IOC's Nazi-Era Olympic T-Shirts Sell Out

T-shirts featuring the official poster of the 1936 Berlin Olympics — staged under Adolf Hitler and widely regarded as a showcase for Nazi propaganda — have sold out on the International Olympic Committee’s website, drawing sharp criticism in Germany and beyond, The Telegraph reports.

The shirts, part of the IOC’s “heritage” collection, retail for £34 (about $43) and reproduce the original artwork for the Berlin Games, which the Nazi regime used to promote Aryan supremacy and the image of the Third Reich to a global audience.

German political figures have urged the IOC to pull the merchandise, calling the 1936 Olympics a “central propaganda tool” of Hitler’s regime.

The IOC has defended the sale, saying the collection celebrates “130 years of Olympic art and design” and noting that nearly 4,500 athletes from 49 countries competed in Berlin in 1936 despite the regime’s ideology.

By contrast, heritage shirts featuring the 1908 London, 1960 Rome and 1964 Tokyo Games remain in stock.

The controversy comes amid separate criticism of the IOC’s handling of political expression at this year’s 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.

Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych was disqualified during training in Cortina d’Ampezzo after wearing a “helmet of memory” displaying portraits of 24 Ukrainian athletes killed in Russia’s war. Olympic officials ruled the helmet violated rules prohibiting political, religious or racial demonstrations.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused the IOC of playing “into the hands of aggressors,” arguing the decision contrasted sharply with the committee’s willingness to sell merchandise commemorating the Nazi-era Games.

The 1936 Olympics remain among the most politically charged in history. Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels orchestrated the event as a global spectacle designed to legitimize Hitler’s rule.

The Games are also remembered for American sprinter Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals, undermining Nazi racial ideology on the world stage.

The renewed debate underscores the tension between historical commemoration and modern political sensitivity — particularly as the Olympic movement navigates contemporary conflicts while revisiting some of its most controversial chapters.