IOC Under Fire for Selling Nazi-Era Olympic T-Shirts

Fri Feb 13 2026 01:33:08 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

The International Olympic Committee faces backlash in Germany over the sale of T-shirts featuring designs from the 1936 Berlin Olympics, a prominent propaganda event for the Nazi regime.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is criticized for selling T-shirts adorned with designs from the Nazi propaganda-driven 1936 Berlin Games. While the IOC defends the sale as part of its Heritage Collection, calls to cease production of the shirts have emerged, highlighting concerns over the historical implications tied to the designs.

The official online fan shop of the Olympic Games has been selling T-shirts featuring designs from the Berlin Olympic Games in 1936, which were used by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis for propaganda.

Calls have emerged in Germany to halt the sale of these shirts, yet the International Olympic Committee (IOC) defends the products as part of its Heritage Collection, celebrating styles from all Olympic Games.

The T-shirts display the original poster design for the Berlin Olympics by Franz Würbel and are currently listed as out of stock.

The 1936 Games, which served as a platform for Hitler to promote ideals of racial supremacy, are echoed in the T-shirt design, which features a male figure wearing a laurel wreath beneath the Olympic rings and the Brandenburg Gate with the phrase: Germany Berlin 1936 Olympic Games.

Klara Schedlich, a spokesperson for the Green Party in Berlin, criticized the IOC, stating they are not adequately reflecting on their own history. She labeled the choice of imagery as problematic and unsuitable for a T-shirt in the absence of context.

In their defense, the IOC acknowledged the historical significance of Nazi propaganda while emphasizing that the Berlin Games also showcased athletes from 49 countries competing in various events. A spokesperson highlighted that the Olympic Heritage Collection aims to celebrate 130 years of Olympic art and design, noting the contributions of standout athletes like Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals during those Games, countering the Nazi racial supremacy narrative.

The IOC maintains that the historical context of the 1936 Games is adequately presented at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, asserting that only a limited number of these T-Shirts were produced and sold.