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Data sources
Here are the two Olympic reference documents that I used to base the dataset off of. In the future, I will look at each Olympic official report to further expand the dataset.
Torches and Torch Relays of the Olympic Summer Games from Berlin 1936 to Rio 2016
Reference document for the summer Olympics.
Torches and Torch Relays of the Olympic Winter Games from Oslo 1952 to Sochi 2014
Reference document for the winter Olympics.
Nazi origins
Olympic torch relay started by Nazis in 1936
Great read from USA TODAY Sports.
From the article:
“It was a ceremony that smacked of ancient Greece, part of the eternal pageantry of the Olympics. Yet just as not all was as it seemed at the lighting — the high priestess was actually a Greek actress — neither does the torch relay represent the Games’ origins.
“It was, in fact, invented by the Nazis.”
The Nazi Origins of the Olympic Flame Relay
United States Holocaust Museum info
NYT COLUMN: The Relay of Fire Ignited by the Nazis
Nazi Party Control of Olympics
Exhibit page by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
“Hitler initially held the Olympics in low regard because of their internationalism, but he became an avid supporter after Joseph Goebbels, his Minister of Propaganda, convinced him of their propaganda value. The regime provided full financial support for the event.”
Carl Diem – Still Controversial 50 Years On
Article published by the Journal of Olympic History, hosted by the LA84 Foundation
“Carl Diem was probably the most significant German sports official as a source of ideas, as organizer and researcher. He was respected, admired, but he was always also a controversial figure.”
Carl Diem and the Denazification of German Sport
Essay by United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, hosted by the LA84 Foundation
“Yet despite Diem's ideological position, the 1936 Games evidenced an unprecedented fusion of sports and politics. Diem's enormous organizational talent and scholarly knowledge of the Olympic movement was co-opted by the Nazi propaganda machine, which took full credit for the success of the 1936 Games. Moreover, Diem's denial of
Nazi intentions in 1936 is contrasted by his later role in defending one of the final bastions of Nazi resistance against the Soviet conquest of Berlin. In early 1945, as Hitler Youth prepared for the armed defence of the Olympic Stadium and the Reich sportfeld, Diem delivered a passionate speech to these young men in order to lift their morale for the final cataclysmic battle.”
Nazi Games: The Olympics of 1936
Comprehensive history book about the 1936 Games byDavid Clay Large, a history professor at University of California, Berkeley.
From the book's backcover:
“The torch relay―that staple of Olympic pageantry―first opened the summer games in 1936 in Berlin. Proposed by the Nazi Propaganda Ministry, the relay was to carry the symbolism of a new Germany across its route through southeastern and central Europe. Soon after the Wehrmacht would march in jackboots over the same terrain.”
The Story of the Olympic Torch
History book about the Olympic torch by Philip Barker.
From the book's backcover:
“Passed from hand to hand, the Olympic flame has become one of the great symbols of sport. The relay from the ruins at Olympia in Greece forges a powerful bond with the Ancient Olympic Games. Using original documents, The Story of the Olympic Torch chronicles the development of the run as the first great event of the Games. It describes the symbolism as the spark is kindled from the rays of the sun in Olympia at the start of the journey. It reveals the obstacles faced by organisers in 1948 before the flame could be brought to London. It explains why three Olympic torch relays were organised in 1956, and the many original ways the flame has been transported, from under the ocean to the highest mountain. The lighting of the cauldron is the final dramatic moment of an opening ceremony, but it is by no means the oldest part of the Olympic ritual. Barker explores the importance of music and the five Olympic Rings. Tables detail the facts and figures of each relay and for the first time list every runner to have carried the torch on British soil and the main stopping points of the route for 2012. The roll of honour also includes those who have taken the Olympic Oath.”
1936 Berlin Olympics Official report
Olympia Part 1 Fest der Völker 1938 with English Subs
Link to the 1938 documentary commissioned by Diem and Nazi Germany that records the 1936 Games and Torch Relay.
Academic sources
LA84 Foundation Digital Library Collection
Digital archive for several Olympic-related publications and other primary documents. The LA84 Foundation works to collect, preserve and digitize Olympic documents. Contains all official reports from Olympic Games.
LA84’s homepage
Academic journal about Olympic history
“The primary publication of ISOH is the Journal of Olympic History, formerly called Citius, Altius, Fortius through the fall 1996 issue. The Journal of Olympic History was first published in the summer of 1992. The first editor of Citius, Altius, Fortius was Bill Mallon, who served in that position from 1992–1996. Editor of the Journal from 1996 through 2002 was Anthony Th. Bijkerk. Stephan Wassong became editor-in-chief in 2003.”
International Society of Olympic Historians
About the society:
“The purpose of the International Society of Olympic Historians (ISOH) is to promote and study the Olympic Movement and the Olympic Games. This purpose is achieved primarily through research into the history of the Olympic Movement and the Olympic Games, through the gathering of historical and statistical data concerning the Olympic Movement and Olympic Games, through the publication of the research via journals and other publications, and through the cooperation of the membership. ISOH is a non-profit organization whose dues are used solely for the production of such publications and research.”
From their constitution:
“ISOH will be an independent body with no political affiliations. ISOH will attempt to work closely with the International Olympic Committee [IOC] in disseminating information about, and promoting the history of the Olympic Movement and Olympic Games.”
Experts:
Olympic historian and associate editor of the Journal of Olympic History.
Barker’s Twitter
“Philip Barker is a sports journalist who began his career with the internationally syndicated magazine programme “Trans World Sport.” He has worked as a commentator on IOC host city elections in 2005, 2009 and 2011 and the Beijing Torch Relay for Eurosport and covered the 2012 Olympic Flame for BBC News. He has also participated in Olympic-related programmes for BBC, Sky, Al Jazeera, CCTV, Monocle, Korean Broadcasting and Radio France.
“He has covered every Olympic Games since 1996 and Winter Games in 2006 and 2014. He has also reported from every Youth Olympic Games so far, including the Nanjing 2014 Games, for the Olympic Broadcasting Service.”
From his site:
“David Clay Large is currently a professor at the Fromm Institute, University of San Francisco, and a Senior Fellow at the Institute of European Studies, U.C.“
Susan Bachrach
No direct contact available. Reach out to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s press room.
Controversies
Rio:
Rio police use tear gas to break up protest on Olympic torch relay – video
Olympic flame extinguished by Rio protesters
From the article:
“The Olympic torch relay was disrupted by striking teachers after it entered Rio de Janeiro ahead of next week’s Opening Ceremony. Video footage of the demonstration suggests the flame was extinguished while the runner carrying the torch had to be bussed to safety.”
Protesters in Brazil halt Olympic torch relay and extinguish its flame
Protests greet Olympic torch in Rio satellite towns
Amazon jaguar shot dead after Olympic torch ceremony
Beijing:
Olympic torch relay cut short amid Paris protests
From the article:
“The Olympic flame relay in Paris ended in farce today when police cut the event short after protests forced officials to repeatedly extinguish the torch.
“It was a second day of severe embarrassment for Beijing following similar skirmishes in London yesterday as activists demonstrated against China's recent violent crackdown in Tibet.”
TIMELINE: Olympic torch protests around the world
From the article:
“The Olympic torch made its way through the streets of Pyongyang in front of flag-waving masses on Monday after North Korea promised its main benefactor China an ‘astonishing’ show certain to be free of protest.”
Torch relay in San Francisco draws massive protest
Stories and data by Alan Hovorka
Design by Alan Hovorka, Tyson Bird and Stacie Kammerling
Illustrations by Stacie Kammerling and Alan Hovorka
Code by Alan Hovorka and Tyson Bird
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About the project
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All images used in this project were published in the public domain or under Creative Commons.The work on this website is for noncommercial, educational purposes and is not associated with the International Olympic Committee or any Olympic properties.