OlimPILLS, Jessie Owens and Luz Long: When in Berlin a white man and a black man challenged the greatest madness in history

John

By John

There’s a strange atmosphere at the Olympiastadion in Berlin. The Führer and his gang of generals and big shots of the army, for a few hours, in that August 4, 1936 they seem to have lost that self-assurance that distinguishes them. We are in Nazi Germany, in the phase of full veneration of Adolf Hitler. The invasion of Poland and the war that follows is still three years away, but the race theory echoes everywhere. That afternoon almost 88 years ago something seems to have deflated the great lie. And yet The German Olympics are the best possible opportunity for Hitler to prove to the world that yes, there is a superior race.. Something, however, and not only on that day, is going decidedly wrong because of a black athlete who is literally dominating the Games with his physical exuberance. Yes, black. A good reason to make Hitler and his trusted hierarchs nervously curl their mustaches. A party pooper, that’s how American Jessie Owens was seen. Hitler was gambling everything, but he had not taken into account theblack antelope – as it was renamed after the Berlin exploit.
Well, on that 4th of August 1936, there was a couple who challenged the regime. Yes, a couple: Jessie Owens on one side, German Luz Long on the other: the embodiment of the theory of the Aryan race, an absolute phenomenon in the long jump. If Owens was flying – literally – in the other disciplines, he encountered many difficulties in the long jump. After two invalid jumps, with one more attempt in the barrel, comes the unexpected suggestion. Luz Long, the most precise sporting arrow in the Nazis’ quiver, approaches her opponent and whispers in his ear: “Jessie, listen to me, if you want to make a valid attempt you have to jump from this position”. No sooner said than done. And Owens’ jump is worth qualification and the best time of the day. Both meet in the afternoon final and give life to an arm wrestling of rare beauty, overtaking and counter-overtaking each other at the top of the standings. When it comes down to it, Long is unable to close the gap on his opponent who would not need the last jump to certify the gold medal, but pushed by his new friend he tries to widen the gap: he sets the record (8.06) that will last for 24 years. To make matters worse, Owens and Long do a lap of the field while they are intertwined in an indigestible embrace for those who, from the height of their power, think of superiority and submissions. And Long will pay dearly for that hug: “Don’t you ever dare hug a black man again”. Then, the winds of war become hurricanes and the German jumper leaves for the front. Lewis and Long write to each other, as good friends. In the last letter, having the feeling that it could end at any moment, the German athlete makes Owens promise that he will keep the memory of their friendship alive with those who come. Long is killed in Sicily, Owens will keep his promise. He also attends the wedding of Luz’s son, Kai. And on that occasion he tells of when a white man and a black man, with a jump and a hug, thanks to sport, challenged the greatest madness in history.