2010 08 09 - Movie - Berlin 36

Inspired by the true story of Jewish high jumper Gretel Bergmann, Berlin ‘36 replays a remarkable piece of forgotten Olympic history. Bergmann (award-winning actress Karoline Herfurth) was considered a top contender for the gold medal at the 1936 Summer Games in Nazi-controlled Berlin. With the Americans threatening an Olympic boycott if Jewish athletes were barred from competing, Bergmann is invited to training camp. But uncomfortable with a Jewish athlete on the Aryan team, the Nazis conspire to replace her with an unknown über-athlete (Sebastian Urzendowsky), who years later is revealed to be a man. Berlin ‘36 is the exploration of a tenuous friendship between two outsiders who find themselves in unimaginable circumstances. Bergmann eventually escaped to the U.S., where she still lives, and was invited by the German Olympic Committee to be its guest at the Centennial Games in Atlanta.