In 1916, the next Olympic Games were to be held in Berlin, the capital of Germany. The German government allocated 300 thousand marks for their preparation and implementation - a colossal amount at that time. In 1913, the construction of the Olympic Stadium was completed in the city, sketches of medals were prepared for awarding the winners of the games. Olympic committees of many countries, including Russia, actively prepared their athletes to participate in this wonderful event. But politics intervened.
On June 28, 1914, in the city of Sarajevo, the Serbian terrorist G. Princip killed the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand. On July 28, Austria-Hungary, Germany's ally, did not receive a positive response to its ultimatum, declared war on Serbia, which was supported by Russia. And then there was a chain reaction. In a matter of days, almost all European countries were drawn into the massacre of the First World War. Germany, on whose territory the Olympic Games were to be held, fought against Great Britain, France and Russia.
Of course, a natural question arose: what to do with the Olympics? The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is in an incredibly difficult position. After all, most of the members of the IOC were citizens of countries that were at war with Germany! And she, oddly enough, continued preparations for the Olympics and clearly did not intend to concede the honor of holding it to any other country. Moreover, the Germans demanded that the IOC headquarters be in Berlin during the Olympics. Of course, no one would agree to this.
Some IOC members have proposed moving the Olympic Games to another city in a neutral country, for example, to New York. But, in the end, it was decided: during such a terrible war, the Olympics could not be held. Thus, the sports festival did not take place. Nevertheless, in order to emphasize the significance of the Olympic Games, their huge role in affirming the ideals of peace and fair competition, the IOC decided: to perpetuate the number of the Berlin Olympics in history. “Even if the Games did not take place, their number is still saved,” Pierre de Coubertin said. And since then, in any reference book, any article devoted to the Olympics, they write: "The Games of the VI Olympiad in Berlin did not take place."
The next, VII-th Olympic Games, took place after the end of the war, in Antwerp.
