In the six months between the Winter and Summer Games, the Nazis prepared to host a variety of athletic and cultural events and selected the German athletes who would participate. Germany’s plans for Berlin’s Summer Games were especially grandiose. Hitler, who considered himself a visionary architect and urban planner, presided over the design and construction of an imposing and inspiring stadium.

Meanwhile, the Nazis continued their plan of remilitarization and expansion. On March 7, 1936, Hitler launched his militarization of the Rhineland in defiant violation of post-war treaties. The Western democracies remained silent, signaling an international and domestic victory for Hitler.

Although the Nazis continued to temper their racial policies, persecution persisted. Shortly before the Olympics, the Roma and Sinti ("Gypsies") in Berlin were interned in a camp in the suburb of Marzahn, and political dissidents were imprisoned in the newly constructed Sachsenhausen concentration camp on the outskirts of the city.