The six months following the visit of the Chancellor in October, 1933 were devoted to the completion of the construction plans, and for this purpose a special Reich Stadium Construction Department was created under the supervision of Construction Councillor Sponholz. Work on the Sport Forum as well as the razing of the old stadium was begun immediately. By the spring of 1934 all the plans
had progressed to the point where they could be submitted to the international sporting authorities for approval from a technical point of view, and a second memorandum was issued, the first edition of the "Blue Guide Book". It represented a decided advancement over the memorandum of the previous year and was submitted to the International Olympic Committee, the Executive Committee of which met on May 8th in Brussels. Then the entire Committee assembled in Athens between June 16th and 19th, 1934 to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the revival of the Olympic Games. The plans of the Organizing Committee were approved and the Olympic programme was extended to include canoeing and four different classes in the yachting regatta. Since this meant the inclusion of larger yachts, our proposal that Kiel Bay should be used came up for discussion and the International Olympic Committee decided to hold all the races there. Our plans for the Festival Play and the re-institution of the custom of awarding victors wreaths of oak leaves as well as the designs for an official chain of office for the members of the International Olympic Committee were also accepted. The idea of organizing a torch relay run from Olympia to Berlin was greeted as an ingenious thought and found the hearty approval of the entire Committee. During the return trip from Athens, Dr. Lewald, Dr. Diem and Herr March utilized the opportunity for inspecting and studying the new sporting fields and stadia in Rome, Florence and Bologna, Turin having been visited during the previous spring. Many valuable ideas for the construction of the Reich Sport Field were gained from these trips.
The Detailed Work Begins
The Athens decisions provided us with a firm basis upon which to build and we could beg-in work on the thousands of details. It must be admitted that perfect organization demands a prophetic gift, which we did not at all times possess in an adequate degree. It was extremely difficult, for example, to predict the number of athletes and spectators who would come to Berlin, or how many telephone connections would be necessary in order to ensure perfect communication during the various events. The statistics from Los Angeles were of little use to us in solving our problem, and we had to rely upon our own judgment. The final details of the construction plans for the Olympic Village and Reich Sport Field also had to be worked out, the number and size of the dressing rooms decided upon, the technical facilities provided for and the personnel chosen. An especially important problem was that of organizing an adequate news and reporting service during the Games. We were confronted with the questions of how many beds would be necessary for the athletes, and the number of regulations booklets and badges of various kinds that would have to be provided. These and hundreds of other problems had to be solved at a time when the future was far-distant and uncertain, but we wished nevertheless to avoid waste as well as scarcity. Many of these decisions were also of such a nature that they could not be changed at a later date. In reviewing our decisions, we are forced to admit that in several instances we underestimated the proportions the Games would assume and were not generous enough in our planning.