The 1936 Games, propaganda and sporting heritage
Explore Olympiastadion Berlin through the 1936 Games, Nazi propaganda and later sporting achievements, with a guide to its historic architecture, modern adaptations and visitor routes.
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Berlin, Germany
INTRODUCTION
At Olympiastadion Berlin, the approach between stone towers and Olympic rings leads towards a stadium whose exterior still carries the monumental character of 1936. Inside, a lightweight roof and blue running track belong to its later life. The combination makes this a place to examine architectural continuity alongside changing uses.
The stadium hosted extraordinary athletic achievements during Games used to promote Nazi Germany abroad. Understanding both stories matters: sporting success did not remove the persecution concealed behind the regime’s carefully managed public image.
This guide follows the site from earlier Olympic ambitions through the 1936 spectacle to modern football and athletics. It also explains what to look for during a visit. For the wider city, see our Berlin history and travel guide.
KEY HISTORICAL MOMENT
On 1 August 1936, Adolf Hitler opened the Berlin Olympic Games. The new stadium provided a monumental stage for international competition and the Nazi regime’s presentation of Germany to foreign audiences. The opening also introduced the modern Olympic torch relay from Olympia to the host city, giving the ceremony a powerful connection with classical antiquity.
ORIGINS
The site’s sporting history began before the Nazi dictatorship. A racecourse developed here in the early twentieth century, followed by the Deutsches Stadion, built in 1912–13 within the racecourse. Designed by Otto March, it was intended for the 1916 Olympic Games, which were cancelled because of the First World War.
That earlier stadium explains why Berlin’s Olympic project did not begin with Hitler. Existing sporting facilities and ambitions supplied a starting point that the Nazi government would later transform.
Berlin received the 1936 Games in 1931, while Germany was still a republic. After taking power in 1933, the Nazis expanded the project into the Reichssportfeld. The old stadium was replaced by a much larger arena, built between 1934 and 1936 under architect Werner March.
The surrounding complex included additional sports facilities and the Maifeld. The stadium formed the centre of a broader landscape designed for organised movement, large gatherings and monumental views.
THE 1936 GAMES
The regime used the Games to present Germany as peaceful, successful and internationally respectable. Anti-Jewish signs were temporarily removed, and newspapers moderated their language for the occasion. This managed welcome concealed policies already excluding Jewish Germans from public life and sport.
Calls to boycott the Games attracted support in the United States and Europe, but did not stop international participation. Meanwhile, persecution continued away from the sporting spectacle. Before the opening, police rounded up hundreds of Roma in Berlin and confined them at Marzahn.
Jesse Owens won four gold medals: the 100 metres, 200 metres, long jump and 4 × 100 metres relay. His achievements, alongside those of other African American athletes, contradicted Nazi claims of racial superiority and became central to the stadium’s sporting memory.
Yet those victories did not prevent the Games from serving the regime’s propaganda aims. International participation and favourable impressions still benefited Nazi Germany. Owens and his teammates also returned to a United States where racial discrimination continued. The athletic results and the political consequences therefore require separate attention, rather than one uncomplicated story of triumph.
ACROSS CENTURIES
After the Second World War, the wider Olympic complex became part of Berlin’s British military landscape. The British military government moved its headquarters into the Deutsches Sportforum in 1952. The buildings acquired new occupants while their origins remained visible.
Football gave the stadium another long-term role. Hertha BSC moved here in 1963, and the first DFB Cup final at the venue took place in 1985. These uses established sporting traditions beyond the Olympic event for which it had been built.
Major renovation between 2000 and 2004 prepared the stadium for modern events, including the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Architects gmp retained the historic ensemble while integrating substantial changes and a new roof.
The roof’s opening towards the Marathon Gate preserves the sight line towards the bell tower. Its light steel construction and membrane differ visibly from the older stone-clad stadium. What you see today combines retained historic architecture with engineering introduced for a modern audience.
INTERESTING FACTS
The torch relay from Olympia to the Olympic host city began at the 1936 Games. Carl Diem helped develop the ritual, drawing on an ancient Greek precedent. Its apparent antiquity suited Nazi attempts to associate Germany with classical civilisation. A ceremony now familiar around the world therefore acquired its modern Olympic form within this particular political setting.
Marathon winner Sohn Kee-chung was Korean, but competed for Japan under the name Kitei Son because Korea was under Japanese colonial rule. Another Korean runner, Nam Seung-yong, took bronze under a Japanese name. Their results reveal how the national labels in Olympic records can conceal coercion and colonial history, rather than simply recording an athlete’s own identity.
The stadium’s lower seating was placed approximately twelve metres below ground level. This helped accommodate a vast audience without making the exterior rise to the full height of the internal bowl. From outside, examine the repeated stone-clad pillars; inside, compare the distance down to the track. The two views explain how the building’s scale was managed.
At the 2009 World Athletics Championships, Usain Bolt ran 9.58 seconds for 100 metres and 19.19 seconds for 200 metres, setting world records in both events. Those performances added another internationally significant chapter to the arena. The blue track now connects the visitor’s view with modern athletics, as well as the much earlier competitions held on this site.
WHAT TO SEE & DO
Begin at Olympischer Platz and examine the towers, Olympic rings and long approach towards the stadium. The arrangement directs attention along a strong axis. Compare the broad forecourt with the repeated pillars around the exterior, noting how the entrance organises movement towards the arena.
Use the historical information provided during your visit to connect those forms with the 1936 project. The visual order was part of the setting for mass spectacle, rather than decoration applied to the seating alone.
Enter the visitor areas open on your chosen day and take time to compare the sunken bowl with the modern roof. From the stands, the separation between heavy historic construction and lightweight additions is easier to understand. Look towards the opening at the stadium’s western end.
Follow permitted visitor routes: ordinary sightseeing admission does not provide unrestricted access to the pitch, track or operational spaces. The view from the seating is already useful for understanding the building’s transformation.
From an accessible viewpoint, locate the Marathon Gate and consider its relationship with the Maifeld and bell tower beyond. This westward alignment links the stadium to the larger Olympic landscape. It also explains why the modern roof was designed with a gap instead of forming an uninterrupted ring.
Consult the on-site interpretation for the history of the area. Do not assume that every staircase, platform or adjoining field is included in your ticket or open for independent exploration.
A guided tour can connect the architecture, 1936 history and modern operation more closely than a quick circuit alone. Compare the official options: a general highlights tour, a longer visit including the Olympic Park, or a specialist tour will offer different routes and emphases.
Select the language and content before booking. Access to dressing rooms, technical areas or the roof depends on the specific programme and operational availability; these spaces are not automatically included with a standard sightseeing ticket.
WHY VISIT?
Olympiastadion Berlin suits travellers interested in the relationship between sport, architecture and political presentation. You can examine a monumental approach, an arena adapted for new audiences and the physical setting of performances by Owens and later athletes. The building makes those questions concrete without requiring specialist architectural knowledge.
It also offers a useful case study in continued use. Football, athletics and concerts have given the stadium a life beyond 1936, while historical interpretation remains essential to understanding its origins. Combine the arena with an appropriately booked Olympic Park visit if you want to understand the wider plan, rather than concentrating only on the stands.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
The visitor centre is at Olympischer Platz 3 in Westend, in western Berlin. Take U-Bahn line U2 to Olympia-Stadion or the S-Bahn to Olympiastadion, then follow the walking route to your designated entrance. These are separate stations. Allow additional travel time from central Berlin and check the official directions.
Buy sightseeing or tour admission through the stadium’s official visitor page. Check the date-specific opening calendar before travelling: matches, concerts and preparations can restrict access or close the venue to sightseeing. Event tickets and ordinary visitor tickets have different purposes. Confirm current tariffs and what your chosen option includes.
Allow around ninety minutes to two hours for an independent visit with time to read the interpretation. This is an editorial estimate. Guided visits have their own durations; compare the official tour descriptions and choose a history-focused option if the 1936 story is your priority.
Review the stadium’s accessibility guidance and contact visitor services about your selected route. Some specialist tours are unsuitable for wheelchair users. Follow the house rules and staff directions, particularly around areas being prepared for events. A visit to the historic stadium and access to other Olympic Park facilities may require different arrangements.
Location
Olympischer Platz, Westend, Berlin
Site type
Historic stadium and active event venue
Architect
Werner March
Construction
1934–1936
Olympic opening
1 August 1936
Major modernisation
2000–2004
Suggested visit
90 minutes–2 hours (editorial estimate)
Official information for visiting Olympiastadion Berlin and planning your stay
EXPLORE MORE
Continue exploring Berlin’s twentieth-century history, from Nazi-era landmarks and wartime destruction to the divided city of the Cold War.
Explore the machinery of Nazi rule behind the propaganda of the 1936 Olympic Games, including the SS and Gestapo headquarters in central Berlin.
Discover another landmark shaped by the Nazi era that later became central to West Berlin’s Cold War history during the Berlin Airlift.
Visit the former Cold War listening station west of the city, built atop wartime rubble not far from the Olympic Stadium.
See how wartime destruction and postwar reconstruction transformed another major landmark in western Berlin.
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