Olympic Village
Berlin’s 1936 Nazi games
Sportswashing is nothing new. The Nazis used the Olympic Games of 1936 to show a good face to the world while they were busy concocting evil plans to do away with much of it. The Olympic Village was used for military purposes after the Games, where of course Jesse Owens stole the show.
Anyway, the Olympic Village was abandoned after the Soviet soldiers pulled out following the Berlin Wall’s disintegration. There might be tours there now, I don’t know, but the photos below show you all you might see. Taken in 2010, 2014 and 2016.
Frohe Weihnachten
I* figured Christmas Day would be a good day to go snooping around the Olympic Village without unwanted attention, but I* was wrong, oh so wrong!
Germans never take a break and the security guard that day in 2014 was not in a festive mood as he tore around the corner in his car and gave chase. I had to wait till he passed the corner, then made a break for it back the way he had come. I scarpered like Jesse Owens himself through snow-covered fields and kept going while he was no doubt cursing his inability to get off the road.
*I is not me and does not refer to anyone or anything in particular, especially if you’re a grumpy security guard.
