Olympic Dreams Collide with Politics and Propaganda in New Book, PLAYED: The Games of the 1936 Berlin Olympics

A behind-the-scenes look at the politics and propaganda, triumphs and heartbreaks, surrounding these historically significant Summer Games.

WINTHROP, MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES, June 13, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Adolph Hitler playing host. A notorious antisemite at the helm of the American Olympic Committee. And innocent athletes from around the world caught in the crosshairs. Such was the atmosphere at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, a propaganda-laden spectacle hosted by the Nazi Regime.

Why did other countries lead their athletes into Nazi Germany, where racial bias, antisemitism and wanton idolatry were running rampant?

The answer to that question is important to talk about, said writer and movie producer Richard Kaufman.

“That journey is so dramatic, that once you get to the games, the accomplishments of the athletes mean so much more,” Kaufman said during a recent interview. “And we felt that was very important to talk about. Everybody knows about Jesse Owens and how he won four gold medals, but you don’t really know the path he took to get there.”

In the new book PLAYED: The Games of the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Kaufman and fellow writer/producer Glenn Allen reveal 25 years of painstaking research in a sweeping, historical saga, sprinkled with high drama, comedy, espionage, tragedy and triumph.

Based on real stories and real people involved in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, PLAYED plunges readers into a compelling, fictionalized account of the insanity and hysteria that unfolded across Germany, the United States and in much of the world from 1931 through 1936.

At the center of the controversy in the U.S. is American Olympic Committee President Avery Brundage. Unmoved by the new Nazi regime's anti-Jewish doctrines, Brundage leads the fight to participate in the 1936 Berlin Games after much debate of a U.S. boycott. Brundage desperately wants to be on the International Olympic Committee. If he doesn't get the Americans to Berlin, he can kiss that dream goodbye.

When the vote is decided in Brundage’s favor, AP Sports Editor Alan J. Gould, friend and champion of the athletes, travels to Berlin to cover all of the “games” being played. Through his eyes readers see the machinations of Brundage’s complicity with the Nazis, the tenacity of the proud American athletes and the extreme pressure from the Nazis on their German athletes. Their stories, heartbreaking and tragic, give rise to feats of heroism that go beyond the playing field.

Along the way readers meet some of the most famous people of the time: Mae West, Charlie Chaplin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Joseph Goebbels, Leni Riefenstahl, Eva Braun and the madman himself, who vowed to “make Germany great again,” Adolf Hitler.

“Of course, we can’t go back in time and change history insomuch as we can change the outcome of a sporting event,” the authors added. “But we’re obligated to study history because it teaches us how to move forward. At least we hope it does.”

About the Authors
Richard Kaufman and Glenn Allen have been writing together for over 25 years. They have numerous projects in development, including scripted feature films, docuseries, television series, and have co-written and produced two award-winning independent films, all under the banner Green Bandana, a TV/film development company the two co-created in 2015.

For more information, please visit www.greenbandana.org.

Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Played-Games-1936-Berlin-Olympics/dp/1733170758

PLAYED: The Games of the 1936 Berlin Olympics
Publisher: WordServe Publishing
ISBN-10: ‎1733170758
ISBN-13: ‎978-1733170758
Available from Amazon.com and BN.com

Trish Stevens
Ascot Media Group, Inc.
+1 832-334-2733
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