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HIGH-QUALITY ILLUSTRATED OLYMPIA SUMMER 1936 MUNICH TOURIST PUBLICATION WITH HORSE RACING CONTENT ~ RARE

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This is a very special and rare Festschrift or festive publication from “Olympia Summer 1936” in Munich to celebrate 500 years of horse racing in Munich. The heavily illustrated 8-5/8 x 11-7/8 inch, 50-page glossy publication has a striking cover design by German artist and illustrator Franz Paul Glass.

The foreword in München im Olympia-Sommer 1936 is by the Oberbürgermeister of the Capital of the Nazi Movement, Karl Fiehler (shown left). It is followed by an overview of “Our Munich” which includes a picture of the coffins of Nazi martyrs in one of the two Nazi Honor Temples on the Königsplatz.

A double page center spread contains the summer schedule with tourist events and special programs in Munich from June through October 1936, including the horse race schedule during those months (red arrows).

Other advertisers include highly-respected Nazi medal and award manufacturer Deschler & Sohn of Munich, the “historic” Bürgerbräukeller where the 1923 Nazi Putsch started, other beer halls, Loden-Frey and other specialty stores selling riding clothes and accessories, high-end jewelers and ladies fashion stores, Ford, Opel and Auto-Union car dealerships, bank, insurance companies, etc.

This rare 87 year old Nazi Festschrift was published for the Tourist Office of Munich and South Bavaria by Verlag Knorr & Hirth in 1936. Inside the front cover is a small round stamp showing it was once part of the Bibliotheca Hippologica Gründel (Equestrian Library Gründel).

Other illustrated articles cover the development of horse racing, horse breeding, the Rennverein München-Riem (Racing Association of Munich-Riem that still exists today), the Riem horse race track (which also still exists today), and advertising for the July 1936 Braune Band (Brown Ribbon) of Germany horse races with prize money of Rm 100,000 (about $40,000)!

The illustrated article called Reiter im Braunhemd covers equestrians of the SS and SA and was written by Dr. Volkmann who was the SA-Gruppenreiterführer “Hochland”. Another illustrated chapter covers the role of horses in the Nazi Wehrmacht.

The SS-Reiterfest or SS Rider Festival was scheduled for 19 September. It is visible right above the USMBOOKS watermark in the picture above.

There is section called Lustiges Renn-ABC which has funny horse related cartoons and short rhymes featuring each letter. For example, the B is for the Braune Band which brings excitement to the Hauptstadt der Bewegung. The letter C is used for Cowboy and Y for Yankees.

The three original Braune Band postage stamps (design by Professor Richard Klein) from 1941, 1943 and 1944 came with this rare Nazi publication, and the buyer will receive them as well.

It is complete and in very nice used condition and has no odor. This is a fine example of a little-known horsemanship and riding publication that few collectors have ever heard of.

The advertising in this rare Nazi Munich publication is focussed on well-heeled high-end visitors and horse enthusiasts. There is an ad for the Reitschule Fegelein, an equestrian school and horse breeding facility run by the family of well-known horseman SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS Hermann Fegelein, who became Hitler’s brother-in-law when he married Eva Braun’s sister Gretl in June 1944. The Reitschule Fegelein was endorsed by Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler who made it the headquarters of the SS Haupt-Reitschule München in 1937.