ABSTRACT
When Germany was awarded the 1936 Summer Games it was still a republic. Adolf Hitler’s virulently anti-Semitic National Socialist Party overthrew the republic in 1933 and immediately began to persecute Jews and Roma, eventually banning them from representing Germany at the Olympics.
A major campaign to have the Games taken away from Berlin led to a political fudge that allowed the Games to go ahead. Hitler saw the event as a chance to glorify the new Germany, and insisted on a massive new Olympics complex. This involved the demolition of the existing Deutsches Stadion.
A sandy subsoil simplified the design. In situ reinforced concrete was the main structural material, although, at Hitler’s insistence, this “Modernist” structure was hidden behind a cladding of German limestone. Spectator capacity was 110,000.
The stadium suffered only minor damage during the Second World War, after which it became part of the headquarters of the British Army until 1990. Soccer returned in 1963. A major renovation programme was launched in 2000, including the installation of a translucent acrylic roof. Current spectator capacity is 74,745, all seated.
