Articles
ArticlesThe German Sports Aid Foundation in the Third Reich: A contribution to the illegal budgeting of Nazi sports
Erik Eggers
pp. 5–54
One of the first lasting official acts of the Reich Sports Leader, Hans von Tschammer und Osten, was the establishment of the Hilfsfonds für den Deutschen Sport in October 1933. This institution, which was renamed Stiftung Deutsche Sporthilfe (German Sports Aid Foundation) in April 1936, has nevertheless not received any attention in sports history research to date. In fact, after 1933, the foundation proved to be one of the most important financing instruments for Reichssportführer (Reich Sports Leader) Hans von Tschammer und Osten. He used the foundation’s infrastructure and funds to build the organisational structures of National Socialist sport. Since this was contrary to the foundation’s statutes, the Reich Sports Leader was at a loss for explanation. The annual reports of the Reichsrechnungshof (Reich Court of Auditors) always pointed out the illegal use of the foundation’s funds. These reports, which sports history researchers have so far ignored, also reveal the precarious financing of Nazi sport in the early years of the Hitler regime. The files offer evidence for the corruption in the area of the Reich Sports Leader. At the same time, they provide an insight into the budget development of the Hohenlychen Sports Clinic, which benefited from foundation funds, particularly after the 1936 Olympic Games, and was increasingly influenced by the Schutzstaffel (SS).
Keywords: Dr. Karl Gebhardt; financing of Nazi sport structures; foundation Deutsche Sporthilfe; Hall of Fame; Hohenlychen Sports Clinic; Reich Sports Leader Hans von Tschammer und Osten; Schutzstaffel (SS); Third Reich; Sportgroschen.
(Ernst) Emanuel Simon (1898–1988): Zionist Athlete, Pioneer of Israeli Sport, and the Transmission of German Sports Knowledge to Jewish Palestine
Udi Carmi and Kay Schiller
pp. 55–98
The German Zionist and sports physician Emanuel Simon was one of the central figures for sport in British Mandate Palestine and Israel from the 1920s to the 1950s. In this article, we provide a sketch of his biography and discuss his significance in the diffusion, organisation and administration of sports to Jewish Palestine. We pay particular attention to the role Simon played in the transnational transmission of German sports-medical knowledge and other features of the German sports model. By focusing on this one individual, we show that through Jewish sports, German, Zionist, and Israeli identities could coexist harmoniously. In the process, we confirm the broad gist of previous historiography that has stressed the special relevance of German influences on Jewish sports in Eretz Israel. The article traces Simon’s youth in Berlin, his military service during World War I, his conversion to Zionism, his training as a physician, and his immigration to Palestine. It discusses the crucial roles in physical education he played there from the 1930s until his retirement in 1959: from his work at the Reali School in Haifa and at the Nathan and Lina Strauss Health Center in Jerusalem; to his directorships of the National Committee’s Physical Training Department and the Physical Culture Department in the Ministry of Education and Culture; to his commitment to the 1957 establishment of the Israeli National Institute for Physical Education and Sports, the Wingate Institute which opened in 1957. The article also sheds light on Simon’s relationship to Carl Diem, the doyen of German sports and a preeminent figure in twentieth-century international sports.
Keywords: Zionism; Israel; British Mandate Palestine; Maccabi; Hapoel; Carl Diem; Germany; cultural transfer; sports; physical education; biography; (Ernst) Emanuel Simon; Wingate Institute; migration; Reali School Haifa; health.
Winter of War 1942: The World Ski Championships in Cortina d’Ampezzo and the Winter Sports Week in Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Hans Joachim Teichler
pp. 99–124
In February 1941, despite Italy’s critical military situation in the Balkans, official Alpine and Nordic World Ski Championships were held in Cortina d’Ampezzo. This event was immediately followed by the Fifth Winter Sports Week (Wintersportwoche) in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The article examines the prehistory and realisation as well as the sport-political echo of this double event of the Axis powers in the third winter of the war. It also discusses the sporting rivalries of the Axis powers for supremacy in European sport and the indifferent attitude of the IOC towards belligerent countries.
Keywords: Alpine and Nordic World Ski Championships 1941; Cortina d’Ampezzo; Fifth Winter Sports Week Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1941; sports politics; Second World War; National Socialism; skiing; Olympic Games; International Olympic Committee (IOC); Hans von Tschammer and Osten; Raffaele Manganiello; Carl Diem.
New perspectives on the presidents of the International Olympic Committee. Part I: from Dimitrios Vikélas to Avery Brundage, 1894–1972
Volker Kluge
pp. 125–188
In over 130 years of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) existence, it has had only ten presidents. It was led in unbroken succession by nine men until Kristy Coventry was elected as the first woman in 2025. ‘Founding father’ Pierre de Coubertin conceived that the office, like the IOC headquarters, should rotate according to the same principle as the host city of the Olympic Games. However, the plan failed after the first Olympiad. Since then, the rules for presidential elections have changed numerous times. Sometimes there was talk of a lifetime term, sometimes of ten years. For a long time, it has been limited to eight years with the possibility of re-election. In the early years, it was difficult to find a candidate at all, but the presidency has recently become an issue of power and prestige, including election campaigns and lobbying, just as in politics. Today, this office is one of the most prestigious and coveted positions in the world, but it also poses the highest demands. The president’s duty is, on the one hand, to lead the global Olympic Movement like a head of state, while, on the other, to meet the highest moral standards and maintain absolute independence.
Keywords: International Olympic Committee (IOC); IOC presidents; Pierre de Coubertin; Dimítrios Vikélas; Henry de Baillet-Latour; J. Sigfrid Edström; Avery Brundage; antisemitism; racism; human rights; sport; Olympic Games.
