Olympic oaks

Tilly Fleischer with her oak

The Olympic oaks, informally called Hitler oaks, are English oak trees that were given to gold medal winners of the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. 130 gold medals and trees, which were year-old saplings, were awarded. Several have survived.

Germany

While the largest number of oaks were given to German athletes, who won the most medals, many are said^{[according to whom?]} to be planted near the stadium, though no record was kept, and they would be difficult to identify among the many oaks in the vicinity.^{[citation needed]}

The Netherlands

The Netherlands has 2 Olympic oaks planted at the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam.^[1]

New Zealand

• Jack Lovelock's tree is at Timaru Boys' High School.^[2]

South Korea

• Sohn Kee-chung's tree is at his memorial hall, Malli-dong, Seoul.^{[citation needed]}

Sweden

• Ivar Johansson's tree is in Folkparken, Norrköping. The tree was first planted in Johansson's private garden, but in 1960 it was donated to the city of Norrköping.^{[citation needed]}

Ivar Johansson's Olympic Oak in Norrköping, Sweden

United Kingdom

• The sapling presented to Jack Beresford was planted in the grounds of Bedford School.^[3] It was removed many years later when building work was undertaken. The wood was used to make presentation shields for the rowing club.^[4]
• Harold Whitlock's sapling was presented to Hendon School. It was removed due to fungal disease in July 2007.^[5]
• Christopher Boardman's oak was planted in How Hill, Norfolk but was eventually killed by honey fungus. In early 2017 the remaining stump was carved into a sailing boat and Olympic rings.^[6]

United States

• Ken Carpenter was a student at the University of Southern California (USC). His Olympic Oak was planted on the main USC campus where it grows behind Bovard Auditorium.^[7][8]
• Foy Draper's tree was planted near Carpenter's on the USC campus. It died from root rot in 2002.^[9]
• Cornelius Johnson's tree is still standing in the yard of his childhood home in Koreatown, Los Angeles, as of 2025.^[10][11]
• Jesse Owens won four gold medals and received four trees. The fate of two of the saplings is unknown. One tree was planted at James Rhodes High School in Cleveland, Ohio, dying during the winter of 2021-22.^[12][5] Another may have been planted at Ohio State University.^[13]
• Forrest Towns' tree was originally planted outside Sanford Stadium on the University of Georgia campus. During stadium renovations in 1967, the tree was transplanted to another location on campus, but died soon after.^[14]
• John Woodruff (Connellsville, Pennsylvania) was the first African American to win gold in the 1936 Olympics (800 Meters). He brought his oak home to Connellsville and planted it in the northwest corner of the High School Stadium (Campbell Field) in Connellsville where it was still standing as of 2025.^[15]

Woodruff's Olympic Oak in Connellsville, PA

See also

• Forest swastikas, arboreal relics of Nazi Germany

References

1. "Google Maps".
2. Holden, Joanne (2 April 2018). "Timaru's Jack Lovelock oak inspires photo exhibition of others gifted by Adolf Hitler". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
3. Arthur Mee (January 1951) [April 1939]. The Counties of Bedford and Huntingdon. p. 23. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
4. "Greg Denieffe: 'Hitler Oaks'". Hear The Boat Sing. 21 April 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
5. Smith, David; Radford, Peter (19 August 2007). "Hitler's Olympic oak gift to Briton axed | UK news". The Observer. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
6. "History". How Hill Trust. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
7. Crowe, Jerry (20 August 2007). "To protect and preserve a tree rooted in Games". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
8. Kragen, Aubrey. "Olympic Oaks". USC Trojans. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
9. "Olympic Oaks".
10. Crowe, Jerry (20 August 2007). "To protect and preserve a tree rooted in Games". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
11. Arango, Tim (28 May 2022). "In Los Angeles, a Tree With Stories to Tell". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
12. "The Jesse Owens oak at Rhodes High School may have died, but its legacy lives on through grafting". 12 October 2022.
13. Vince Grzegorek. "Jesse Owens' Tree from Hitler in Cleveland | Scene and Heard: Scene's News Blog". clevescene.com. Archived from the original on 18 January 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
14. Smith, Loran. "Rooted in history, four Athens trees have fascinating stories".
15. "75 years later, Connellsville still celebrating Woodruff's legend | TribLIVE.com". archive.triblive.com. Retrieved 8 October 2019.

External links

• Film of Jack Lovelock's race and presentation with the Lovelock Oak