3 The Prisoner Of War Olympics
Photo via Mental Floss
Because of the ongoing war, the Olympic Games of 1940 and 1944, slated for Tokyo and London, could not be held. However, several POW camps in Poland went ahead with their own Olympics, both in 1940 and 1944. While many of the events were held in secret, the 1944 Woldenberg Olympics, held at the camp in Woldenberg, and another held at the camp in Gross Born (both in Poland), were held on a much larger scale. Also See: 10 shocking facts about Ellen Degeneres you didn’t know
About 369 out of the 7,000 prisoners at the Woldenberg camp participated in several games, including handball, basketball, and boxing. Fencing, archery, pole vaulting, and javelin were not allowed. The flags for the games were made with excess bedsheets which even the German guards saluted. Winners of sporting events were given medals made out of cardboard. The 1944 Olympics was held because the Polish soldiers wanted to remain fit and, at the same time, honor Janusz Kusocinski, a Polish athlete who won the 10,000-meter race in the 1932 Olympics.
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