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105-771: Olympiapark Berlin (German for Berlin Olympic Park ), previously the Deutsches Sportforum ( lit.   ' German Sport Forum ' ) and the Reichssportfeld ( lit.   ' Reich Sports Field ' ), is a sports and entertainment complex located in Berlin , Germany. The complex served as the Olympic Park of the 1936 Summer Olympics . The area in the Grunewald had been promised to

210-680: A German "ethnical state", especially after the Napoleonic wars . Ideal for this state was the Holy Roman Empire; the legend arose that Germany were "un-defeated when unified", especially after the Franco-Prussian War ( Deutsch-Französischer Krieg , lit. "German-French war"). Before that, the German question ruptured this "German unity" after the 1848 Revolution before it was achieved, however; Austria-Hungary as

315-511: A Modern monument, while Hitler hoped to create a distorted vision of ancient Rome, much as he aspired to do politically. Reich The term Deutsches Reich (sometimes translated to " German Empire ") continued to be used even after the collapse of the German Empire and the abolition of the monarchy in 1918. There was no emperor, but many Germans had imperialistic ambitions. According to Richard J. Evans : The continued use of

420-642: A branch of the Berlin Frederick William University initiated by Carl Diem and Theodor Lewald , was instituted in the premises of the swimming arena. The first newly erected buildings of a sports research facility, the present Deutsches Sportforum (German Sport Forum), dedicated to the teaching of professors of physical education and the study of sport science were built northeast of the stadium site. From 1926 to 1929, Otto March's sons Werner and Walter March were assigned to build an annex for these institutions, though due to

525-602: A design for the renovation of the Deutsches Stadion into a venue with a 65,000-person capacity as a part of revived plans to hopefully host the Olympic Games in Berlin. The training fields and training halls of the complex received great usage. Studies were undertaken for the complex's expansion in 1928, after work had halted on the existing portions of the complex. Eventually, in the course of these studies, it

630-634: A direct connection to its predecessor, or instead located 162 yards east of it. Moving east would align it on a direct axis with the Schwarzburg Bridge along the main east-west street approaching the complex. This would provide the entire complex with a stricter symmetry, and thus was the option favored by Hitler. The Berlin Racing Association was made to vacate their use of the complex, as the Grunewald Race Course

735-530: A dormitory, and above all, through the erection of a large administration and instruction building, the House of German Sport." — Adolf Hitler, October 5, 1933 Thus, four days after construction on the earlier proposed expansion to the Sportforum had previously been set to commence, those plans were killed. Werner March had been commissioned to create sketches for the new "Reichssportfeld" on 5 October 1933,

840-582: A historical aberration, contemptuously referring to it as " the System ". In the summer of 1939, the Nazis themselves actually banned the continued use of the term in the press, ordering it to use expressions such as Nationalsozialistisches Deutschland ("National Socialist Germany"), Großdeutsches Reich (" Greater German Reich "), or simply Deutsches Reich ( German Reich ) to refer to the German state instead. It

945-409: A kingdom), but in a modern sense, the term is used in a much more figurative sense (e.g. Die Hemelse Ryk (the heavenly kingdom, China)), as the sphere under one's control or influencas: As in German, the adjective rijk / ryk also means "rich". Deutsches Stadion (Berlin) Deutsches Stadion was a multi-use sports stadium in Berlin , Germany . It was located at Deutsches Sportforum in

1050-595: A multinational state could not become part of the new "German empire", and nationality conflicts in Prussia with the Prussian Poles arose ("We can never be Germans – Prussians, every time!"). The advent of national feeling and the movement to create an ethnically German Empire did lead directly to nationalism in 1871. Ethnic minorities declined since the beginning of the modern age; the Polabs , Sorbs and even

1155-566: A restaurant added to the complex, as well as two small buildings to serve as dressing rooms on the track field. Construction was set to begin at the beginning of October 1933. When the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933, they decided to use the Olympic Games in 1936 for propaganda purposes. With this in mind, Hitler made plans for the construction of a great sports complex in Grunewald named

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1260-481: A riding field shall be built on the Stadium grounds. An assembly field large enough for mass demonstrations shall be provided in connection with the enlargement of the Stadium. A large open-air theatre shall be erected in the charming Murellen Valley in the northwest part of the Stadium grounds. The German Sport Forum shall be completed through the enlargement of the gymnasium, the erection of a new indoor swimming pool,

1365-478: A seating capacity of 11,500. March decided to bury the stadium in the ground ("Erdstadion", in German). On 8 June 1913 the stadium was dedicated with the release of 10,000 pigeons. 60,000 people were in attendance. The stadium contained a 650-foot running track surrounded by a 720-yard cycling track . A 108-yard swimming pool was located on the outer edge of the cycling tack. The stadium also was alternatively known by

1470-551: A stadium. That stadium planned for the center of the racecourse would come only five years later. Plans to build an Olympic sports complex in the area of the Racetrack can be traced as far back as 1906 prior to Germany's athletic participation in the 1906 Intercalated Games . During the 1912 Summer Olympics , the city of Berlin was designated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to host

1575-723: A swimming stadium outside the stadium, at a 90-degree angle to its longitudinal axis. It was to be at the same level of the outside gallery of the Olympic Stadium, and half as high as the stands of the stadium, placing the swimming venue in-line with the stadium's entrance. An enclosed arcade was thereafter added to the plans as well. A model of these plans was publicly displayed at the German Building Exhibition in July 1931. The plan received approval from sport governing bodies. The DRA began discussions to execute

1680-591: A term for this period of German history. The common contemporary Latin legal term used in documents of the Holy Roman Empire was for a long time regnum ("rule, domain, empire", such as in Regnum Francorum for the Frankish Kingdom ) before imperium was in fact adopted, the latter first attested in 1157, whereas the parallel use of regnum never fell out of use during the Middle Ages. At

1785-604: A third design for an Olympic Stadium. This is the plan that was used, and contained not only the Olympic Stadium that would be built, but also other elements that were built such as the Olympischer Platz, parade grounds with the "Führerloge", the Olympic Bell Tower along the east-west axis the Coubertinplatz, and the swimming stadium placed on the north-south axis. Hitler approved plans for complex

1890-563: A wide bridge, and then led into the Olympic Square. The Underground and Municipal railway stations serving the site were expanded, with new exits built allowing visitors to leave in close proximity to the Olympic Stadium. Semicircular parking lots were constructed in at the south of the Reich Sport Field within the greenbelt surrounding the grounds. The Olympic Bell contained within the 77-meter Olympic Bell Tower featured

1995-698: Is indenrigs / inrikes / innenriks , meaning domestic. The adjective form of the word, rig in Danish and rik in Swedish/Norwegian, means "rich" like in other Germanic languages. Rijk is the Dutch and ryk the Afrikaans and Frisian equivalent of the German word Reich . In a political sense in the Netherlands and Belgium, the word rijk often connotes a connection with

2100-690: Is comparable in meaning and development (as well as descending from the same Proto-Indo-European root) to the English word realm (via French reaume "kingdom" from Latin regalis "royal"). It is used for historical empires in general, such as the Roman Empire ( Römisches Reich ), Persian Empire ( Perserreich ), and both the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire ( Zarenreich , literally " Tsars ' realm"). Österreich ,

2205-596: Is derived from a Common Germanic * rīkijan . The English noun survives only in the compounds bishopric and archbishopric . The German adjective reich , on the other hand, has an exact cognate in English rich . Both the noun ( * rīkijan ) and the adjective ( * rīkijaz ) are derivations based on the Common Germanic * rīks "ruler, king ", reflected in Gothic as reiks , glossing ἄρχων "leader, ruler, chieftain". It

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2310-553: Is probable that the Germanic word was not inherited from pre-Proto-Germanic, but rather loaned from Celtic (i.e. Gaulish rīx , Welsh rhi , both meaning 'king') at an early time . The word has many cognates outside of Germanic and Celtic, notably Latin : rex and Sanskrit : राज , romanized :  raj , lit.   'rule'. It is ultimately from Proto-Indo-European * reg- , lit. 'to straighten out or rule'. Frankenreich or Fränkisches Reich

2415-469: Is the German name given to the Frankish Kingdom of Charlemagne . Frankenreich came to be used of Western Francia and medieval France after the development of Eastern Francia into the Holy Roman Empire . The German name of France , Frankreich , is a contraction of Frankenreich used in reference to the kingdom of France from the late medieval period. The term Reich was part of

2520-699: Is used to describe a political or governmental entity. Reich has thus not been used in official terminology since 1945, though it is still found in the name of the Reichstag building , which since 1999 has housed the German federal parliament , the Bundestag . The decision not to rename the Reichstag building was taken only after long debate in the Bundestag; even then, it is described officially as Reichstag – Sitz des Bundestages (Reichstag, seat of

2625-471: The 1908 Summer Olympics held in London. The stadium was equipped with a 600-metre running track with a 665-metre velodrome outside. Next to the football pitch was installed a 100-metre track and outside to the velodrome would be installed a 100 metre by 22 metres swimming pool, decorated with numerous statues by Ludwig Cauer , Sascha Schneider , August Kraus , Georg Kolbe , et.al. The official capacity of

2730-509: The 1916 Summer Olympics during the 14th IOC Conference which was held in Stockholm on 27 May 1912. Berlin had previously bid unsuccessfully for the 1908 Summer Olympics , and had hosted the 10th IOC Conference (where the host for the 1912 Summer Olympics had been voted on) on 27 May 1909. Berlin defeated bids from Alexandria , Egypt ; Amsterdam , Netherlands ; Brussels , Belgium ; Budapest , Hungary ; and Cleveland , United States in

2835-694: The East German railway incongruously continued to use the name Deutsche Reichsbahn (German Reich Railways), which had been the name of the national railway during the Weimar Republic and the Nazi era. Even after German reunification in October 1990, the Reichsbahn continued to exist for over three years as the operator of the railroad in eastern Germany, ending finally on 1 January 1994 when

2940-603: The Great Depression the finalization was delayed until 1936. In 1931, the International Olympic Committee made Berlin the host city of the 11th Summer Olympics . Originally, the German government decided merely to restore the Deutsches Stadion, with Werner March retained to do this. However, when the Nazis came to power in 1933, they decided to use the Olympic Games in 1936 for propaganda purposes. With these plans in mind, Hitler ordered

3045-664: The Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Kingdom of Belgium as opposed to the European part of the Netherlands or the provincial or municipal governments. The ministerraad is the executive body of the Netherlands ' government and the rijksministerraad that of the Kingdom of the Netherlands , a similar distinction is found in wetten (laws) versus rijkswetten (kingdom laws) or the now-abolished rijkswacht (lit. "guard of

3150-643: The political slogan Ein Volk , ein Reich, ein Führer ("One nation, one Reich , one leader"), in order to enforce pan-German sentiment. The term Altes Reich ("old Reich"; cf. French ancien regime for monarchical France) is sometimes used to refer to the Holy Roman Empire . The term Altreich was also used after the Anschluss to denote Germany with its pre-1938 post-World War I borders. Another name that

3255-403: The "Deutsches Sportforum" complex, alternately referred to as the "Deutsches Sportsforum" (German: German Sports Forum ). The facilities were largely dedicated to educating physical education teachers, as well as to studying sport science . The buildings of the Sportforum were constructed northeast of the stadium. Werner March , son of Otto March, won a contest relating to the construction of

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3360-411: The "German Institute for Physical Education". The German University for Athletics used the Deutsches Stadion. Beginning in the summer of 1921, a two-story university building was constructed north of the stadium's swimming pool. 26 May 1922, this new building, which included a gymnasium, fencing hall, and a dining and reading room, was opened. In 1925 Theodor Lewald suggested that the complex be named

3465-405: The "Reichssportfeld", with a brand-new Olympiastadion as its centerpiece. Architect Werner March remained in charge of the project, assisted by his brother Walter March. The games had been awarded to Berlin in 1931 when Germany's government was the democratic Weimar Republic and the original plans for the Sportforum had been drawn up under this government. Construction on the proposed expansion of

3570-548: The "Sportforum". 16 September 1925, the board of the German Committee for Physical Training (the DRA) officially began using the name "Deutsches Sportforum" (German: German Sportforum ) for the complex. The stadium was outgrown the by German Institute for Physical Education. The DRA, which before WWI had been the "National Committee for the Olympic Games" (Germany's NOC ), supplemented the stadium's facilities by building

3675-537: The "realm of a king" (a kingdom can also be called kongedømme in Danish and Norwegian and kungadöme or konungadöme in Swedish, direct cognates of the English word). Two regions in Norway that were petty kingdoms before the unification of Norway around 900 AD have retained the word in the names (see Ringerike and Romerike ). The word is also used in " Svea rike ", with the current spelling Sverige ,

3780-518: The 3:0 victory of Hamburger SV over the Berlin team SC Union 06 Oberschöneweide . On 24 May 1926, the Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi set another world record at 3000 metres . The public celebrations of Reich President Paul von Hindenburg 's 80th birthday were held here on 2 October 1927; Adolf Hitler spoke at the stadium during his 1932 campaign trail on 27 June. In 1920 the campus of a sports college ( Deutsche Hochschule für Leibesübungen , DHfL),

3885-434: The Berlin games altogether if March's stadium was not altered to his satisfaction. After being appointed, Speer designed a neo-classical facade for the stadium literally overnight to meet Hitler's satisfaction. Speer's design was used, and clad March's stadium's exposed steel frame with stone. Characteristically of Nazi architecture, Speer's design placed stone pillars and colonnades over steel supports. March aspired to design

3990-519: The Bundestag). As seen in this example, the term "Bund" (federation) has replaced "Reich" in the names of various state institutions such as the army (" Bundeswehr "). The term "Reichstag" also remains in use in the German language as the term for the parliaments of some foreign monarchies, such as Sweden 's Riksdag and Japan 's pre-war Imperial Diet . The exception is that during the Cold War ,

4095-494: The German names for Germany for much of its history. Reich was used by itself in the common German variant of the Holy Roman Empire , ( Heiliges Römisches Reich (HRR) ). Der rîche was a title for the Emperor. However, Latin, not German, was the formal legal language of the medieval Empire ( Imperium Romanum Sacrum ), so English-speaking historians are more likely to use Latin imperium than German Reich as

4200-400: The German nation rather than directly to the state of Germany. The exact translation of the term "German Empire" would be Deutsches Kaiserreich . This name was sometimes used informally for Germany between 1871 and 1918, but it was disliked by the first German Emperor, Wilhelm I , and never became official. The unified Germany which arose under Chancellor Otto von Bismarck in 1871

4305-578: The Holy Roman Empire and the German Empire, respectively; the Nazis discounted the legitimacy of the Weimar Republic entirely. The terms "First Reich" and "Second Reich" are not used by historians, and the term " Fourth Reich " is mainly used in fiction and political humor, although it is also used by those who subscribe to neo-Nazism . The German noun Reich is derived from Old High German : rīhhi , which together with its cognates in Old English : rīce , Old Norse : ríki , and Gothic : reiki

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4410-486: The Nazi slogan was to put it. The term is derived from the Germanic word which generally means "realm", but in German, it is typically used to designate a kingdom or an empire, especially the Roman Empire . The terms Kaisertum ( German: [ˈkaɪzɐˌtuːm] , "Imperium") and Kaiserreich ("Imperial realm") are used in German to more specifically define an empire ruled by an emperor. Reich

4515-526: The Olympic Bell began Monday, 11 May 1936. The first trial ringing occurred on 20 May. The Olympic Stadium was filled with spectators for the first time on 5 July for a pre-Olympic test. The main focal point of the entire complex's composition was to be the Olympic Stadium , which was located at the middle of the Reich Sport Field. 86,400 square yards (two times the area which was occupied by

4620-790: The Olympic Rings with an eagle, the year 1936, the Brandenburg Gate, the date 1–16 August, and a motto between two swastikas: “I call the youth of the world” and 11. Olympic Games Berlin inscribed upon it. It was located amongst the tiers of the Maifeld stand, acting as the pinnacle of the Reich Sports Field's western end. An observation deck inside provided views of the city of Berlin. During the games it would be utilized as an observation post for administrators, police officials, doctors, and media officials. The hanging of

4725-736: The Olympic Stadium were accepted by the IOC in June 1933. At a meeting of the Construction Committee of the Organizing Committee (for the Olympics) on 15 July 1933, presided over by Carl Diem several aspects were added to the plan. It was decided to complete the gymnasium and include a small swimming pool in its basement. It was also decided that there would be a gymnastic and assembly hall with connected living quarters and

4830-520: The Olympics. The cycling track would be completely eliminated, and the current 650-yard running track would be removed as well and replaced with a new 433-yard track (adhering to the international dimensions). The field would be sunken deeper, and new rows of seats were to be constructed at the bottom of the current stands. Its seating capacity would as a result of this planned renovation been increased from 30,000 to 80,000 spectators. The tunnel entrance at

4935-468: The Reichsbahn and the western Deutsche Bundesbahn were merged to form the privatized Deutsche Bahn AG . The cognate of the word Reich is used in all Scandinavian languages with the identical meaning, i.e. " realm ". It is spelled rige in Danish and older Norwegian (before the 1907 spelling reform ) and rike in Swedish and modern Norwegian. The word is traditionally used for sovereign entities, generally simply means "country" or "nation" (in

5040-409: The Sportforum was set to commence in October 1933, but in March of that same year the Nazis had come to power in Germany. The German Committee for Physical Training was dissolved, and the deed to the Sportforum was transferred to the Nazi government. Around this time the complex was renamed the "Reichssportfeld" (German: Reich Sports Field ). It was questioned whether the construction and half of

5145-409: The Stadium Construction Office. Authority over this organization belonged to the Government Construction Counciller Sponzholz. In December 1933 the Minister of the Interior created the "Construction Committee for the Reich Sport Field". State Secretary Hans Pfundtner served as the Committee's chairman. 11 October 1933, the proposed construction schedule was submitted to Hitler. 31 October Hitler visited

5250-434: The Stadium. The City of Berlin named the conditions under which they would assume the additional expenditure of the stadium's construction. The first was that the entire area of the Grunewald Racecourse, the including the Grunewald Racecourse's stadium, which had previously been leased to the Berlin Racing Association, would now be leased directly by the city for a minimum of 30 years by the Prussian Forestry Department (who were

5355-407: The beginning of the modern age , some circles redubbed the HRE into the "Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation" ( Heiliges Römisches Reich Deutscher Nation ), a symptom of the formation of a German nation state as opposed to the multinational state the Empire was throughout its history. Resistance against the French Revolution with its concept of the state brought a new movement to create

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5460-450: The bid for 1916 Summer Olympics. The stadium for this was to be located in Charlottenburg , in the Grunewald Forest , to the west of Berlin. The government of Germany decided not to build in the nearby Grunewald forest, or to renovate buildings that already existed. Because of this desire, they hired the same architect who originally had built the "Rennverein" (the Grunewald Race Course) Otto March. The organizing committee's evaluation of

5565-438: The city. Friedrich-Friesen-Allee , one of two streets that had served the site, was widened. A new street was built, creating an approach from the west. This road branched off from Heerstrasse and terminated in front of the location of the Olympic Bell Tower. An approach from the east was also established by extending the Schwarzburg Allee, which was thereafter renamed as Olympische Strasse . This street crossed railway tracks over

5670-440: The complex along with Reich Minister of the Interior Wilhelm Frick , approving the plans in principle. Nonetheless, Hitler voiced a number of concerns surrounding the architectural appearance of the buildings, and his wishes for stone to be used in the construction of the complex as frequently as possible, rather than concrete. On 14 December 1933, Hitler had the March brothers called into his office, and decided to have them create

5775-414: The complex, and served as its architect. Werner largely collaborated with brother Walter March on this and other projects he would later work on for the sports complex. The cornerstone of the complex was laid by on 18 October 1925, the anniversary of the Battle of Leipzig . A women's dormitory for students was constructed at the northwest end of the grounds. A tunnel beneath the cycling track connected

5880-411: The condition that the sub-lease of the stadium by the DRA should be continued. The land east of the racecourse was made available for building the planned tunnel. In January 1932, the City of Berlin put forth a surprise counter plan. The City's Municipal Construction Councilor Wagnar made the suggestion that a temporary wooden stadium instead should be built on the fair grounds for the Olympics. This plan

5985-410: The construction of a proposed stadium. Up to today, the tunnel and the old ticket booths survive on Jesse-Owens-Allee. When during the 1912 Summer Olympics the city of Berlin was designated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to host the 1916 Olympic Games, the Rennbahn area was designated as the central venue for this event and the officials hired the same architect who originally had built

6090-460: The cost for the stadium (with the other half being paid for by the national government in the form of subsidies) should fall onto the City of Berlin. The city already was going to pay for the construction of the approach roads to the Olympic Stadium, this expense was the main reason they had hoped to place a temporary stadium elsewhere in January 1932, and the expense of leasing land from the Prussian Forestry Department for use as parking lots to serve

6195-419: The decision to leave the oak. It was a decision inspired by the holy olive tree that had blessed the Ancient Olympic Games in Olympia . The oak was named the "Podbielski-Eiche" after the State Minister. Organization continued despite the onset of World War I in 1914, since it was not expected that the war would continue for long enough to interrupt the games. Eventually, though, the Games were cancelled due to

6300-404: The early development of that site. Due to a loss of spectators, the Union-Klub started looking for a new site to the west of Berlin by the time they settled upon a site in Ruhleben , where the club would lease land and manage a horse racing track from 1884 until 1893. In 1906 Victor von Podbielski was able to arrange for the "Union-Klub to find another location in the Grunewald. In February 1907,

6405-401: The existing architectural plans for the Olympic venues, as he desired more grand and extravagant venues than those that had been proposed before the IOC in 1931 by Berlin's bid team. "The old race course shall be conveyed to the Reich, which will take over all the Olympic constructions in Grunewald. The Stadium itself is to be enlarged to provide seats for 100,000 persons. A swimming stadium and

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6510-480: The historically Germanic countries and regions of Europe into the Nazi state ( Flanders , the Netherlands , Denmark , Norway , Sweden etc.). A number of previously neutral words which were used by the Nazis later took on negative connotations in German (e.g. Führer or Heil ); while in many contexts Reich is not one of them ( Frankreich , France; Römisches Reich , Roman Empire ), it can imply German imperialism or strong nationalism if it

6615-467: The majority of the project, though Hitler ultimately replaced him with Albert Speer as the stadium's architect. March's stadium was modern in its aesthetics, which did not match the Nazi's goal to use the Olympics to display themselves as an imperial power in the mold of the Roman Empire . March's design lacked the monumental scale and neo-classical architecture that were the core values of Nazi architecture . Hitler allegedly had even threatened to cancel

6720-411: The name of Sweden in Swedish. Thus in the official name of Sweden, Konunga riket Sve rige , the word rike appears twice. The derived prefix rigs- (Danish and pre-1907 Norwegian) and riks- (Swedish and Norwegian) and implies nationwide or under central jurisdiction. Examples include riksväg and riksvei , names for a national road in Swedish and Norwegian. It is also present in

6825-419: The name used for Austria today is composed of "Öster" and "Reich" which, literally translated, means "Eastern Realm". The name once referred to the Eastern parts of the Holy Roman Empire . In the history of Germany specifically, it is used to refer to: The Nazis adopted the term "Third Reich" to legitimize their government as the rightful successor to the retroactively renamed "First" and "Second" Reichs –

6930-409: The names Grunewaldstadion and Berlin Stadium . The stadium was inaugurated 15 May 1913, following a mere 200-day construction schedule. The opening ceremony of the stadium occurred 8 June 1913. Otto March had died April of that year, thus he was unable to see the opening of the stadium. One unique facet of the venue was a large oak located just outside the eastern edge of the stadium. Otto March made

7035-459: The names of numerous institutions in all the Scandinavian countries, such as Rigsrevisionen (the agency responsible for oversight of the state finances in Denmark) and Sveriges Riksbank (commonly known as just Riksbanken ), the central bank of Sweden. It is also used in words such as udenrigs (Danish), utrikes (Swedish) and utenriks (Norwegian), relating to foreign countries and other things from abroad. The opposite word

7140-464: The once important Low Germans had to assimilate themselves. This marked the transition between Antijudaism , where converted Jews were accepted as full citizens (in theory), to Antisemitism , where Jews were thought to be from a different ethnicity that could never become German. Apart from all those ethnic minorities being de facto extinct, even today the era of national feeling is taught in history in German schools as an important stepping-stone on

7245-432: The organization signed a 30-year lease for land north of Döberitzer Heerstraße . This would become the Gunewald Race Course. The Grunewald Race Course was the original sporting venue on the site now occupied by Olympiapark Berlin. This horse racing venue was designed by Otto March , and opened 3 May 1909. The venue had a capacity of 40,000. Its center contained an 85,000 square meter depression slated to eventually house

7350-460: The original stadium had been the inclusion of a swimming pool. In the plans to renovate the stadium, attempts were made to retain the union between the swimming pool and the athletic stadium. Initially, plans were considered to move the pool to a location inside the stadium between the outer edge of the new running track and the stands, either on the west or east side of the stadium. Werner March than decided against this direct union, and instead located

7455-431: The owners of the land). As a result, the Racing Association would then become a sub-lessee of the City of Berlin. Their second condition was for the Reich to forfeit any claims it had to ownership of the stadium, resigning this right solely to the City of Berlin. This far into their negotiations Adolf Hitler visited the Deutsches Stadion on 5 October 1933, and announced his decision. Hitler was quick in his decision to alter

7560-425: The park, March desired to preserve much of the natural landscape. March had Professor Wiepking-Jürgensman assist in transplanting 40,000 trees to the northern portion of the park, to unite it with the surrounding natural landscape. Access to the site was significantly improved through the creation of new roadways. The complex was already a short distance north of Heerstrasse , the primary east-west thoroughfare out of

7665-494: The partial translation "the Third Reich "), first used in a 1923 book entitled Das Dritte Reich by Arthur Moeller van den Bruck , that counted the medieval Holy Roman Empire (which nominally survived until the 19th century) as the first and the 1871–1918 monarchy as the second, which was then to be followed by a "reinvigorated" third one. The Nazis ignored the previous 1918–1933 Weimar period , which they denounced as

7770-475: The people of Berlin as "a people's park" by Emperor Wilhelm II in 1904. Due to this, when the Union-Klub  [ de ] later signed a lease for a horseracing track, they had to agree that their land would also host "general sports functions" A horse race track at Hoppegarten just east outside the city held its first races as early as 1868. The "Union-Klub" was one of the main organizations behind

7875-412: The plans. The Berlin Racing Association had changed their stance from a previously voiced opposition to renovating the stadium, to a more favorable attitude towards the project on the condition that they were to be compensated for the horse races that would have to be suspended during the construction process. The Ministry of Agriculture then agreed to lease the entire grounds to the Racing Association with

7980-492: The presence of Emperor Wilhelm II (progressively arriving in a motor car) and his consort Augusta Victoria . A nearby Rennbahn railway station on the Spandau Suburban Line opened on the same day. Even at this stage, the German government prepared for hosting Olympic Games, and March's plans already provided a large space within the 2,400 m (7,900 ft) circuit, accessible via a tunnel and suitable for

8085-421: The present-day Westend quarter on the northern rim of the large Grunewald forest. Built according to plans designed by Otto March , it was opened on 8 June 1913, on the occasion of Emperor Wilhelm II 's silver jubilee, due to host the 1916 Summer Olympics that were cancelled after the outbreak of World War I . The stadium was demolished 20 years later and replaced by the current Olympiastadion . From 1907

8190-613: The racetrack, so as not to disturb the view of the racing action. The Berlin Racing Association contributed a piece of land on the northern end of the Grunewald for the stadium. The land had been originally rented by the Racing Association from the Forest Department. Work on the stadium, the Deutsches Stadion (German: German Stadium ), began in August 1912. When it opened, it held over 18,500 spectators, and had

8295-407: The racing track, Otto March. After delays due to financial difficulties, the construction of the Deutsches Stadion, then also known as Grunewald-Stadion , was completed within 200 days in 1913. The facilities arose in the lowered central ground ( Erdstadion ), allowing further horse races as the upper circuit remained completely observable for spectators. Horse races continued until the demolition of

8400-581: The realm") for gendarmerie in Belgium . The word rijk can also be found in institutions like the Rijkswaterstaat , Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu and Rijksuniversiteit Groningen . In colloquial speech, rijk usually means working for the central government rather than the provincial or municipal government, much as Americans refer to the "federal" government. In Afrikaans , ryk refers to rulership and area of governance (mostly

8505-669: The road to a German nation. In the case of the Hohenzollern Empire (1871–1918), the official name of the country was Deutsches Reich ("German Realm"), because under the Constitution of the German Empire , it was legally a confederation of German states under the permanent presidency of the King of Prussia . The constitution granted the King of Prussia the title of "German Emperor" ( Deutscher Kaiser ), but this referred to

8610-518: The same day. In late fall of 1933 demolition work began on the old Deutsches Stadion, and work commenced on the completion of the gymnasium that had been left half-finished since 1928. Construction took place from 1934 to 1936. Complying with Hitler's wishes, the stadiums were largely built using natural stone instead of concrete, requiring 39,538 cubic yards of stone. Demolition of the horse race track began in March 1934. Werner March preserved much of

8715-589: The same way that the terms Bund (federation) and Bundes- (federal) are used in Germany today, and comparable to The Crown in Commonwealth countries and The Union in the United States . The Nazis sought to legitimize their power historiographically by portraying their ascendancy to rule as the direct continuation of an ancient German past. They adopted the term Drittes Reich ("Third Empire" – usually rendered in English in

8820-524: The sense of a sovereign state) and does not have any special or political connotations. It does not imply any particular form of government, but it implies that the entity is both of a certain size and of a certain standing, like the Scandinavian kingdoms themselves; hence the word might be considered exaggerated for very small states like a city-state. Its use as a stand-alone word is more widespread than in contemporary German, but most often, it refers to

8925-419: The site a site led them to decide that the area inside the Grunewald Race Course offered enough room for a suitable venue to be built. Access to this stadium was provided by a tunnel passage under the racetrack. The tunnel was 65 feet wide, and provided access to the south end of the stadium. This tunnel is one of the few surviving portions of the former race track. The stadium was sunk into the ground on inside of

9030-456: The south end, crossing below the Grunewald Race Course, was a source of congestion during events. Plans were made to relieve this congestion by building a new eastern tunnel, and by a new entrance to the entire complex would be constructed on the side facing the main city-center, which was only 5 miles to the east of the complex. The stadium's expansion was to be of a modern steel and reinforced concrete structure. One unique and appealing aspect of

9135-504: The stadium was 33,000 spectators. However, as the 1916 Olympic Games were cancelled upon the outbreak of World War I , the arena was temporarily used as a military hospital from 1915. After the war, it was initially used for matches of the Germany national football team as well as for the stadium of German football championship finals from 1922 to 1924 and again in 1927. During the final on 10 June 1923, about 64,000 spectators witnessed

9240-485: The stadium with the northern portion of the complex, which allowed the stadium's track and the new running track to both be used for competition and practice respectively. A planned gymnasium had begun construction in 1926, but was only half complete when the entire project was halted in 1928 due to insufficient funds to continue construction. Prior to the onslaught of the Great Depression, Werner March had made

9345-405: The stadiums stands) surrounding the stadium were left open, serving as public promenades around the stadium. Werner March had been proud of the fact that spectators could empty the Olympic Stadium in thirteen and a half minutes, as compared to the previous Summer Olympic Stadium (Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum), which would take fifteen and a half minutes to empty. March was the stadium's architect for

9450-616: The term "German Empire", Deutsches Reich , by the Weimar Republic ... conjured up an image among educated Germans that resonated far beyond the institutional structures Bismarck created: the successor to the Roman Empire; the vision of God's Empire here on earth; the universality of its claim to suzerainty ; and in a more prosaic but no less powerful sense, the concept of a German state that would include all German speakers in central Europe—"one People, one Reich, one Leader", as

9555-591: The terrain on the sandy Teltow plateau between the Heerstraße road and the Spree river, west of the then independent city of Charlottenburg , was leased to the Union-Klub horse racing organisation. The aristocratic association had the Berliner Rennverein established to lay out a large race-course ( Rennbahn Grunewald ) at the site, designed by Otto March, which was inaugurated on 23 May 1909 in

9660-441: The three Scandinavian states themselves and certain historical empires, like the Roman Empire . The standard word for a "country" is usually land , and there are many other words used to refer to countries. The word is part of the official names of Denmark, Norway and Sweden in the form of kongerige   ( Danish ) , kongerike   ( Norwegian ) , and konungarike   ( Swedish ) , all meaning kingdom, or literally

9765-407: The very same day that Hitler had announced his intentions to build it. Dr. Diem was called-in from a trip abroad to work on the project's proposals with Werner March. The main outline of their plans was created hastily, and received Hitler's approval. The question arose whether or not the new stadium for the Olympics should be built on the footprint of the original Deutsches Stadium, providing it with

9870-413: The war. The stadium was closed on 26 July 1914, and by 1915 the stadium was being used as a military hospital. It would be a year until sports would again take place in the stadium. 15 May 1920 the "Deutsche Hochschule für Leibesübungen" (German: German University for Athletics ) (DHfL) was founded by Berlin's Friedrich-Wilhelms-University . This sports institution was also referred to alternately as

9975-607: The whole premises in 1934. Otto March did not live to see the opening, as he died during the construction works on April 1. The stadium was solemnly inaugurated on 8 June; at the same day, the Stadion station of the Berlin U-Bahn opened near the eastern entrance. According to the construction plans by Otto March the Deutsches Stadion would follow the model of construction of the White City Stadium main venue of

10080-458: The woods on the slopes on all sides of the complex. A significant portion of the land was untouched woods and meadows. Despite a long history of use on the site, the majority of the Olympic Park's land was completely free of any existing buildings, with the existing buildings of the Sportforum in the far north end of the complex constituting exception to this. The north end's arrangement was largely governed by its existing structures. In other areas of

10185-410: Was Adolf Hitler's personal desire that Großdeutsches Reich and nationalsozialistischer Staat ("[the] National Socialist State") would be used in place of Drittes Reich . Reichskanzlei Berchtesgaden (" Reich Chancellery Berchtesgaden "), another nickname of the regime (named after the eponymous town located in the vicinity of Hitler's mountain residence where he spent much of his time in office)

10290-572: Was also banned at the same time, despite the fact that a sub-section of the Chancellery was in fact installed there to serve Hitler's needs. Although the term "Third Reich" is still commonly used in reference to the Nazi dictatorship, historians avoid using the terms "First Reich" and "Second Reich", which are seldom found outside Nazi propaganda . During and following the Anschluss ( annexation ) of Austria in 1938, Nazi propaganda also used

10395-457: Was favored by the city because it did not want to pay for roadway expenses necessitated by the DRA's plan. Theodor Lewald rejected the city's plan for a temporary venue. Planning continued. Additional aspects of the project would include the expansion of the Sportforum, finishing the half-completed gymnasium, the construction of a large sporting hall and of a new student dormitory. March's plans for

10500-503: Was furthered on 25 April 1931, when the International Olympic Committee announced Berlin as the host of the 1936 Summer Olympic Games. Berlin was awarded the 1936 Summer Olympics on 26 May 1930. at the 30th IOC Conference, held in Lausanne , Switzerland. After Berlin was awarded the Olympics, plans were drawn up to renovate the Deutsches Stadion extensively. The venue only held 30,000 spectators, which by then had become insufficient host

10605-472: Was popular during this period was the term Tausendjähriges Reich ("Thousand-Year Reich"), the millennial connotations of which suggested that Nazi Germany would last a thousand years. The Nazis also spoke of enlarging the then-established Greater German Reich into a " Greater Germanic Reich of the German Nation " ( Großgermanisches Reich Deutscher Nation ) by gradually and directly annexing all of

10710-539: Was realized that Deutsches Stadium's infield was too large, leading to poor sightlines, and its maximum capacity of 40,000 spectators was deemed to be too small to serve as an Olympic Stadium if Berlin, as was being considered, were to host the Olympics in 1936. The reason the stadium could not be expanded beyond 40,000 due to the Grunewald Race Course. If the Race Course were to be retained, the stadium's height could not be increased. The need for an expanded Sportforum

10815-598: Was the first entity that was officially called in German Deutsches Reich . Deutsches Reich remained the official name of Germany until 1945, although these years saw three very different political systems more commonly referred to in English as: "the German Empire " (1871–1918), the Weimar Republic (1919–1933; this term is a post- World War II coinage not used at the time), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). After 1918 "Reich"

10920-694: Was to be demolished to create the Reich Sports Field. The Berlin Racing Association were to be compensated according to Hitler's orders, by receiving the funding from the "Racing Association" as well as the "Union Club and the Society for Steeplechasing" to expand the race tracks that the Berlin Racing Association also owned in Hoppegarten and Karlshorst . In November 1933 the Nazi Reich Ministry of Finance established

11025-474: Was usually not translated as "Empire" in English-speaking countries, and the title was instead simply used in its original German. During the Weimar Republic the term Reich and the prefix Reichs- referred not to the idea of empire but rather to the institutions, officials, affairs etc. of the whole country as opposed to those of one of its constituent federal states ( Länder ), in

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