| German soldiers at attention at the opening ceremonies of the 1936 Summer Olympic Games (Games of the XI Olympiad) at the Lustgarten. The lighted Olympic torch is in the foreground. The torch relay was not always a fixture of the modern Olympics, which began in 1896. The relay tradition began with the 1936 Berlin Olympics, and was the brainchild of Doctor Carl Diem (June 24, 1882 – December 17, 1962) who was the Secretary General of the Organizing Committee of the Berlin Olympic Games. On August 1, 1936, Hitler opened the 11th Olympiad Games. Musical fanfares directed by the famous composer Richard Strauss (June 11, 1864 – September 8, 1949) announced the dictator’s arrival to the largely German crowd. Hundreds of athletes in opening day regalia marched into the stadium, team by team, in alphabetical order. Inaugurating a new Olympic ritual, a lone runner arrived bearing a torch carried by relay from the site of the ancient Games in Olympia, Greece. On August 2, 1936, Stuart Cameron [(October 20, 1899 – October 12, 1967)] of United Press International wrote in a national syndicated report – Olympic Stadium, Berlin – The 11th Olympiad – biggest international sport festival in history – was opened Saturday by Führer Adolf Hitler [(April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945)]. Thousands stood silently in this huge sunken concrete bowl as Hitler, from his spacious balcony facing almost 5,000 athletes from 5 nations assembled on the broad field, spoke these words which inaugurated the games: “I proclaim open the Olympic games of Berlin, celebrating the eleventh Olympiad of the modern era.” As his words echoed across the stadium a mighty roar went up from the crowd. A cannon roared; a squadron of trumpeters blared a salute; a flock of pigeons was released and slowly up the standard at 1 end of the stadium went the white Olympic flag with its 5 interlocking circles. Control Transferred When the flag reached the top, it marked the transition of the games from German supervision to that of the International Olymple committee, which will rule all of the 22 sporting events which begin Saturday and continue through August 16. A colorful ceremony preceded Hitler’s formal inauguration. From early morning, Berlin was in carnival spirit and there were countless receptions, fetes and demonstrations leading up to the climax in this stadium. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1724.jpg |
| Image Size | 496.25 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2048 x 1582 |
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| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | August 1, 1936 |
| Location | |
| City | Berlin |
| State or Province | Berlin |
| Country | Germany |
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| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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