'ATHENS – The United States Olympic Committee has asked President George W. Bush’s re-election campaign to pull a television ad that mentions the Olympics.
'An act of Congress, last revised in 1999, grants the USOC exclusive rights to such terms as “Olympic,” derivatives such as “Olympiad” and the five interlocking rings. It also specifically says the organization “shall be nonpolitical and may not promote the candidacy of an individual seeking public office.” ’
'The modern tradition of spiriting the Olympic torch to the main stadium didn’t become a fixture of the games until 1936, when a 12-day run opened the games in Berlin. Hitler, who admired the powerful imagery of Greek gods such as Zeus, wanted his games to promote his belief in Aryan supremacy.
‘The torch relay, memorialized in Leni Riefenstahl’s film “Olympia,” was part of the Nazi leader’s elaborate attempt to add myth, mystique and glamor to an Olympics intended to intimidate pre-World War II Europe. In Hitler’s eyes, the torch symbolized the perfection and victory of the German nation.’
'The Olympic rings, another universally recognized symbol of the games since they made their debut in 1920 at Antwerp, Belgium, have their own Nazi connection.
'Originally, they were designed in 1913 by French baron Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the IOC and father of the modern Olympic movement, for a 1914 World Olympic Congress in Paris. They were supposed to symbolize the first five Olympics, but the congress disbanded when Archduke Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated in Sarajevo, triggering World War I.
'Riefenstahl, the “Olympia” filmmaker who also chronicled Hitler’s rise to power, had the rings carved into a stone altar at the ancient Greek city of Delphi, spawning the myth that they were a symbol dating back more than two millennia.
‘With Hitler’s influence, the rings became part of the Nazi pageantry at Berlin - and they’ve come to symbolize the Olympics ever since.’