Architectural model (left) and aerial photo (right) of the Reichssportfeld, showing the sites that appear below. The Olympic Stadium is at the center, with the Olympic Bell Tower on the other side of the adjacent sports field. The Dietrich-Eckart-Bühne Thingplatz appears at the lower left (lower center in the aerial photo).   (left - from Official Catalog of the 1st German Architecture and Crafts Exhibition, in the Haus der Deutschen Kunst in Munich, January-March 1938; right - 1936 dated postcard; both in author's collection)

The Olympic Stadium, designed by Werner March,  has the same general appearance as it did in 1936 (on the exterior), although one obvious change was the removal of the curved swastika symbol from the right-hand tower. More extensive changes came from 2001-2006 as the stadium was remodeled and modernized, altering the inside considerably and the outside to a lesser extent. These photos show the Podbielski Oak Tree, a tree that was left standing during the stadium construction in honor of Viktor von Podbielski, one of the original planners for an Olympic Stadium and Olympic Games in Berlin.  (Werner Rittich, "Architektur und Bauplastik der Gegenwart," Berlin, 1938)

The Dietrich-Eckart-Bühne was an amphitheater built in the "Thing" style, near the Olympic Stadium. It is known today as the Waldbühne, and is used for rock concerts.  (above left - Werner Rittich, "Architektur und Bauplastik der Gegenwart," Berlin, 1938; others - period postcards). For another period photo, see http://www.silentwall.com/SceneryBuildings28.html. 

Entrance to the Dietrich-Eckart-Bühne.  (Werner Rittich, "Architektur und Bauplastik der Gegenwart," Berlin, 1938)

The Glockenturm (bell tower) overlooks the large open sports field (Maifeld) adjacent to the Stadium. The tower contained the Olympic Bell, which was inscribed "Ich rufe die Jugend der Welt" (I call the youth of the world). The tower was burned out at the end of the war and blown up by the British occupying forces in 1947, and rebuilt in 1962. Today the tower contains a reproduction of the bell; the original is displayed outside the stadium itself (see below).  (Werner Rittich, "Architektur und Bauplastik der Gegenwart," Berlin, 1938)

Beneath the Bell Tower is the Langemarck Halle, dedicated to the mythic cult of German student soldiers who were killed during the battle of Langemarck (West Flanders, Belgium) in November 1914 (World War I). Long closed to the public, the Langemarck Halle was reopened along with the remodeled Stadium, amid some controversy, since the original martial inscriptions remain on the walls. Below, Hitler visits the Langemarck Halle during the Olympic Games in August 1936.  (Bundesarchiv)

The Reichssportführer (Leader of German Sports) Hans von Tschammer und Osten died in Berlin in March 1943. Since he had been one of the principal organizers of the 1936 Olympics, his ashes were interred in a shrine in the Langemarck Halle on 2 May 1943. (The shrine no longer exists, nor does the barred doorway seen in the period photo above.)  (Bundesarchiv)

A Third Reich period memorial inside the Langemarck Halle. The interior walls seen in the period photos were removed to install the modern elevator.  (Official Report, the XIth Olympic Games, Berlin 1936 (Berlin, 1937)

Above, Adolf Hitler leads the delegation of sports officials and foreign leaders into the Olympic Stadium for the 1936 Olympic Games. Below, the German athletes march in, led by flag-bearer Hans Fritsch (track and field events). The interior modernization is evident with new seating and sun screens.  (above - National Archives, Record Group 242HB; below - Hans Quassowski, ed., "Zwölf Jahre: 1.Kompanie Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler," Rosenheim, Deutsche Verlagsgesellschaft, 1989)