1936: Austria takes part in the Olympic Games in Berlin

Austria’s demeanour before and at the Berlin Olympic games not only illustrated the wavering course of sporting leadership, but also of the country’s Austrofascist politics. Austria may have been among the first countries to confirm its participation in 1933, despite the Nazi seizure of power, but it then withdrew its acceptance in August 1935 in order to distinguish itself from Nazi Germany. With pressure from Germany and Italy, the boycott, which had never actually been taken seriously, was cancelled in time: the most-extensive possible team was hectically put together – Austria ultimately provided the third largest contingent at the games.

While Austria achieved the goal of representing a self-assured nation in Berlin in the form of sporting success, it failed on a political level. The messages conveyed to the spectators on site and to the Austrian public were too contradictory; for example, the “Olympic salute” given during the athletes’ entrance looked confusingly similar to the “German salute”. From the opening to the closing ceremonies, the Austrian athletes, along with their fans, both willingly and unwillingly succumbed to the staging of the “Nazi Olympiad”.