South Africa, Apartheid and the Olympic Games

STADION ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 116-137
Author(s):  
Jan Hangebrauck
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Democratic Republic ◽  
Olympic Games ◽  
Federal Republic Of Germany ◽  
Sporting Event ◽  
Olympic Movement ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
First Time ◽  
The Olympic Games

South Africa was part of the Olympic Movement for more than two decades after apartheid had been officially introduced in 1948. In 1964 South Africa was excluded from the sporting event for the first time, and in 1970 it was formally expelled from the Olympic Movement. It had to wait until 1992 for its return when South Africa participated in the Olympic Games in Barcelona and won two medals. In the first part, this article describes South Africa’s development to exclusion and then back to its return by examining reasons for the late expulsion from, and re-entry to, the Olympic family. The next part looks at reactions of the governments and national sports federations (NFs) of Great Britain, the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the German Democratic Republic (GDR) to South Africa’s exclusion and its return against the backdrop of the Cold War. This paper further analyses the general attitudes of those actors towards apartheid (in sports). The conclusion points out the implications of South Africa’s sporting isolation and additional research gaps.

The Wisdom of a Socialist Defector

2020 ◽  
pp. 58-62
Author(s):  
Harry R. Targ
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Federal Republic ◽  
German Democratic Republic ◽  
Karl Marx ◽  
Democratic Republic ◽  
The United States ◽  
West Germany ◽  
Federal Republic Of Germany ◽  
The Cold War

Victor Grossman's A Socialist Defector: From Harvard to Karl-Marx-Allee is at once an exciting adventure story, an engaging autobiography of a radical opponent of U.S. imperialism, and a clear-headed assessment of the successes and failures of the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) at the onset of the Cold War until 1990, when its citizens voted to merge with the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, West Germany). Most poignantly, Grossman compares the benefits workers gained in the GDR, the FRG, and even the United States during the Cold War.

‘The Continuation of Politics by Other Means’: Britain, the Two Germanys and the Olympic Games, 1949–1972

2009 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 443-474 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. GERALD HUGHES ◽  
RACHEL J. OWEN
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Olympic Games ◽  
East Germany ◽  
West Germany ◽  
German State ◽  
German States ◽  
British Perspective ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
International Sport ◽  
The Olympic Games

AbstractThis article evaluates the interplay between international sport and international politics during the cold war through an examination of the two Germanys and the Olympics from a British perspective. Germany was at the centre of Olympic and cold war politics between 1945 and the early 1970s, and the two German states competed fiercely over questions of national legitimacy. West Germany was initially successful in denying international recognition to the ‘other’ German state. East Germany countered this by developing a strategy that utilised international sport, particularly the Olympic Games, to further its claims for statehood. While recognising the flaws in the West German case against East Germany, British policy was constrained by the need to accommodate Bonn's sensibilities, given that the Federal Republic was a major ally. An examination of this ‘Olympian’ struggle from a British perspective tells us much about the West's cold war strategy and casts new light on this arena of East–West competition.

From the Search for Normality to the Search for Normality: German Historical Writing

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Berger
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
German Democratic Republic ◽  
Economic History ◽  
Democratic Republic ◽  
Federal Republic Of Germany ◽  
Historical Writing ◽  
History Writing ◽  
East German ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Socialist Unity

This chapter demonstrates the overwhelming dominance of a Marxist, Soviet-inspired agenda, and the supremacy of social and especially economic history. During the Cold War, only the historians in the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) followed the Western path. Their counterparts in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) adhered to the Marxist-Leninist framework of history-writing prescribed by the ruling Socialist Unity Party (SED). The divided world of the Cold War ensured that history-writing in the FRG and GDR became highly polarized. Anti-communism remained the underlying rationale of much historical writing in the FRG during the 1950s, and anti-imperialism and anti-capitalism comprised the ideological backbone of the GDR’s historical profession. Ultimately, the Cold War was crucial in incorporating West and East German historians into different transnational networks. After 1945, the two Germanies were attempting to regain some kind of national as well as historiographical ‘normality’ following major political and historiographical caesuras.

scholarly journals The Opening Phase of the Struggle for Germany

Slavic Review ◽  
1979 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 473-480
Author(s):  
Robert M. Slusser
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Democratic Republic ◽  
The United States ◽  
Federal Republic Of Germany ◽  
Major Powers ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Opening Phase

Ever since the Berlin blockade of 1948 the attention of historians of modern and recent international relations has been engaged by the problem of how Germany and its capital, Berlin, came to be divided, first among the major powers of the anti-Hitler Grand Alliance—Great Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union, and France—and then, in 1949, into two rival states, the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany. This problem lies at the heart of the much-debated question regarding the origins of the Cold War. This review article makes no pretense at being a comprehensive report on the literature of the German problem. My aim is, rather, to call attention to some recent contributions to the literature and place them in context.

Olympics and International Sports Law Research Guide

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 92-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esther Cho
Keyword(s):  
Olympic Games ◽  
Ancient Greece ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
Sports Law ◽  
World Cup ◽  
Fifa World Cup ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
Sporting Event ◽  
Olympic Movement ◽  
The Olympic Games

AbstractThe Olympic Games are the world's most recognised international sporting event alongside the FIFA World Cup. Started in ancient Greece, the Olympic Games were revived in modern times in 1896 and occur every four years. This article, by Esther Cho, discusses how to research the structure and legal aspects of the Olympic Movement. It also encompasses the general array of international sports law resources connected to the Olympic Movement.

scholarly journals Tematyka olimpijska w audycjach Rozgłośni Polskiej Radia Wolna Europa

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 27-41
Author(s):  
Roman Wróblewski
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Olympic Games ◽  
Policy Influence ◽  
Radio Free Europe ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
The Olympic Games

The author presents the Olympic theme in Polish broadcasts of Radio Free Europe, which was one of the main media of the information war during the Cold War. Did the policy influence the content of these programmes? The answer to this question is in the negative. The Olympic Games on Radio Free Europe were presented in a professional manner. Journalists knew sports and sporting competition was the most important for them. Political content in programmes about Olympic competitions was avoided. 

scholarly journals Lizenz- und Gestattungsproduktion westdeutscher Unternehmen in der ČSSR und der DDR

2017 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 467-487
Author(s):  
Pavel Szobi
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Federal Republic ◽  
German Democratic Republic ◽  
Democratic Republic ◽  
Federal Republic Of Germany ◽  
The West ◽  
Economic Relations ◽  
Institutional Conditions ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Business Relations

Abstract The article deals with economic relations between the Federal Republic of Germany, German Democratic Republic and Czechoslovakia during the Cold War. Using the example of licensed production, its aim is to illustrate that in spite of ideological boundaries, business relations between West and East flourished in the period of the 1970s and 1980s. The author characterizes institutional conditions for this cooperation, names individual cooperation attempts, and uses the example of the well-known German brand Nivea as a symbol of the West and an example of a successful cooperation. The article reveals the intensive activities of West German companies and their investments in the GDR and Czechoslovakia long before 1989 and shows the potential of analyzing the German-German and the European transformation after 1989 more under the perspective of continuities and discontinuities.

scholarly journals Harnessing Human Rights to the Olympic Games: Human Rights Watch and the 1993 ‘Stop Beijing’ Campaign

2016 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 415-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Keys
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Olympic Games ◽  
Moral Legitimacy ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
Playing Field ◽  
Human Rights Organizations ◽  
Moral Claims ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
The Olympic Games

In 1993 Human Rights Watch, one of the two most influential human rights organizations in the world, launched a major campaign to derail Beijing's bid to host the 2000 Olympic Games. This article situates this highly publicized campaign in the context of Sino–US relations, the end of the Cold War, and the ‘victory’ of human rights as a global moral lingua franca. It argues that Human Rights Watch's decision to oppose Beijing's bid stemmed from its new post-Cold War focus on China combined with the organization's search for new ways to secure media attention and the funding that flowed from publicity. The campaign most likely swayed the International Olympic Committee's close vote in favor of Sydney. It also brought Human Rights Watch a windfall of favorable publicity among new audiences. The article argues that the campaign irrevocably inserted broad-based human rights considerations into the Olympic Games, decisively moving moral claims-making around the Olympics beyond the playing field. It also linked Human Rights Watch's moral legitimacy to US power in problematic ways and triggered a powerful anti-US backlash in China.

scholarly journals URSS vs. EEUU, RDA vs. RFA: Guerra Fría en los Juegos Olímpicos de Verano (1952-1988) (U.S.S.R. vs. USA, GDR vs. FRG: Cold War at the Summer Olympics (1952-1988))

Retos ◽  
2017 ◽  
pp. 37-39
Author(s):  
Mateo Rodríguez Quijada ◽  
Svetlana Molkova
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Olympic Games ◽  
Eastern Bloc ◽  
Federal Republic Of Germany ◽  
Sports Events ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Almost All ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Political Economic

Durante la Guerra Fría (1947-1991), las cuestiones geopolíticas determinaron el desarrollo del deporte internacional. Los Juegos Olímpicos se convirtieron en la arena de la lucha no solo deportiva sino política. Las victorias deportivas se utilizaban para mostrar la supremacia política, económica e ideológica de los países participantes. En la presente investigación se realiza un análisis de los medallistas de la Unión de Repúblicas Socialistas Soviéticas (URSS), los Estados Unidos (EEUU), la República Democrática Alemana (RDA) y la República Federal de Alemania (RFA) en los Juegos Olímpicos de Verano entre los años 1952 y 1988. Se analiza una muestra de 1945 medallistas olímpicos provenientes de los países indicados que compitieron durante 8 ediciones de los Juegos Olímpicos. Se excluyen del estudio los Juegos de Moscú 1980 y Los Ángeles 1984 debido a los boicots políticos por parte de EEUU y la RFA, y de la URSS y la RDA respectivamente. Los resultados del estudio muestran una clara superioridad de la URSS frente a los EE.UU. en casi todas las características estudiadas. La RDA, a su vez, supera a la RFA en la mayoría de variables analizadas. Los resultados ponen de manifiesto una supremacía de los países del bloque del este en los Juegos Olímpicos de Verano durante la Guerra Fría.Abstract. During the Cold War (1947-1991), geopolitical issues influenced international sports events. The Olympic Games became a space not only for sports competitions, but also for political clashes. Sports victories were used to pinpoint political, economic and ideological supremacy of the participating countries. The aim of the present research was to analyze the Summer Olympic medalists from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.), United States of America (USA), the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) in the period 1952-1988. We analyzed 1,945 Olympic medalists from above-mentioned countries, competing during 8 Summer Olympic Games. The 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow and the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles were excluded due to political boycotts by the USA and the FRG and by the U.S.S.R. and the GDR, respectively. The results of our research show clear superiority of U.S.S.R in comparison to USA in almost all characteristics studied. GDR was better than FRG in most of the analyzed variables. Our outcomes reveal the supremacy of the Eastern Bloc countries at the Summer Olympics during the Cold War.

scholarly journals Den olympiske pengemaskine

2003 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Skovgaard
Keyword(s):  
Olympic Games ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The Public ◽  
Philosophy Of Life ◽  
Sporting Event ◽  
Olympic Movement ◽  
Analytical Point ◽  
The City ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
The Olympic Games

Artikel om de moderne olympiske leges økonomi.The Olympic money machineOver a century after their start, the modern Olympic games constitute nothing less than the greatest regularly recurring global event. The modern Games are an event which attracts a great deal of attention and creates and consumes large quantities of resources, which also stem from public sources of finance and therefore from the ordinary tax-payer – in the first instance the citizens of the city in which the games are held. Over and above their role as a unique sporting event, the modern Games are the driving force in a comprehensive transnational concern, which from an analytical point of view is positioned at the intersection between the private market, the public sector and civilian society. Such a situation makes it relevant to shed light on the background against which the finances of the Olympic games as a business come into being and are distributed. This article considers the Olympic idea first and foremost as a sales object. This is simply because when the day arrives when the modern Games and their pregnant symbols – the Olympic logo, the Olympic flag, the Olympic motto, the Olympic hymn and the Olympic torch – no longer sell, many of the problems that currently grow out of and with the Olympic money machine will be a closed chapter. In this context sharp scrutiny is directed at the IOC, the organ which makes up the Olympic movement’s highest authority and which has a overriding influence on everything that takes place around the Olympic games enterprise. These two fixed points – the Olympic idea as a valuable marketing object and the IOC’s role as manager of that object by virtue of its position as leader of the Olympic movement and holder of the property rights to the modern Games – are grounded in a record of a series of events, which in 1998 and 1999 seriously shook the sustainability of the positive narrative about the Olympic games and of the Olympianism which was the philosophy of life superimposed on it. It is precisely the drawing power of that good narrative that makes it worthwhile for a multitude of companies of all sizes to pay large sums for the use of distinctive

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