I have decided to write about a pivotal part of the German culture, fussball. More specifically, my favorite team Hertha BSC.
Hertha was formed in 1900 in Berlin. Named after the Greek goddess Nerthus, Hertha has always been at the forefront of German football.
Similar to college football here, the pre-game festivities include plenty of beer and other vendors around the Olympiastadion, the 1936 stadium which Jesse Owens disproved Hitler's racist theories in the Olympics. The history of the stadium is very important, as fascist architectures and statues circle the stadium. A swimming pool from 1936 still exists on the grounds, as well as the track.
Scarfs are very popular throughout Europe. A scarf shows your allegiance to whichever team, as well as personal style. Here is a picture of me wearing my Hertha Berlin scarf on the back end of the Olympiastadion.
As the game is about to begin, the crowd begins singing:nur nach Hause nur nach Hause, gehen wir nicht Alle warten voller Spannungauf das absolute Spiel denn die Jungens von der Herthahaben alle nur ein Ziel. Heute wollen sie gewinnenfuer das blau-weisse Trikot sowieso und sowieso
Hertha has had money problems for years and years, but it is finally reaching it's potential as Germany's Hauptstadt club. It ranks third out of the 18 bundesliga eins teams, behind annual powerhouse Bayern Muenchen and new money, TSG Hoffenheim.
What did Jesse do??? I'm not overly familiar with German history and Jesse's successes...though I would assume he must have been successful while there..???!!!
ReplyDeleteRight now I'm reading "Neger, Neger, Schornsteinfeger" for one of my German culture classes. There's a part when they're talking about Jesse Owens, and the headmaster says:
ReplyDelete"Wenn ein deutscher Laeufer gegen einen von diesen Halbzivilisierten aus Amerika verliert...ist das ebenso wenig eine Schande, wie wenn er gegen ein Pferd verliert. Jeder weiss, dass ein Pferd dem Menschen koerperlich ueberlegen und geistig unterlegen ist." (S.144)
I think it's quite interesting how as a Nazi he can take the abilities of Owens and make them seem so insignificant just because he's not arian.
Blurb from wikipedia re Owens and his athletic superiority over his aryan opponents: "On the first day (at the medals platform), Hitler shook hands only with the German victors and then left the stadium. Olympic committee officials then insisted Hitler greet each and every medalist or none at all. Hitler opted for the latter and skipped all further medal presentations."
ReplyDeleteThis happened long before I was born, but everytime Jesse Owens' story comes up, I feel like screaming my lungs out on his behalf.
Thanks for providing insights into this story that I have never heard. (For those of us who don't speak German, can you translate the German portions of your blog?) Thanks!
Thank you for the translation!
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