Don C. Brunell: Washington’s Almost Forgotten Olympic Legends

The Great Depression was very hard on most Americans. People lost their savings, jobs and homes. Often families were separated because there simply were too many mouths to feed even when moms, dads and kids pooled their meager earnings from odd jobs.

Businesses and factories closed and our government struggled to respond. Soup kitchens fed people waiting in long unemployment lines.

It is against this setting that fascist Germany hosted the summer Olympics in 1936. It was an extravaganza that was unimaginable for Olympians traveling to Berlin that August.

The games were supposed to showcase Ger...