1930's Sports | Jesse: The Man Who Outran Hitler

Autobiography

By: Jesse Owens, with Paul Neimark

Date: 1978

Source: Owens, Jesse, with Paul Neimark. Jesse: The Man Who Outran Hitler. New York: Fawcett, 1978, 86–90.

About the Author: James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (1913–1980) was born in Alabama and later moved with his family to Cleveland, Ohio, where he blossomed as a high school track star. He continued his success while attending Ohio State University, breaking a number of world records in competition. At the infamous 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, he won four gold medals in track and field, becoming a symbol of American patriotism in the process. Owens died in Tucson, Arizona, in 1980.

Introduction

The athletic achievements of the 1936 Olympics were largely overshadowed by politics, as Germany's chancellor, Adolf Hitler, used the Games to showcase his ideology of Aryan superiority. Leni...