The International Olympic Committee is facing criticism for selling a men’s T-shirt commemorating the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, which took place three and a half years after the Nazis came to power under Adolf Hitler.
The tee, which is sold out, features the original poster from the Berlin Games, designed by Franz Würbel, as part of the Olympic Shop’s Heritage Collection.
The collection “celebrates the art and design of the Olympic Games,” according to the Olympic Shop website. “Each edition of the Games reflects a unique time and place in history when the world came together to celebrate humanity.”
A committee spokesperson told CNN that the collection features all previous Games.
“While we of course acknowledge the historical issues of ‘Nazi propaganda’ related to the Berlin 1936 Olympic Games, we must also remember that the Games in Berlin saw 4,483 athletes from 49 countries compete in 149 medal events,” the spokesperson said. “Many of them stunned the world with their athletic achievements, including Jesse Owens.”
Christine Schmidt, co-director of the Wiener Holocaust Library, told CNN that “the Nazis’ fascist and antisemitic propaganda infiltrated their promotion of the games, and many international Jewish athletes chose not to compete.”
“The IOC would be minded to consider whether any aesthetic appreciation of these games can be comfortably separated from the horror that followed,” she said.
