The Olympic games are as much a vivid display of individual strength, skill and endurance as they are a promotion for the might of the country, state and city that hosts them. The most infamous of all the world games was the 1936 Berlin Olympics, the Hitlerian spectacle designed to showcase the mythic physical prowess of the “master race.” Although other Olympiads left their marks on world history—and on design history, too—the ’36 Olympic games are a textbook study of how to brand an evil regime by masquerading it as heroic in the pursuit of excellence.
Every nation sought the IOC’s blessing to host the games—and campaigned vigorously, from fancy urban renewal proposals to clever graphic identities in order to earn the privilege. In 1930, during the depths of the Depression, Los Angeles entered the running, which, despite the financial distress of the age, organized a $1 million bond drive to fund the successful effort. Filmmaker, graphic designer, archivist and author Arnold Schwartzman, whose books document the leading graphic, product and architectural design movements of the 20th century, recently allowed me to see the proposal for his latest pictorial opus, Building a Dream, the story of the Xth Olympiad in Los Angeles.
The 1932 games did not leave as large a stain on the history of the world, and are lesser-known than the Berlin Olympics, perhaps as a consequence. But it was a grandstand event, with a long trail of graphic design history in its wake. Schwartzman and his wife, Isolde, are tireless researchers who have uncovered troves of material that highlights this historic event.
Daily Heller readers have a chance to get a sneak preview below. And with luck, a publisher or two among the audience will be interested in making this wonderful project available as a book.