Though it may seem odd, in retrospect, that Hitler and his Nazi party allowed the 1936 Olympics to be held at Berlin, this is only because subsequent legends of the event obscure the true propaganda value the games had for the Reich. Both in terms of inspiring the German people and in impressing Germany's good will and increased power on other nations, the National Socialist agenda was forwarded by the superbly managed Eleventh Olympiad. The question then arises, why did the United States and the principal European nations willingly provide Hitler with such a platform? It may be argued that in the early 1930s the true extent of the Nazi threat could not be foreseen. But the historical record demonstrates that it took a considerable degree of willful blindness toward Nazi ideology, policies, and actions for other nations to participate at Berlin.
Official publications of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) continue to play down the benefits that Hitler and his party may have derived from the 1936 games. In the "approved" history, for example, Henry boasts repeatedly of the Berlin Organizing Committee's refusal to allow the German government to control the games. The Olympic spirit, Henry argues, was preserved from an infusion of politics. Even in 1981, with the advantage of hindsight, Henry is somehow able to ignore the true implications of games held in Berlin. For example,
There were stories that Hitler [sic] racial theories would be applied to representation on the German team and that non-Aryans of whatever nationality would not be welcomed either as participants or spectators at the games in Berlin. As each charge came up, the Berlin organizing committee painstakingly issued a denial, but the publicity given the widespread campaign against participation seriously affected the securing of funds for the Olympic teams of many countries . . .
Since this same committee had just refused a Nazi ultimatum demandi...