Indeed, if an analogy is called for, a darker and more persuasive comparison can be drawn between Beijing's quest for Olympic legitimacy and Hitler's use of the 1936 games to add international luster to his Nazi regime. The Olympics had been awarded to Germany prior to Hitler's ascension to power. Hitler was initially opposed to the idea of hosting the Olympics, but his minister of propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, convinced him that the Olympics were, in fact, a tremendous opportunity to legitimize Nazi Germany. Hitler's henchmen went to work. The foreigner who comes to us shall see the German people united under its leader Hitler.
Tourism is an important weapon in the struggle for the re-establishment of Germany's world rank.
Under the direction of Goebbels, anti-Semitic newspapers and magazines were removed from newsstands, and journalists were ordered to temper their reporting to accommodate tourists and members of the foreign media. An international radio network was constructed to broadcast the games to a worldwide audience, and closed circuit television was used for the first time. The fleet of zeppelins was enlisted to rush newsreel footage across Europe. While Hitler was working feverishly to build up Germany's military machine and launch his reign of terror, the rest of the world saw a gracious and patriotic country during the 1936 Summer Olympics. Foreigners who know Germany only from what they have seen during this pleasant fortnight can carry home only one impression.