When Jesse Owens Raced in Front of Hitler

Ahead of the 1936 Summer Olympics, US track star Jesse Owens concerned himself with practical matters such as his injuries and his rivals. Meanwhile, American politicians and sports officials hotly debated whether Owens and his teammates should compete in the Games in Nazi Germany, or boycott them to protest Hitler's overt anti-Semitism. In Jeremy Schaap's new book, Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler's Olympics, Owens's legendary performance is shown as carrying heavy political meaning. His feats were a source of celebration and pride among African-Americans. Yet when the US decided to participate in the Hitler-hosted Games, Owens and his teammates also unwittingly lent credibility to a genocidal regime.