American athlete Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals and undermined Nazi racial ideology on the world stage. Though celebrated, Owens returned to a segregated America, highlighting global hypocrisy. The Games serve as a cautionary tale about how spectacle can be used to manipulate truth—a lesson still relevant as politics and identity swirl around future Olympics like LA 2028.

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