When the games got held in Nazi Germany , they were used as PR for the Nazi regime. This is what Putin is planning to do as well. Maybe we should learn from our historic mistakes rather than use them as guidelines...
That didn't work so well for the Nazis; between the many track and field victories of the American Jesse Owens and excellent sportsmanship of many other international athletes, Nazi supremacy was at best marginalized.
Speaking of transcending political intentions, there's a story from those olympics where German long jumper Luz Long gave Jesse Owens tips to help him qualify for the event. There are countless other gestures that demonstrate the same spirit at that event.
Considering Jesse Owens threw SERIOUS doubt on the Nazi precept of racial superiority.
Certain American athletes also chased Hitler from the Stadium once the Track and Field events started, and Hitler was informed by the IOC that he must receive ALL winners... or none.
Hitler chose to receive none.
After the first day... seeing how things were going... he no longer attended the stadium.
I just made a todo for myself: "investigate possible moral equivalence between Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Adolf Hitler". You'll understand if it takes me awhile to get to that one.
