Athletes from

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

(GER) have appeared in 27 of the 30

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The 1896 Summer Olympics, inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, ...

, having competed in all Games exceptIn the boycotts of 1980 and 1984, only one of two teams remained absent, with the East Germans being the only Germans present in Moscow 1980 those of 1920, 1924 and 1948, when they were not permitted to do so. Germany has hosted the Summer Olympic Games twice; the 1936 Games in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, and the 1972 Games in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. The nation appeared 15 times as a single country (IOC code GER), before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and again after

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

in 1990. Three times, from 1956 to 1964, German athletes from the separate states in West and East competed as a

United Team of Germany The United Team of Germany () was a combined team of athletes from West Germany and East Germany that competed in the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Winter Olympic Games, Winter and Summer Olympic Games. In 1956, the team also included athletes from a third ...

, which is currently listed by the IOC as EUA, not GER. Due to partition under occupation that resulted in three (until 1957) post-war German states, two concurrent Olympic teams with German athletes appeared on five occasions, in 1952, from 1968 to 1976, and in 1988. The all-time results of German athletes are thus divided among the designations GER, EUA, FRG, GDR and SAA (the

Saarland Saarland (, ; ) is a state of Germany in the southwest of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and the smallest in ...

, which only took part in the 1952 Summer Games and won no medals). Including the Summer Games of 2020, German athletes have won 1384 medals: 438 gold, 456 silver and 490 bronze. The IOC currently splits these results among four codes, even though only the

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

(East Germany; GDR) from 1968 to 1988 had sent a separate team to compete against the team of the German NOC that represented Germany (GER) since 1896.

Timeline of Germany at the Summer Olympics

1896–1912

Germany entered all Olympic Games starting in 1896, even though the relations between the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

under Kaiser Wilhelm II, and the

French Third Republic The French Third Republic (, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940, after the Fall of France durin ...

where

Pierre de Coubertin Charles Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin (; born Pierre de Frédy; 1 January 1863 – 2 September 1937), also known as Pierre de Coubertin and Baron de Coubertin, was a French educator and historian, co-founder of the International Olympic ...

revived Olympic games and held the

1900 Summer Olympics The 1900 Summer Olympics (), today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad () and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from 14 May to 28 October 1900. No opening or closin ...

, were strained following the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

of 1870–71. The country's overall medal ranks varied from second through seventh. The worst result, seventh, occurred in the 1900 Paris Olympics. The German gymnasts were judged no better than 53rd in the single gymnastic contest organized by the French, behind dozens of Frenchmen, who occupied the first 18 places and thus won all three medals. In contrast, the

Gymnastics at the 1896 Summer Olympics At the 1896 Summer Olympics, eight gymnastics events, all for men, were contested in Panathinaiko Stadium. They were organized and prepared by the Sub-Committee for Wrestling and Gymnastics. Events took place on April 9, April 10, and April 11, ...

in Athens had seen eight contests, with Germans scoring five gold, three silver and two bronze medals. The anticipated

1916 Summer Olympics The 1916 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the VI Olympiad ( German: ''Spiele der VI. Olympiade''), were scheduled to be held in Berlin, Germany. However, they were cancelled due to the outbreak of World War I, the first tim ...

, which were to be officially known as the Games of the VI Olympiad, were to have been held in Germany's capital, Berlin. At the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in 1914, organization continued, as no one foresaw the war dragging on for four years. Eventually, though, the games were canceled.

1920–1948

After World War I, the

became a republic informally known as

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

, a change which was reflected in a new

flag of Germany The national flag of Germany () is a tricolour (flag), tricolour consisting of three equal horizontal bands displaying the national colours of Germany: Sable (heraldry), black, Gules, red, and Or (heraldry), gold (). The flag was first sight ...

that in fact was older than the former one, dating back to early 19th century democratic movements. In the Paris Peace Conference, the outbreak of the war was blamed on Germany and other

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...

allies. These nations, which by now had new governments, were banned from the

1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (; ; ), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (; ; ) and commonly known as Antwerp 1920 (; Dutch language, Dutch and German language, German: ''Antwerpen 1920''), were an international multi-sport event held i ...

. While all other banned nations were invited again for the

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad () and officially branded as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The opening ceremony was held on 5 July, but some competitions had al ...

, held for the second time in

's home town of Paris, the ban on Germany was not lifted until 1925. This was likely related to French

Occupation of the Ruhr The occupation of the Ruhr () was the period from 11 January 1923 to 25 August 1925 when French and Belgian troops occupied the Ruhr region of Weimar Republic Germany. The occupation of the heavily industrialized Ruhr district came in respons ...

and the

Rheinland The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy Roman Empire ...

between 1923 and 1925. After 16 years of absence, a new generation of German athletes returned in the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the IX Olympiad (), was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from 28 July to 12 August 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The city of Amsterdam had previously bid for ...

, scoring second overall. Four years later, the worldwide Great Depression prevented many athletes from competing in the 1932 Games in Los Angeles. Winning only three gold medals, the German team was ranked ninth, though it did finish tied in silver medals, with 12. In the spring of 1931 the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

were awarded to Berlin, 20 years later than originally planned. From 1933 onwards, the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

ruled Germany, a change being marked by the use of the Nazi flag. In the games, the 348 German athletes not only outnumbered the 310 Americans, but outscored them for the first time in the medal count in which Germany ranked first. Also, German gymnasts Konrad Frey and Alfred Schwarzmann won the most medals, with six and five in total, of which three each were gold, while American

Jesse Owens James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (September 12, 1913 – March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete who made history at the Athletics at the 1936 Summer Olympics, 1936 Olympic Games by becoming the first person to win four gold meda ...

had won four gold medals himself.

Leni Riefenstahl Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl (; 22 August 1902 – 8 September 2003) was a German film director, Film producer, producer, screenwriter, Film editing, editor, photographer, and actress. She is considered one of the most controversial ...

documented the games in the film '' Olympia''. The

1940 Summer Olympics The 1940 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XII Olympiad, was a planned international multi-sport event scheduled to have been held from 21 September to 6 October 1940, in Tokyo City, Japan, and later rescheduled for 20 July t ...

as well as the

1944 Summer Olympics The 1944 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIII Olympiad, was a planned international multi-sport event scheduled to have been held from 22 July to 5 August 1944 in London, England, United Kingdom. The games were cancelled b ...

were canceled due to

. For the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and officially branded as London 1948, were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus cau ...

, with the war a recent memory, Germany and Japan were not invited.

Separate German teams 1952–1988

with athletes from two states appeared three times at the Olympic games from 1956 to 1964. The IOC currently does not attribute these results to Germany (GER), but lists them separately as the ''Equipe Unifiée Allemande'' (EUA). In the 1952 Games, only athletes from

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

and the

Saar Protectorate The Saar Protectorate ( ; ), officially Saarland (), was a short-lived French protectorate and a disputed territory separated from Germany. On joining the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG/West Germany) in 1957, it became the smallest "federal ...

took part. The former represented the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen constituent states have a total population of over 84 ...

(GER), which as the only independent democratic state, covering the largest part of Germany, claimed exclusive mandate to represent the entire country. Athletes from the Saar Protectorate (SAA) competed as a separate team, as the French-occupied region would not join the Federal Republic of Germany until 1955. West Germany used the code GER at the Games from 1968 to 1976, although its athletes' participation is now coded as FRG by the IOC, a code introduced in 1980. Athletes from the Soviet-occupied

(GDR) appeared in a separate team after the United Team effort was discontinued. In five Games, from 1968 to 1980 and again in 1988, they represented the GDR before the East German states joined the Federal Republic of Germany in 1990, and the GDR ceased to exist. Since 1990, the enlarged Federal Republic of Germany has been simply called Germany (GER). West Germany's six Olympic teams (from 1952, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1984 and 1988) are still listed by the IOC under FRG, though, and not attributed to GER. In the 1980s, each of the two states participated in one of the multinational boycotts of Summer Games. Many

Western countries The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also constitute the West. ...

, including the Federal Republic of Germany, boycotted the Moscow Games of 1980 due to the

Soviet invasion of Afghanistan The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until it dissolved in 1991. During its existence, it was the largest country by are ...

the year before. In return, 14

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...

states, including the GDR, boycotted the Los Angeles Games in 1984. Thus, only one German team was present in each of these two Olympics.

FRG (West Germany)

The

(FRG), often called

during the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, was founded in 1949 as the largest of the three German states formed under occupation after the division of Germany following

. The West German NOC continued the tradition of the German NOC that had joined the IOC in 1895, and continued to represent the Germany that was enlarged after the

(SAA) joined the Federal Republic of Germany in 1956, and after the states of the former

(GDR) (

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

) had joined in the process of

in 1990. German teams competed in the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

under the designations of GER and SAA. In the Games of 1956, 1960 and 1964, German athletes competed as a

(EUA), but 1968 until the end of the Cold War, the two states sent independent teams designated as West and East Germany, until the separate East German state ceased to exist.

United Team of Germany 1956–1964

After three German states had been founded in

under occupation after

, athletes from the

(FRG,

) and the

(GDR,

) competed together as the United Team of Germany (EUA for , ) in the 1956, 1960, and 1964

Winter Winter is the coldest and darkest season of the year in temperate and polar climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Dif ...

and

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

. Prior to that, German athletes from West Germany and the French-occupied Saar Protectorate took part in the 1952 Summer Olympics organized in different teams designated as GER and SAA. The Saar Protectorate joined the Federal Republic after 1955, while the East German authorities, which had not taken part in the 1952 Games, agreed in 1956 to let their athletes compete in a united team that used the black-red-gold tricolour, but with additional

Olympic rings The International Olympic Committee (IOC) uses icons, flags, and symbols to represent and enhance the Olympic Games. These symbols include those commonly used during Olympic competitions such as the flame, fanfare, and theme as well as those u ...

in white placed upon the red middle stripe, as East German politicians were eager not to compete under the traditional German flag used both by West Germany and even themselves. Only in 1959, the GDR added socialist symbols to create a distinct

Flag of East Germany The first flag of East Germany, officially the East Germany, German Democratic Republic, was a tricolour of black, red and gold, identical to the flags of the Weimar Republic, West Germany, and Federal Republic of Germany, present-day Germany. F ...

. As the use of the ''

Deutschlandlied The "", officially titled "", is a German poem written by August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben . A popular song which was made for the cause of creating a unified German state, it was adopted in its entirety in 1922 by the Weimar Repub ...

'', dating back to 1841 and 1797, of the recently created East German anthem, or of possible combinations was also rejected, Beethoven's melody to Schiller's Ode an die Freude (

Ode to Joy "Ode to Joy" ( ) is an ode written in the summer of 1785 by the German poet, playwright, and historian Friedrich Schiller. It was published the following year in the Thalia (German magazine), German magazine ''Thalia''. In 1808, a slightly revi ...

) was played for winning German athletes as a compromise in lieu of a

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...

. During the Games of 1956, 1960 and 1964 the traditional abbreviation GER for Germany was used, or rather the equivalents in the language of the host country. In Innsbruck in 1964, the Austrian officials used the international license plate code of D for ''Deutschland'' (Germany) for the country. The IOC code currently uses EUA (from the official

French-language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-Romance, a descendant of the Latin spoken in ...

IOC designation, ''Equipe Unifiée Allemande'') and applies this in hindsight for the United German Team. No reasoning is given, it may be done to allow for the political circumstances during the German divide between 1949 and 1990, and the involvement of two

National Olympic Committee A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games ...

s rather than only one. Despite initially calling for a "united Germany" in the East German anthem, the socialist East German government intensified its separation in Germany, with the erection of the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...

in August 1961 obstructing travel within Germany even more. The travel of GDR athletes, such as to contests and training sites in the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

, was limited due to fear of '' Republikflucht''. As a result of this development, in the 1968 Winter and

, German athletes competed as separate West and East teams, while still using the compromise flag and Beethoven anthem that year. The French organizers of the Grenoble Games used the codes ALL (''Allemagne'', Germany) and ADE (''Allemagne de l'Est'', East Germany), which roughly correspond to the IOC codes of GER and GDR. Flag of East Germany

The separation was completed at the 1972 Winter and

(the latter was hosted by West Germany), when the two countries used separate flags and anthems. This continued until the

German Reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

of 1990 where the

became part of the

Overview of Olympic participation

All German NOCs at the Summer Olympics

Combined medals at the Summer Olympics (including all German NOCs)

''status after the 2024 Olympics''

Medals by sport (GER 1896-1936, 1952, 1992-current )

''These totals do not include the one gold and one silver medal won by Germany in

figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympics Four figure skating events were contested at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, but they were held in October 1908, six months after most of the other Olympic events at the 1908 Summer Olympics, 1908 Games. The figure skating competition took ...

.''

Medals by sport (EUA 1956-1964)

Medals by sport (GDR 1968-1988)

Medals by sport (FRG 1968-1988)

Medalists

Archery

Athletics

Basketball

Boxing

Beach volleyball

Canoeing

Cycling

Diving

Equestrian

Fencing

Field Hockey

Figure Skating

Football

Golf

Gymnastics

Handball

Judo

Modern pentathlon

Rowing

Rugby

Sailing

Shooting

Swimming

Men

Women

Table tennis

Taekwondo

Tennis

Triathlon

Water Polo

Weightlifting

Wrestling

Summary by sport

Aquatics

Artistic swimming

Swimming

Germany first competed in swimming at 1900 Games, with six swimmers in five events, winning two gold medals.

Archery

Athletics

Badminton

Basketball

Beach volleyball

Boxing

Canoeing

Cycling

Germany competed in all six of the cycling events at the first Games in 1896, earning a silver medal.

Equestrian

Germany competed in equestrian at the first Games in which the sport was held, in Paris 1900. One rider competed in the mail coach event, winning no medals.

Fencing

Germany first competed in fencing in 1900, with a single sabreur who did not advance past the first round.

Gymnastics

Artistic Gymnastics

Germany competed in all eight of the gymnastics events at the first Games in 1896, winning five of them and medaling in all eight.

Rowing

Germany was among the nations that competed at the first Olympic rowing regatta in 1900, with three boats in the men's coxed four (all of which earned medals in an unusual event that awarded two full sets of medals) and one in the men's eight.

Rugby

Germany competed in the inaugural Olympic rugby union contest in 1900, taking joint silver with Great Britain behind winners France. Germany did not compete in any of the other rugby union competitions (in 1908, 1920, or 1924) and was not among the nations competing in the rugby sevens in 2016.

Sailing

Germany competed in the first Olympic sailing competitions in 1900, taking a gold and a silver medal.

Tennis

Germany first competed in tennis at the inaugural 1896 Games, with one player competing in men's singles and, as part of a mixed team, in men's doubles. Friedrich Traun lost to John Boland in the first round of the singles, but paired with him to win the gold in the doubles. The mixed team medal is not credit to Germany.

Weightlifting

Germany first competed in weightlifting at the inaugural 1896 Games, with one lifter competing in one event.

Wrestling

Germany first competed in wrestling at the inaugural 1896 Games, with one wrestler (actually a gymnast, Carl Schuhmann) competing in the open weight class event. He won the gold medal.

References

External links

* *
Chronology of Germany at the Olympics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Germany At The Summer Olympics