A 1936 Berlin XI Summer Olympic Games Torch

This German-made stainless steel torch has a three-piece construction and was a pioneer in its field, as it was the first torch constructed for a modern Olympic relay. The 155 mm wide flat top has a 40 mm wide opening, allowing for placing of fuel and the expected rising flame to come. It has two inscriptions around the mouth, "ALS DANK DEM TRAGER" (As a Thanks to the Exchanger) and "ORGANISATIONSKOMITEE FÜR DIE XI OLYMPIADE BERLIN 1936" (Organizing Committee for the XI Olympics Berlin 1936). The shaft is engraved with the German eagle standing proudly, with its talons wrapped around the Olympic rings and the inscription "FACKEL-STAFFEL-LAUF OLYMPIA-BERLIN 1936" (Torch Relay Race Olympia-Berlin 1936) below. The stylized map below follows the torch's route from Greece, through Bulgaria, Hungary, Austria and Czechoslovakia to Germany, inscribed with the key cities' names, "OLYMPIA, ATHEN (Athens), DELPHI, SALONIKI, SOFIA, BELGRAD (Belgrade), BUDAPEST, WIEN (Vienna), PRAG (Prague), DRESDEN, BERLIN". The concave flared base measures 85 mm, allowing for standing on a flat surface. The torch stands an impressive 270 mm in height, exhibiting surface abrasion and minor contact to the top, light contact on the shaft and flared base, yet it continues to display a durable, quality sheen and reflective nature that only stainless steel can project. Very fine. Footnote: The Berlin 1936 torch was designed by sculptor Walter Lemcke, who’s previous work involved designing the swastika bearing eagles that adorned Goring’s Air Ministry buildings in Berlin. There were a total of 3,840 torchesproduced, each torch given to the bearer as a keepsake, making this a very rare item. The Nazi origins of the relay have led to calls from some people to drop it from the Olympics. The whole relay was designed as a forum to publicly showcase the German ideology, in fact it’s considered that the pro-Nazi demonstrations that occurred when the torch travelled through Vienna were a large factor in Austria’s annexation in 1938. In Bulgaria, the Bulgarian Olympic committee recommended that the torch be used as a candlestick after the Olympiad. After 1945, when the Bulgarian communist party comes to power, all items related to Royal Bulgaria and the Third Reich were banned and completely destroyed. It was not uncommon at all for the owners of these items to be sent to the communist “Death Camps”.