On May 26th, 1930, Germany took a huge leap in the road to recovery from World War I. It was on this day that the German Olympic Committee met with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and petitioned the right to host the 1936 XI Olympics. The Great War had left Germany humiliated and isolated from the world, and Germans believed they were ready to step back into the international community. During the meeting with the IOC, Germany made several compelling points for hosting the 1936 Olympics. The German Olympic Committee argued that Berlin was located in the heart of Europe since it was easily accessible by air, land, and sea (through German and European port cities). They further impressed the IOC by presenting preliminary plans of spaces and facilities to be constructed for the event. But perhaps the most notable argument was that Germany had been set to host the 1916 Olympics, which had to be cancelled because of the outbreak of World War I.

A year later, in April of 1931, the IOC held a meeting in Barcelona to vote for the next host city. This vote resulted in Berlin beating out Barcelona 43:16. The results, however, were controversial because Barcelona had no delegates at the meeting, and there were about 80 abstentions. After conducting a straw poll from the available delegates, the IOC confirmed that Berlin would be the host of the 1936 Summer Olympics. By winning the bid for the 1936 Olympics, Germany was beginning to regain the power it had lost at the end of World War I.