The International Olympic Committee’s official online fan shop has sparked outrage after offering a T-shirt featuring imagery from the 1936 Berlin Olympics, the Games infamously used by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime as a propaganda platform.
According to the BBC, the shirt was part of the IOC’s official merchandise line and included artwork referencing the Berlin Games. In Germany, critics swiftly called for the item to be pulled, arguing that selling such imagery without proper historical context was inappropriate.
The design that drew criticism shows a male figure wearing a laurel wreath, with the Brandenburg Gate beneath him. It also depicts a rider on horseback holding a pole topped with an eagle and swastika, alongside the inscription: “Olympic Games 1936, Berlin, Germany.”
The 1936 Olympics were orchestrated by the Nazi regime to promote Aryan racial superiority and glorify the Third Reich on the international stage. The Games remain one of the most politically charged events in Olympic history.
Clara Schädlich, a sports policy spokesperson for the Green Party faction in Berlin’s House of Representatives, told German news agency DPA that the IOC’s decision was troubling.
“The 1936 Games were a central propaganda tool of the Nazi regime,” she said. “By doing this, the IOC is not reflecting the historical narrative. It is an inappropriate choice without context.”
In response, the IOC said the shirt was part of a broader “Olympic heritage collection” featuring designs and items from past Games.
“We recognize the historical issues surrounding Nazi propaganda,” the IOC said in a statement. “At the same time, the Berlin Olympics featured 4,483 athletes from 49 countries, including Jesse Owens.”
The committee added that the heritage collection celebrates 130 years of Olympic art and design and includes symbols, pictograms, posters and mascots from all editions of the Games. It also said the historical context of the Berlin Olympics is addressed at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne.
The IOC noted that only a limited quantity of the 1936 shirts was produced and sold. Despite the backlash, the items quickly sold out online.