Controversial merch. Official IOC store features shirts commemorating the 1936 Berlin Olympics
Steven Perez
Dailysports's expert
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has found itself at the center of intense criticism following the release of a new clothing collection dedicated to the 1936 Olympic Games.
Details: The official Olympic Games online store has sparked an international scandal after a commemorative T-shirt honoring the 1936 Games appeared in its lineup. The launch of merchandise celebrating the event, which took place in Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler's regime, has raised many questions.
The shirt's design features classic Berlin symbols, such as the quadriga atop the Brandenburg Gate and a laurel wreath. While there are no overt Nazi symbols on the merchandise, many have been unsettled by what they see as a "romanticization" of a tournament that became a powerful propaganda tool for the Third Reich. In 1936, the Nazi regime used the Olympics to mask growing repression and present the world with a false image of a "peace-loving" Germany.
So far, IOC officials have not issued a detailed statement about the removal of the product from the store.
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