Book Description
AWARD
THE 1936 Berlin Olympics brought together athletes, politicians,
socialites, diplomats, journalists, soldiers, novelists and artists from
all over the world. They convened in the heart of the German Reich in
grandstands and glittering parties, unaware that on their next encounter
they would be brandishing machine guns.
Behind the scenes, the Berlin Olympics were a crucible of the world's
discord, a dress rehearsal of the horrors of the forthcoming conflict.
Hitler had secretly determined that the Games would showcase Nazi prowess
and, when they arrived in Berlin, the unwitting athletes found themselves
to be helpless pawns in his sinister political game.
From the remarkable tableau of the Games themselves, Walters stretches the
story across a broad canvas, placing those two crucial weeks in the wider
context of the 1930s. With brilliant narrative flair he brings a wide cast
of characters and a complex political backdrop thrillingly alive and casts
new light on a momentous yet little explored set piece of Nazi history.
Publisher comments
Michael Burleigh, prizewinning author of The Third Reich: A New History
