Under the National Socialist regime, sport was framed as physical education aimed at fostering health and war readiness. Individual sports were deemed less important compared to collective physical fitness that contributed to the nation's strength. Nazi ideology dictated that youth should be trained to be powerful and militaristic as seen in organizations like the Hitler Youth. Although international sports were initially rejected, events like the 1936 Olympics were organized to project strength and unity. Physical education was instrumental in shaping loyal, formidable soldiers for the German military and reinforcing Nazi ideals.
True to Nazi ideology, it was always about strength and fortitude. "The weak must be hammered away," begins a quote attributed to Adolf Hitler.
In the Hitler Youth, but also in school sports, physical exercise was used to teach boys about being a solider and military behavior.
The Nazis were critical of international competitive sport, especially in its early phase, during the Weimar Republic. "Internationality, the Olympic movement, togetherness, international understanding, that was ideologically rejected," historian Ansgar Molzberger from the German Sport University Cologne told DW.
The primary goal was to promote health and performance for a productive national economy and ultimately to be fit for war.
Collection
[
|
...
]