The International Olympics Committee is under fire over the sale of a T-shirt that features artwork from the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, which Adolf Hitler used to promote Nazi Germany.
The Olympics’ official online shop has sold out of the controversial T-shirt, which replicates designs from the propaganda used 90 years ago: a man wearing a laurel crown, the Olympic rings and the Brandenburg Gate.
Introduced as part of the Olympic Heritage Collection, the limited-edition shirt immediately sparked backlash for commemorating the dark time in Germany’s history.
“History should be taught, not merchandised,” one X user wrote on social media. Another said: “Shocking sell-out—Olympics merch team really thought Nazi-era Berlin art was a good vibe? History lesson needed ASAP.”
One person criticized on Reddit, “IOC is rotten to the core. Have always been.”
“Selling Berlin 1936 merch is tone-deaf; it risks normalizing Nazi propaganda rather than critically acknowledging that dark chapter in Olympic history,” another said on X.
Taking place three years after Hitler’s regime rose to power, the 1936 Olympics are remembered by historians for the way that Hitler used the event to push his ideals of racial supremacy and antisemitism. The Nazis blocked German-Jewish athletes from competing in the games and openly referred to Black athletes as “non-humans.”
“The 1936 Olympic Games were a central propaganda tool of the Nazi regime,” German politician Klara Schedlich said in a statement. She accused the IOC of “clearly not reflecting sufficiently on its own history,” adding that, without context: “the choice of image is problematic and unsuitable for a T-shirt.”
In response to the criticism, the IOC has defended the shirt — which reproduces the original 1936 poster by German artist Franz Würbel — as part of its Heritage Collection, which features artwork from every Olympic Games.
“Of course, we recognize the profound historical context surrounding the Berlin 1936 Olympic Games,” the IOC said in a statement to the New York Post. “The 1936 Games also brought together 4,483 athletes from 49 countries competing in 149 events and included remarkable sporting achievements.
“Many of them stunned the world with their athletic achievements, including Jesse Owens,” the IOC added.
Owens, a American track-and-field American Olympian, directly challenged Hitler’s racist ideology with his record-shattering victories at the 1936 Games. He won four gold medals in the 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay and long jump.
The IOC did not immediately return The Independent’s request for comment.
This is not the first time that the Olympics has sparked backlash over its reference to the 1936 games. In 2020, the IOC posted a Throwback Thursday picture commemorating the controversial year.