One of the most famous stories I heard growing up as a black man in the South was the famous story of Adolf Hitler dissing Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. The popular story is that Hitler had his Aryan superathletes primed to defeat the American Owens in front of the world. However, Owens won 4 gold medals and Hitler allegedly stormed out upset that his idea of German superiority was defeated on an international scale.
I hate Hitler's regime and the crimes it committed, but I also hate incorrect history and propaganda especially when they relate to a story that has widespread acceptance. A few years ago I recall hearing a story that this alleged history was incorrect and in fact Hitler shook Jesse's hand afterward. Allegedly, Jesse recalled it as one of proudest moments and he wanted history to reflect that Hitler did not diss him as is commonly reported.
I do not remember where I first heard the story, but now it is being reported by a mainstream media outlet that Hitler did shake Jesse Owens' hand. Nevertheless even if Hitler shook Owens' hand, the act does not diminish Hitler's evil crimes and terrible legacy.
It makes me wonder what other famous stories are not necessarily true!
I hate Hitler's regime and the crimes it committed, but I also hate incorrect history and propaganda especially when they relate to a story that has widespread acceptance. A few years ago I recall hearing a story that this alleged history was incorrect and in fact Hitler shook Jesse's hand afterward. Allegedly, Jesse recalled it as one of proudest moments and he wanted history to reflect that Hitler did not diss him as is commonly reported.
I do not remember where I first heard the story, but now it is being reported by a mainstream media outlet that Hitler did shake Jesse Owens' hand. Nevertheless even if Hitler shook Owens' hand, the act does not diminish Hitler's evil crimes and terrible legacy.
At the time, it was reported that Hitler had stormed out of the stadium furious that Owens, who had just run his way to the first of four gold medals...However, Siegfried Mischner, 83, said that Owens carried around a photograph in his wallet of Hitler shaking his hand before he left the stadium...Owens, who felt the newspapers of the day reported "unfairly" on Hitler's attitude towards him, tried to get Mischner and his journalist colleagues to change the accepted version of history in the 1960s...Mischner, who was a reporter at the time, claimed Owens showed him the photograph and told him: "That was one of my most beautiful moments."
It makes me wonder what other famous stories are not necessarily true!
Source: London Telegraph ; What Really Happened?
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