Olimpijske igre brez imena: tekmovanje, ki ga je prekinila vojna

Olimpijske igre brez imena: tekmovanje, ki ga je prekinila vojna

How did the situation around the Olympics develop in the 40s, and why were these Games never destined to take place?

Exactly 75 years ago, the sky of Leningrad lit up with a magical salute. This is how the inhabitants celebrated the final liberation of their native city from the blockade, which had lasted more than two years. Our editorial staff could not miss the important date. We wondered how World War II affected sports.

Siege of Leningrad

The Olympics were canceled only a few times in history, but each time the reason was military action. Here’s a look back at what it was like.

Winter 1940

The Japanese city of Sapporo was preparing to host the first Winter Games in Asia. But two years before the outbreak of a major war, Japan refused to host the competition. The Olympic Committee chose the quiet St. Moritz as a substitute. It would seem that a city in neutral Switzerland was the best solution. However, it had to be changed again because of the conflict between the organizers. Now the Olympics were hosted by Garmisch-Partenkirchen, a German ski resort in Bavaria. Can you guess what happened next? Germany unleashed a world war and the Olympic Committee officially canceled the Winter Olympics – 1940.

Summer 1940

Japan had a second chance to host the Olympics. However, the Summer Games also had to be moved from Tokyo to Helsinki because of the Japan-China War. Finland began to prepare medals and badges, because even with the outbreak of the World War, the decision to hold the Olympics remained in force. Only in early May 1940, the Olympic Committee recognized martial law and canceled the 12th Games.

Because of the war, international events were canceled. Even the sacred truce traditional to the Olympics could not overcome the brutality of the fighting. This doesn’t mean at all that people didn’t want to strive to win and love. The world did not stop appreciating sports, so the Olympics did not cease to exist, and the War Games were simply postponed for a few years.

1944

London was going to host the 13th Games in 1944, but it was only four years after the war. The English capital became the city where the first post-war Olympic Games were held. They were called the “Rough Games” because of the devastation around them. A similar situation happened with the 1944 Winter Games. The Italian resort of Cortina d’Ampezzo managed to host them 12 years later.

Soviet athlete, weightlifter, Ivan Udodov

The Nameless Olympic Games

During the war, Italy did host the Winter Games in the Alps in early 1940. Germany, its allies and some neutral states participated in them. These competitions rightly did not receive international status and recognition, so they remained nameless and unknown.

Let us be more tolerant and kinder to each other. Let the demonstration of strength and agility of states become appropriate only at competitions with the famous motto “faster, higher, stronger”.