They were supposed to be the greatest Olympic Games ever staged. “The summer of 1916 found European civilization at the brink of destruction and the Berlin stadium vacant,” Findling and Pelle wrote. Two summers later, Berlin’s Games — intended to showcase Germany to the world — made history for another reason. Those Games are remembered infamously, in Findling and Pelle’s words, as “a triumph of the theatrical self-portrayal” of Nazi Germany. The Games began, on Aug. 14, 1920, with a religious ceremony at the Antwerp Cathedral, to honour the casualties of war.

Source: National Post August 03, 2016 20:16 UTC