Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

Mandell: a BY BETTY WOODRUFF "The first ten days were a magic ex perience. I lived in a dream world, really believing the Olympic mythology. But the assassinations shattered the dream," said Richard Mandell, USC History professor who attended the Munich Olympics as a journalist. Mandell, author of the book "The Nazi Olympics" about the 1936 Olympics in Germany during Hitler's rule, was invited to attend the games this year and "sought out as a sports critic," he said. "The show business of the affair was grandiose. I was out of my head during the opening ceremonies with the sheer splendor of it. The lavishness and the theatre of the events were just un believable," Mandell said. As a whole, he said he believed that the Germany nation gained from the affair. "The Olympics were an expression of German wealth and genius," he said. "The organization was the product of geniuses, but once they established their routine, it was unalterable. Many Germany officials were there just to gain prestige by espousing the Olympic ideal." Political Purposes Mandell said that everybody, including Israel, used the Olympics for their own political purposes. "The Olympics are a cheap way of making big politics. I spent a lot of time there with the team from Milawbi. They made one of the poorest showings in the games, but they had found out that the Olympics were a good way to politic and get publicity. The athletes had a marvelous time despite the fact that they were the worst performers. It was just cheap politics, and I could make similar parallels to other teams," he said. Since political intentions would be in terrupted by the cancellation or post ponement of the games, Mandell said, and that was the reason they were not can celled because of the assassinations. "The whole business of the assassinations was staged. It was a barbarious act, and what caused it were people there for political and economic reasons. "The morning after the first two were killed, a memorial ceremony was to be held. I was horrified by the fact that it turned into a political rally-the whole atmosphere was totally grotesque." Mandell said that he felt the Olympics shouldn't continue the way they are, "but they will because they are so extremly useful to so many economies and politics." Athletes as Playthings Avery Brundage, former head of the International Olympics Committee, also came under attack from Mandell. "Brundage was isolated, like one of the landed aristocracy. He views athletes as playthings-he has this vision about how S athletes are supposed to behave, and when they don't follow it, he becomes enraged. I Deluxe MUSE' Hurry... Supply Limited OPEN 'TIL 9:00 PM Moe Le HEADQUARTERS FOR Mi ssassinations shatf E also thought Brundage showed extremely poor taste when he compared the assassinations to the Rhodesia incident. "The athletes themselves didn't seem to feel anything about the incidents," said. "They just do as they are told, otherwise they wouldn't be there. Sports by their very nature are destructive to character, but marathon runners and basketball players are usually most in teresting. "Athletes won't rebel. They are always very co-operative about answering questions, but Mark Spitz was an ex ception. He was behaved with the manners of an actor. He refused to be photographed by the general press with his seven medals so he could sell it to Life. He'd often cross the press and it absolutely enraged them," Mandell said. "But the athletes are viewed as sacred functionaries. As such, they are the ones who are barred from all the political and misconducted themse financial profit," he said. Mandell said that he was shocked by ang o thationalse Brundage's action of taking away the ang aot that. Th and nothing more. Wha medals from the trackmen who alledgedly Spangled Banner have t 4 (PhotC TTE BAG I Commerce I IdealI for For Footb BIKE SuetR BOOKSIWihTiCo . HIKING Heavy duty canvas, I adjustable back hiarness *2.99 I[7 FRIDAYI )ST ANYTHING __ __ issemblyI i j____________________ :Ir )red the dream yard dash? Their behavior deserved no more than a figurative slap on the wrist." Ingenious Press Since he was there "to help erase the impression of the "36 Olympics," Mandell had access to the Olympic Village and the athletes. "But the first week, all jour nalists were barred from the village, and we had to use some ingenious tactics to get in. One American photographer got in with the garbage. I pretended to be the third ranked Bolivian runner and came running up to the Village gates and pretended to collapse. I got right in," he said. Mandell, who runs as a hobby, did a lot of running while at the Olympics. He said that this occasionally caused some in teresting incidents, such as the time he fell outside the Olympic village. Two ladies screamed when his companions said "Well, Dick, there goes your gold medal. yes during the "As a whole," he said, "I found it easier nthem. "I'm still to move around the Russian dorms than boys misbehaved the Americans. The East Germans were it does the Star the heaviest athletes there-They were i do with the 100- deadly serious. But the rigid suppression of' the athletes' vitality was evident everywhere. The Russians weren't to congratulate each other. They were supposed to be callous and tough, and interested only in their own performance. They didn't even watch their own teams. The Americans were just the opposite in this respect." Mandell's prognosis for upcoming Olympics is "not very happy." "The Olympic games at Montreal will be much more political. The French nationalists are insisting on making it a political demonstration, and they're already at tempting to squeeze out use of the English language "Holding the 1980 games in Moscow was a much discussed topic, but I'd oppose this. The whole business that made it good in Munich was the freedom of movement, and I just can't see that in Moscow," he said. New Olympics Book Mandell has already begun a new book about this year's Olympics. "I'm working on the first draft now. I'm writing good stuff, but I'm not too optimistic about getting it published. The market will be flooded with material on this subject. While I was in Germany, I collected 60 pounds of reports and propaganda. "This new book will be much looser than my first one. It'll be wildly experimental, impressionistic and scandalous. Now it'll plan to be written in two parts-before and after the assassinations. I went there to be a critic, but after the assassinations brought out the futility of the ideals, my * critical facilities were dulled. Only a few flashes of the old magic returned," i by Thomas A. Price) Mandell said. arkmming |nm IThe Fort Jackson IExchange is accepting Iapplications for oc Icasional and on-call I employment. Work locations are at Fort te 751 Jackson, Rswo I and Shop Road apon I warehouse. Pay rates I are competitive. I These positions are I ideal for someone who I can not work on a I regular schedule. A - I few regular positions Ifor sales clerks, Iporters and food Iservice helplers are Ialso available. I To make application, come to the Fort Jackson Exchange -~ Personnel Office, located in Bldg. 2369, Monday through Friday, I from 8:00 to 11:30. - mm - - - J An Equal Opportunity Employer