When I passed the Chancellor he arose, waved his hand at me, and I waved back at him. I think the writers showed bad taste in criticizing the man of the hour in Germany.
- Jesse Owens
2006-09-10 09:46:21 · 9 answers · asked by ? 1 in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
It's a very good question. The conventional wisdom is that Hitler was very upset, but I'm not so sure. There was obviously some flexibility to Nazi racial ideas or else they would have not become allies with Japan. There were Sikh soldiers in the Wehrmacht as well. I believe that Owens was the favorite going into the event, so I don't see how Hitler could have been so surprised. Another reason that he may have not have been so bothered by Owens was the fact that he wasn't all that into sports. Ultimately Hitler intended the Berlin Olympics to showcase the "good" side of Nazism to the world, not to be a demonstration of Nazi racial ideology in action. It's interesting that Owens own views on this are more nuanced than those who assume Hitler was bitter about his victory-"When I came back to my native country, after all the stories about Hitler, I couldn't ride in the front of the bus. I had to go to the back door. I couldn't live where I wanted. I wasn't invited to shake hands with Hitler, but I wasn't invited to the White House to shake hands with the President, either."
2006-09-10 21:36:07 · answer #1 · answered by michinoku2001 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
From historical accounts, Hitler was too shocked to say or think much of anything. The 1936 Olympics were held to showcase the might of the Ayrian Race and the power of Germany, to have a black athlete win a gold medal at those Olympics was an insult and Der Furer wasn't too happy about it.
2006-09-10 09:52:27 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think Hitler was so delusional that he would have taken it as a fluke, somehow. Remember, at the end of the war, he refused to believe they were losing until the Allies were actually IN Berlin, and even then he blamed the German people themselves, saying they did not deserve to be part of the Third Reich.
2006-09-11 08:13:05 · answer #3 · answered by cross-stitch kelly 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hitler, of course, was a white supremacist and held to the belief that the white race was superior to all. He was obviously very intelligent but used his past and his anger to obtain revenge, which made him a very small man. He did behave well pubicly, but personally, I believe he was a ball of anger with a string of words in his mind that would be unable to be repeated here. If you have ever watched white supremacists being interviewed you will understand the blatantly ignorant manner in which they portray themselves when they speak.
The quote you used shows who the better man was.
2006-09-10 10:07:59 · answer #4 · answered by barbarast59 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hmmmmm, where can I get a ham and cheese sandwich at this time of day? Wow, she's pretty....Oh, look, an airplane! Hmmm, that hangnail sure hurts. Wonder what Eva thinks of this jerk. Hey, bend over a bit more lady and I'll see your underwear. Ah, too bad. Wonder where I can get a ham and cheese sandwich..
2006-09-10 09:54:23 · answer #5 · answered by Victor 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Disappointment
2006-09-10 18:14:14 · answer #6 · answered by brainstorm 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Hitler probably realised why the USA had suppressed the black man for so long. What sort of question is that you fool
2006-09-10 10:42:00 · answer #7 · answered by mkayling 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think Hitler found it intolerable that a non-Aryan and therefore inferior human being should have beaten his beautiful Aryans.
2006-09-10 10:46:48 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
He wanted to put that black man in a oven..........................
2006-09-11 05:41:26 · answer #9 · answered by 8upcoaldigger69 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋