The Last Movie You Watched

[Rev. Rye]

Did it mention that it was Roosevelt and not Hitler who snubbed Owens after his Olympic wins?

Boru

They showed how Owens was snubbed by Hitler which is one of the versions of what happened. I know there are rumors or versions of history in which Hitler had a meeting with him, but they chose this one which seems plausible since they did have the “Aryans-only” policy.

And they mentioned at the end that he was snubbed by the White House.

For the record, the truth behind the Hitler snub is a little complicated. On the first day, Hitler congratulated all of the German champions, but ONLY the Germans. The IOCC did not like this, and told him that he should either congratulate everyone regardless of their nation, or congratulate nobody. Hitler chose the latter option. Naturally, since Owens went on after that, Hitler congratulated nobody. All he got was a wave when he entered the radio booth.

That said, after the Olympics were over, FDR invited all the American gold medalists to the White House… well, all the white American gold medalists, anyway. Owens, who had won four gold medals, didn’t even get a message of congratulations. Later, he eventually said, “Hitler didn't snub me; it was our president who snubbed me. The president didn't even send me a telegram.”