Germany won the bid to host the 1936 Summer Olympics two years before the Nazi Party came to power, and Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler saw this as an opportunity to spread Nazi propaganda and build up Germany’s military machine.
Hitler oversaw the construction of the Olympic village in Wustermark, on the outskirts of Berlin. In its heyday the now decaying complex included state-of-the-art dormitories, dining areas, training facilities, a swimming pool and hosted some 4,000 athletes in luxury accommodations the likes of which had rarely be seen. Ironically, it was designed to portray an idyllic, picturesque image of a peaceful Germany to the world (the 1936 Games were the first to be televised) and the Führer even named the complex the “village of peace.” Meanwhile, the intention from the start was for the German army to use the complex once the Games were finished.
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