A stone relief of the Nazi state eagle, part of the monumental sculpture programme of the Reich Sports Field built for the 1936 Summer Olympic Games in Berlin.
At a glance
The relief stands within the grounds of the Olympiastadion complex in the western Berlin district once developed as the Reichssportfeld. It shows the Reichsadler, the heraldic eagle of the German state under National Socialism, rendered as an architectural sculpture on a stone wall.
Key facts
- Where: Olympiastadion grounds, Berlin
- What: Monument
- When: not documented in the sources found
- GPS: 52.5194, 13.2401 · Open in Google Maps
History
The eagle relief belongs to the extensive decorative programme of the Reich Sports Field, the sports complex planned after the Nazi Party came to power in 1933 under the direction of architect Werner March, assisted by his brother Walter March. The complex was built to host the XI Summer Olympic Games, which took place in Berlin in 1936. Sculptors such as Arno Breker and Josef Thorak created muscular, monumental figures for the Olympic Stadium, intended to embody the physical ideal promoted by the regime. The Reichsadler itself was a codified heraldic emblem of the German state under National Socialism, distinct from the eagle of the Nazi Party. Many such eagle sculptures and reliefs survived the post-war removal of Nazi symbols and remain visible across Berlin, often with their swastikas removed or obscured.
What you see
The photograph shows a weathered stone relief set into a wall. An eagle with angular, outstretched wings clutches a wreath in its talons; within the wreath is a swastika. The head of the eagle turns to the viewer’s left, matching the orientation of the state Reichsadler as distinct from the party eagle. A second view along the same wall reveals a low relief frieze of standing figures and a built-in stone bench, suggesting the eagle forms part of a larger architectural composition. The exact location of this relief within the stadium grounds is not documented in the sources found.
Do you know more about this place?
If you know a date, a name, a document, a plaque or a photograph that tells its story, write to Sofia through the contact page. What arrives with a source goes into this page, with your name as the contributor.
Nearby
- Olympiastadion Berlin — the main stadium of the 1936 Olympic complex, within whose grounds this relief stands
- Sommerbad Olympiastadion – Berlin Olympic Park Swimming Stadium — swimming stadium on the same former Reich Sports Field site
Gallery
Sources
- Berlin Experiences, Are There Any Nazi Statues Left In Berlin?: identification of the Reichsadler type, its distinction from the Parteiadler, and its survival across Berlin; context on Olympic Stadium sculpture by Breker and Thorak
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, The Nazi Olympics: Berlin 1936: the Olympic stadium in Berlin was the centrepiece of the Reich Sports Field
- Clark University Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Reich Sports Field: details on the Reichssportfeld construction and architects Werner and Walter March
- Stefano Vigolo, photographs and notes to the editorial staff (2026): identification of the subject. Not a published source
Find it on the map
See this place and what’s around it →📷 Become a Cultural Heritage Online photographer
Share your photos of places: they stay published under your name as the author. The more they're seen, the more you get noticed — and soon a contest will reward the most appreciated photos.
Log in or sign up free to add a photoIs this page about you?
This page is read by travellers and heritage enthusiasts who find it on Google. Tell us how you are connected to this place and we will take it from there.