The Nazis embraced the 1936 Berlin Olympics as a chance to demonstrate their theory of the dominance of a "master race." Both Jewish and Black athletes were motivated to shatter that myth. Watch this replay of our 2020 Facebook Live program to learn how African American athletes claimed a quarter of America’s medals in those games. Though they had brought glory to their country, they returned home to a segregated nation, and many soon felt their achievements had been forgotten. | United States H

The inaugural Olympic torch relay at the Berlin Olympics in 1936 was part of the Nazis’ powerful propaganda push behind the games. More than 3,000 runners—including Austrian Jew Eric Frisch—carried torches from Olympia, Greece, to Berlin. “I ran approximately at midnight in a corn field,” Eric recalled. “It was a little windy and the flame started to jiggle … God forbid that darn thing goes out while I’m running it, they’ll say a Jew did that on purpose.” Artifacts shown in the video were donate