A Forgotten Hero:
Jesse Owens
Being a black man in Germany was difficult enough, but what Jesse Owens did a the Berlin Olympics in 1936 is nothing less than astonishing. Just 23 at the time, Owens, an American athlete, walked into a racist, hate-filled Germany and showed the world that courage and skill apply to all races.At the time, Adolf Hitler was preaching hate and violence while declaring the Aryan Race superior to all other races. Discrimination was everywhere in Germany and hatred was thrown at outsiders. Not only this, but Hitler expected the Olympics to be a showcase of German and Aryan power. Yet Jesse Owens did not yield to Hitlers insults, and went to Germany to prove what he could do.
And prove he did. Owens won not one, not two, not three, but four gold medals. Owens won one each in the 100 meters, the 200 meters, the long jump, and as part of the 4x100 meter relay team, beating out Hitler's so-called "superior" athletes.
Hitler was shocked at Owens success, complaining to his advisers of Owens's success. To top off his embarrassment, Hitler refused to greet Olympic medalists because of the humiliation Owens had bestowed upon him. Owens had shown the world that "the chancellor" was wrong, upstaging Hitler in his own backyard.
But what do we hear about Owens today? Little, if anything, about every four years. He stood up to a ruthless dictator and a hostile country; he represented the United States gloriously and triumphantly; he should that courage ran through his blood. Yet, he has become one of many forgotten heroes.But he is still a hero.
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4 comments:
This myth of Owens and the '36 Olympics has been around for a long time and is disproved by Owens' own words.
'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 criticising the man of the hour in Germany.'
'Hitler didn't snub me -- it was FDR who snubbed me. The president didn't even send me a telegram.'
here's a link with more detail:
http://www.rediff.com/sports/2008/aug/19flip.htm
Hitler did snub Owens. The first day of the Olympics, Hitler shook hands with athletes that won. After Owens, he refused to shake hands with any athlete, preferring to stay away from Owens.
Just because FDR snubbed him as well doesn't make Hitler right, anyway.
On Day 1, the IOC told Hitler to shake all hands of winners, not just German champs. Hitler chose not to shake any more hands before Owens won his first gold on Day 2. Hitler may have not wanted to shake Owens' hand but we'll never know if he would've snubbed him if put in that position. Hitler was an evil person but we can't just assign guilt for something that the historical record doesn't back up.
My original point was that Owens never felt that he was snubbed by Hitler and the historical record backs it up. For some reason, people wish to propogate this urban legend because it sounds like it could be true, even though it's not.
Hitler was bad
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