Garmisch 1940

Olympic Winter Games 1940 Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Cancelled) Participation Medal

Front: At center, flag bearer with flag with athlete taking the Olympic oath on riser with mountains in background. Legend: "V. Olympische Winterspiele Garmisch Partenkirchen 1940" surrounding all.

Back: Legend: "Dem Teilnehmer" above Olympic rings.

The 1940 Olympic Winter Games were originally scheduled to be held in Sapporo, Japan. Japan forfeited both Summer and Winter Games in 1937 when the Sino-Japanese war broke out. The International Olympic Committee then chose Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the host of the 1936 Games, to host the Games. Unfortunately, the Olympic Winter Games were ultimately cancelled due to the outbreak of WWII.

Even though these Games were cancelled, the Crawford Family collection has two Garmisch 1940 participation medals, one for athletes [Teilnehmer] and one for judges and assistants [Richter und Helfer].