# Who gave Jesse Owens his medals? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 28, 2003, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gave-jesse-owens-his-medals/164834 "2003-03-28T18:25:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gave-jesse-owens-his-medals/164834/1 "2003-03-28T18:25:25Z")
This is an inquiry from a friend of mine. In 1936, Jesse Owens ran his way to four gold medals in the Berlin Olympics. Annoyed by an African-American winning, Adolf Hitler walked out. The question is: if Hitler walked out, who gave Owens his medals? (Did Hitler even give out medals during the 1936 Olympics? I would think that would be the IOC’s job, but Hitler might have congratulated his German athletes, I guess.) ---
**Author:** ![chukhung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e79b87/32.png) [@chukhung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chukhung)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gave-jesse-owens-his-medals/164834/2 "2003-03-28T18:50:31Z")
This page, [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse\_Owens](http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Owens), says > [@](#): > > A persistent myth has grown up that Hitler, who had criticized African-American atheletes as “black auxiliaries” and “non-humans”, was in the stadium for some of Owens’ events but had refused to acknowledge him after his remarkable performances. In fact Hitler was absent on the days in question and the German athletes and German public welcomed and praised Owens, just like everyone else. This page, [http://espn.go.com/sportscentury/features/00016393.html](http://espn.go.com/sportscentury/features/00016393.html), has a fuller biography of Owens and quotes him as saying, > [@](#): > > “When I came back to my native country, after all the stories about Hitler, I couldn’t ride in the front of the bus,” Owens said. “I had to go to the back door. I couldn’t live where I wanted. I wasn’t invited to shake hands with Hitler, but I wasn’t invited to the White House to shake hands with the President, either.” Unfortunately, I did not find an answer to OP’s question about who actually put the Olympic medals around Owens’ neck. ---
**Author:** ![Hermann\_Cheruscan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b782af/32.png) [@Hermann\_Cheruscan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermann_Cheruscan)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gave-jesse-owens-his-medals/164834/3 "2003-03-28T19:21:27Z")
I had heard that in the beginning days of the 36 Olympics, Hitler would shake hands and congratulate German medal winners. Upon being notified that that was in bad taste, that he should either congratulate all the medalists, or none at all, he decided not to congratulate anyone. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gave-jesse-owens-his-medals/164834/4 "2003-03-28T19:22:34Z")
Hitler didn’t give out medals. He did, however, personally congratulate at least three gold medalists – two German and one Finnish – in his box in the first day of competition. Hitler then left for the day and wasn’t there when U.S. Black athlete Cornelius Johnson won his gold (this is the origin of the “snub” concept, not Owens). That night, the IOC told Hitler he had to congratulate all winners of none at all. Hitler stopped the practice, and was no longer meeting with any winners by the time Owens won his first medal. See [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/events/1996/olympics/daily/july29/flashback.html](http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/events/1996/olympics/daily/july29/flashback.html)