Advanced Search

Learn About The Holocaust

Special Collections

My Saved Research

Login

Register

Help

Skip to main content

Print

Oral history interview with Milton Green

Oral History | Digitized | Accession Number: 1996.A.0456.1 | RG Number: RG-50.429.0001

Search this record's additional resources, such as finding aids, documents, or transcripts.

No results match this search term.
Check spelling and try again.

results are loading

0 results found for “keyward”

    Oral history interview with Milton Green
    Transcript
    [BEEP]
    Speak.
    Milton, I'd like to begin by asking
    you to state your name, your date of birth,
    where you were born.
    Milton Green, and I'm 82 years old.
    And I was born in Lowell, Massachusetts.
    But we moved from Lowell, when I was about five years old,
    to Brookline, Mass.
    And we went to Temple--
    I went to Temple Israel in Boston
    since I was about five years old till even now.
    How's the sound look?
    OK.
    Tell me a little bit about growing up in Brooklyn--
    your family, your religious background, all of that.
    Yes, I moved to Brookline in 1925.
    And I have a twin sister and a brother and another sister.
    And we lived in Brookline, and I went to Temple Israel,
    which is a reformed temple.
    And the head of that temple was Rabbi Levi,
    who was a well-known Rabbi in those days.
    And it's a reformed temple.
    And my parents were quite religious,
    and I was actually bar mitzvah-ed in a temple
    and in Brookline.
    And I also went to Temple Israel.
    And we observed all the holidays,
    or most of the holidays.
    But specifically, we weren't really terribly religious.
    We didn't-- we didn't have kosher set up at all,
    but we always went at different holidays--
    Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
    And we still do.
    But our religious training was moderate.
    And I went to school in Brookline.
    And it was a grammar school called, Edward Devotion School.
    And that's when I started to be interested in track.
    And I was captain of the Grammar School Track Team.
    And the principal of the school was named Charles Taylor.
    And he was very interested in my athletic activities,
    and he really encouraged me, especially in track.
    Because in those days, I held a record in the high jump
    when I was 11 years old, and he was sponsoring me
    in all activities.
    And then I went to high school, and I was captain of the track
    team there, and held quite a few records
    in the inter- scholastic meets.
    And that was in 1932.
    And then I went to Exeter Academy
    for one year in preparation to go to Harvard.
    And while I was at Harvard--
    while I was at a summer camp rather, in 1932,
    I met this Norman Conners, who eventually became my roommate.
    And he was an outstanding track athlete too.
    He was a hammer thrower, and also a 100-yard dash runner.
    And in 1935, there was a Harvard-Yale track team
    that competed in London, against Oxford-Cambridge.
    And Norman Conners was a hammer thrower, mostly at that time.
    And they didn't have the hammer thrower in the Oxford-Cambridge
    meet.
    So he trained in 100 and 220 and made the team in the 100
    and the 220, which was an unusual combination--
    a hammer thrower and a 100-yard dash.
    And I was in three events at the Oxford-Cambridge meet--
    that was in 1935--
    in the high hurdles, the low hurdles,
    and the running-broad jump.
    It was called the broad jump at that time,
    but it's called the long jump now.
    And I won two events at the Oxford-Cambridge meet.
    And I'd been always thinking and wanting to be in the Olympics.
    Of course, that was my hope to be in the Olympics.
    But 1936, in the Harvard-Yale game, Harvard-Yale track meet,
    Conners and myself had won six gold medals between us.
    And there was quite a bit of publicity
    about it, and about our Olympic plans
    or whether we were going to the Olympics,
    or whether we could qualify.
    And I had qualified for the final tryouts
    at Randall Island.
    And I got a certificate from Avery Brundage.
    And I think I have submitted, to your group, the certificate
    from Avery Brundage saying that I had qualified
    for the final tryouts.
    Let me ask you to restate that thought
    without mentioning the museum.
    Oh, OK.
    That you had gotten the certificate.
    Yes, I received a certificate from the American Olympic
    Committee--
    Avery Brundage.
    And it stated that I had qualified
    through all the preliminary tryouts, for the final tryouts,
    at Randall Island.
    And about at that time, there was some publicity
    in the Boston papers about my roommate
    and me, Norman Conners and myself.
    There was a picture of us winning six gold medals.
    And some of the executives, or the committee members,
    at Temple Israel and Rabbi Levi, had seen the publicity
    and knew that we were potential Olympic candidates.
    And one of the committee members called me
    and said he had liked-- he had congratulated me
    for our performance at the Harvard-Yale track meet.
    And asked if-- said the Rabbi Levi would like to talk to us
    about the Olympics and the potential there, and could we--
    could we meet with them?
    And we met with them at Temple Israel.
    And they explained to us what was happening
    in Germany at that time, the terrible things that
    were going on and all the activities against the Jews
    and people in Germany.
    And we knew something about the problem of Germany
    but not in any great details.
    And we were really quite taken aback with the information
    that they gave to us.
    And at that time it was suggested that--
    they suggested that it might be a good idea for us not
    to go to the Olympics because of all these problems,
    and to register our objections and boycotting the Olympics.
    And we were quite taken aback about that thought.
    And they tried to explain to us that we would never
    regret if we did take that action to boycott the Olympics.
    And they suggested that we talk it over and let
    them know what our thoughts were, if we
    wanted any further discussion.
    And while we--
    Norman Conners and I went back and talked it over,
    and thought we'd discuss it with our parents
    because we had great respect for their judgment.
    And after talking it over with our parents,
    they also called Rabbi Levi to see
    what his thoughts were again, to get an explanation from him.
    And my father told me that he was satisfied and had
    confidence in Rabbi Levi's judgment,
    and that we wouldn't regret it if we did boycott the Olympics.
    Because the problem was-- not the problem,
    but the question was how imminent
    our selection on to the Olympic team would be?
    And I had held the world's record in the high hurdles
    and also the Harvard-Yale record in the broad jump.
    And at that time the Harvard-Yale broad jump event,
    which I held the record in, was over 24 feet 11 inches.
    And I had been running in three events at that track meet,
    and the coach said not to take too many jumps
    because I have to save myself for the other events.
    And on the first try on a broad jump,
    I had fouled the take off, stepped over the mark.
    And he said to be very careful on the next jump
    because he didn't want me to take all my full jumps.
    So in the next jump I was very careful
    and took off about a foot behind the take-off board.
    And I did 24 feet 11.
    So I would close to 26 feet in the actual jump.
    And they thought that I had a good chance of qualifying
    for the Olympics in the long jump, where I had the potential
    to go close to 26 feet.
    And in the high hurdles, which was the other event
    that I was qualified for, I had been running around 14, 9, 15
    seconds in the high hurdles.
    And the qualifying times were in the 14-second, probably
    14, 2, or 3.
    But I was improving in the high hurdles,
    and I practiced at timing event, timing
    in the high-hurdle practice rounds.
    And I was getting closer to the 14 5 14 4.
    And they felt that there was a good chance that I could make
    the team in maybe two events.
    But at any rate, after the discussion
    with Rabbi Levi and my parents and as this whole situation
    about boycotting, both Conners and I
    decided that we would boycott the Olympics,
    and we didn't go into the final tryouts.
    And although I was disappointed, I
    felt that, that was the thing to do,
    and that's what basically happened,
    as far as boycotting the Olympics is concerned.
    Because at that time I was a senior at Harvard,
    and I was interested in getting into business,
    and whether to go into business right away
    after graduation, which was in 1936,
    or to go to graduate school.
    And I decided to go to Harvard Business School,
    and then to go into the real estate business.
    So I was interested in looking--
    I was always interested in athletics.
    And I knew that I was a pretty good athlete.
    And as I say, I was captain of all the track teams
    since I was in grammar school.
    But my focus, after getting out of college, was not--
    nothing to do really, with athletics.
    Although I was interested in all athletics and tennis
    and skiing and all the other activities,
    but I decided to go to the Harvard Business School
    and then to go into business, in the real estate business.
    And that's what happened, and I was
    interested in finding a nice gal and getting married too.
    So that's the basic course that I followed.
    And after I got out of the business school,
    I participated in tennis.
    And I was ranked number six in New England,
    in the Super Senior category.
    So I was always interested in athletics,
    but that's really the basic story about what
    happened in that situation.
    OK, I want to backtrack a little bit now.
    And that was great by the way.
    I didn't want to start.
    OK.
    So we're going to o backwards a little bit.
    And if you can try not to refer to what you already said.
    Don't say, as I told you before.
    Right.
    This is the first time.
    OK, then.
    What I want to do is get you to elaborate
    on some of those points.
    OK.
    OK?
    So I'm going to go back to your family first.
    And you came from not a highly religious background, but
    certainly a Jewish background.
    You identified as a Jewish boy.
    That's right.
    Absolutely.
    My mother and father, as I say, were reformed at that time
    while I moved to Brookline in 1925.
    But their parents were very religious.
    Well, my mother's parents, particularly,
    because my father's parents weren't around at that time.
    But my mother's parents, the name was Warper,
    and they were very religious.
    And we used to go over to their home, to their apartment,
    and celebrate all the Jewish holidays.
    And, as I say, they were very religious.
    And my parents were religious, but they were reformed.
    What about your friends?
    Were your friends mixed, or did you really grow up
    in a more Jewish environment?
    I'd say that I grew up, basically,
    in a mixed environment.
    After we lived in Brookline in 1929, we moved to Newton.
    And I went to Newton High School.
    And in those days, it was--
    it wasn't to integrated.
    And my friends, I'd say, were 50-50 Jewish and non-Jewish.
    So our upbringing was mixed, but our social activities
    were mostly Jewish activities.
    Did you experience any anti-Semitism
    from your classmates or people while you were growing up?
    Not particularly.
    In high school, never noticed any.
    I know it was around and there were situations.
    And in college, at Harvard, we lived--
    Conners and I lived in Lowell House.
    And they had common-room eating, and we
    mixed with all of the-- everyone there.
    And we never really noticed any particular anti-Semitism,
    but we knew it existed.
    But we were never particularly subjected to it.
    Do you think that sports and your early athletic career
    provided a good opportunity for you to fit into the mainstream
    and move beyond your Jewish environment?
    I never particularly thought of it that way,
    but was the focus that put us in contact with Ali.
    Let me ask you to just start the sentence by saying,
    sports or athletics was a focus.
    So that you say the subject in the sentence
    because my question will be cut out.
    Oh, yeah.
    I see.
    Yeah, sports and athletics were a focus.
    Because, as I say, I was captain of the team, so I was--
    I did pretty well in all the events.
    And while that was a focus, and I enjoyed it,
    it wasn't a 100% focus.
    But I trained carefully, and I did all the training
    that the coaches had suggested.
    But I would say it was a focus, but not 100% so.
    And you mentioned that you had worked
    toward going to the Olympics.
    Was that a real serious possibility in your mind?
    Yes it was.
    Going to the Olympics was a very serious focus at that time,
    and it was a focus on training and doing extra training
    and exercises to--
    and I was watching the performances
    all over the world, in my particular events,
    particularly.
    And yes, it was something that I was always thinking
    about when I was training.
    And I had hoped to make the Olympic team.
    So this must have been somewhat disappointing
    when, even though it was your choice,
    you weren't going to participate?
    It was.
    My boycotting the Olympics through the meetings
    I had with Rabbi Levy, yes, I was disappointed and felt
    that, that focus that I had, had all these years
    was going to materialize.
    But somehow or other, I felt that it was the right thing
    to do, and I never had any regrets about it one way
    or the other.
    What gave you that moral grounding?
    Well, I don't think the moral grounding, in relation to that,
    was not really a basic fact.
    I don't think it had anything to do with moral grounding.
    It was just a realization that was
    something that should be done.
    And I had great respect for Rabbi Levi.
    Because prior to meeting with him--
    although I had heard about the problems in Germany and what
    was going on--
    I didn't really have a detailed understanding of the problems
    there.
    And that meeting was really a shock
    to both Conners and myself.
    And it struck home to me that, that
    was something I wanted to do, after they
    explained the situation.
    How much time do we have on the tape?
    Eight minutes.
    Eight?
    OK.
    You talk about this meeting.
    Can you go into more detail about what they said to you,
    and what helped you make this choice?
    Well, the meeting with Rabbi Levi
    was at the Temple Israel Executive Board Room.
    And we weren't sure what he was going
    to tell us about what was happening in Germany.
    But the several board members of the men's committee,
    and the Rabbi, went into pretty good detail.
    But I don't remember all the items
    that they discussed particularly,
    but they told us about the terrible things
    that were going on in Germany and the Nazi regime.
    And it was there was a shocker to me and Norman Conners.
    And it just struck home that it was something
    that we should do, or consider doing.
    But I don't remember particularly
    all the gory details that they went into.
    Do you remember any of the details?
    Not really.
    Something about book burning and taking away
    the rights of all of the Jews, and putting them in ghettos
    and--
    I suppose it was--
    I don't remember if it was at that time or afterwards,
    but they mentioned about the killing of Jews.
    And all those details were pretty repulsive to us.
    Were there, at that point, to your knowledge,
    press statements or public statements about boycotting
    and about Germany?
    Yes, there were.
    There was publicity about the boycotting
    and discussions between the Olympic Committee.
    And there were some other groups that we
    thought had mentioned in the press about how they
    should boycott the Olympics.
    And there were other groups that said that they
    shouldn't boycott the Olympics.
    So I was just aware that there was a discussion going on
    about boycotting, but I wasn't aware of all the details
    involved.
    Were you aware of other athletes who were considering
    boycotting?
    Not particularly.
    I wasn't aware of any other athletes that I knew of.
    And I wouldn't be in contact with them
    other than through publicity in the papers.
    But I remember something about Stoler
    and those track athletes that were questioning
    about going to the Olympics.
    But I don't particularly remember the time frame
    in connection with that.
    But I do remember the discussion about it.
    Did the press, in some of these organizations
    who were talking about boycotting, influence you?
    No, I don't think the press or the publicity
    influenced me in one way or the other
    because I wasn't aware at that time,
    in any great detail, the problems going on in Germany
    and the Nazis with the Jews.
    I knew there were problems and they were serious,
    but I wasn't aware of all the details.
    Now when you decided to boycott, was this primarily
    to take a stand or was there any concern about your safety
    in going over there?
    No, I wasn't worried at all about safety.
    But the reason I boycotted it was entirely
    a result of the meeting with Rabbi Levi.
    That was the essential dominant factor involved.
    Did you consider this a substantial sacrifice
    on your part?
    I mean, you had been working for this for a long time.
    Well, boycotting the Olympics was a sacrifice
    because I had always wanted to be in the Olympics.
    But I didn't consider it as--
    once we made up our mind and was aware of what
    was going on there, I didn't look at it
    particularly as a sacrifice, although it was.
    But I didn't consider it a terrible blow.
    Once you made the decision to boycott,
    were you asked to, or did you, make any public statements
    in an effort to influence other people?
    No.
    We never made any public statements
    or indicated what steps we had taken.
    I mean, you were in a pretty high-profile position.
    You were captain of varsity track at Harvard.
    I'm surprised that someone didn't come to you and say,
    will you speak out for this boycott?
    Well, after we boycotted the Olympics,
    no one came to speak to us or ask us if we'd
    make any statements about it.
    And I don't think anyone knew particularly that we
    did boycott it because there was no publicity about it,
    one way or the other.
    The only publicity we had was when I spoke to the track coach
    at Harvard.
    His name was Yako Mikola.
    He was the assistant coach.
    He was-- in 1936, he was the track coach.
    And we told him about our intention
    and he tried to persuade us not to do it.
    He said he didn't think we would do much good,
    and we should try to go to the final tryouts
    and try to make the team.
    But we didn't want to do that.
    And that was the only conversation we really
    had about it, publicity wise.
    I'm going to stop right now because we
    need to change the tape.

    There is no transcript available for this track

    Overview

    Interview Summary
    Milton Green, born circa 1914 in Lowell, MA, discusses his childhood in Brookline, MA; his three siblings; attending Reform Temple with his family; his early interest in track and field sports; his participation in track sports while studying at Harvard University; receiving a certificate from Avery Brundage, of the American Olympic Committee, informing him of his qualification for final Olympic Team tryouts at Randall Island, NY; deciding with his teammate Norman Carnis to boycott the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany at the urging of Rabbi Levi and other members of the Temple Israel; meeting with Harvard track coach Yacko Macola, who attempted to persuade him not to boycott the Olympics; following the 1936 Olympic events by radio and newspaper; his thoughts on the lack of an overall United States boycott of the 1936 Olympic Games; enlisting in the United States Navy in 1943; being in Scouting Squadron 31 as an air combat intelligence officer; and leaving the service in 1946.
    Interviewee
    Milton Green
    Interviewer
    Randy M. Goldman
    Date
    interview:  1996 May 14

    Physical Details

    Language
    English
    Genre/Form
    Oral histories.
    Extent
    2 videocasettes (Betacam SP) : sound, color ; 1/2 in..

    Rights & Restrictions

    Conditions on Access
    There are no known restrictions on access to this material.
    Conditions on Use
    No restrictions on use

    Keywords & Subjects

    Corporate Name
    United States. Navy

    Administrative Notes

    Legal Status
    Permanent Collection
    Provenance
    The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Exhibition Department produced the interview with Milton Green in preparation for the exhibit, "The Nazi Olympics, Berlin 1936."
    Funding Note
    The cataloging of this oral history interview has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
    Record last modified:
    2023-11-16 08:31:40
    This page:
    https:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn504461

    Additional Resources

    Transcripts (2)
    Time Coded Notes (English)

    Download & Licensing

    In-Person Research

    Contact Us

    Also in The Nazi Olympics: Berlin 1936 oral history collection

    Contains interviews conducted in May 1996 by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's Exhibitions Department in preparation for "The Nazi Olympics: Berlin 1936" exhibition. The interviewees include: Milton Green, John Woodruff, Herman Goldberg, Marty Glickman, and Margaret Lambert. The interviews document the lives of five athletes and their experiences during the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany

    Date: 1996

    Oral history interview with John Woodruff

    Oral history interview with John Woodruff

    Oral History

    John Woodruff, born July 5, 1915, discusses his childhood in Connellsville, PA; his introduction to track and field sports in high school; his memories of racism in Connellsville and at the University of Pittsburgh; his impressions of Adolf Hitler and Germany's treatment of the Jews at the time of the 1936 Olympic Games; his memories of the 1936 U. S. Olympic team's voyage to Berlin; training before the games; the athletes’ lifestyle in the Olympic village and relationships with fellow athletes; his recollections of Marty Glickman and Sam Stohler and the controversy over their exclusion from the 1936 Games; his memories of winning the 800 meter race and receiving the gold medal; his return to the United States and the University of Pittsburgh; his memories of Jesse Owens during and after the 1936 Games; his experiences of racism after returning to the United States; his impressions of Hitler's actions after 1936 and the use of the Olympic Games as propaganda; his relationship with Marty Glickman; and his recollections of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1936 Olympic Games.

    Oral history interview with Herman Goldberg

    Oral history interview with Herman Goldberg

    Oral History

    Herman Goldberg, born in November 1915, discusses his childhood and family in Brooklyn, NY; the importance of sports in his life; playing baseball at Brooklyn College and in the Canadian American League, where he was catcher for the Rome Colonels; his selection for the 1936 United States Olympic Baseball Team at pre-Olympic try outs in Baltimore, MD; his participation in exhibition baseball at the 1936 Olympics; his participation in baseball demonstrations throughout Germany immediately after the Olympics; discovering that the Olympic village would be used for the German Army after the close of the games; his memories of the voyage with the United States team to Germany; his memories of the proposed United States boycott of the 1936 Olympic Games; and his impressions of Adolf Hitler's behavior during the various events of the Olympics, especially when black or Jewish athletes won medals.

    Oral history interview with Marty Glickman

    Oral history interview with Marty Glickman

    Oral History

    Marty Glickman (né Martin Irvin Glickman), born in 1917 in Bronx, NY, discusses his childhood and growing up in Brooklyn, NY; his Romanian parents; his participation in sports throughout his childhood and youth; his competition with Ben Johnson and realizing his potential to compete in the Olympics; his memories of antisemitism in Europe and the United States; his races against Jesse Owens and Ralph Metcalfe during the Olympic qualification events at Randall Island, NY; the voyage to Germany with the 1936 U.S. Olympic Team; his memories of a possible United States boycott of the 1936 Olympic Games; his friendship with Herman Goldberg, a member of the 1936 U.S. Baseball Team; his views on the role of politics in the Olympic Games; the arrival and reception of the U.S. Team in Berlin, Germany; Hitler's reaction to the victorious black athletes; his memories of the Olympic village in Berlin and the opening ceremonies; the controversy that arose when he and Sam Stohler were removed from the 400 meter relay and replaced with Jesse Owens and Ralph Metcalf; the role of Dean Cromwell, the American track coach, in excluding Glickman and Stohler from the relay; his memories of watching Owens and Metcalfe win the relay; his views on the involvement of Avery Brundage, President of the American Olympic Committee, in having him and Stohler removed from the relay; his experience with racism in 1937, when a fellow Syracuse football teammate was excluded from a game because he was black; and his hopes to compete in other Olympics after 1936.

    Oral history interview with Margaret Lambert

    Oral history interview with Margaret Lambert

    Oral History

    Margaret Lambert (née Gretl Bergman), born April 12, 1914, discusses her childhood in Laupheim, Germany; her involvement in various sports as a child; her memories of antisemitism after the Nazis took power in 1933; her relationships with non-Jewish friends and athletes; moving to England in October 1933 to attend school and to train; her victory at the British National Championships in June 1934; returning to Germany to become a member of the 1936 German Olympic team; her relationships with other athletes and coaches on the German team while training for the Olympics; her reflections on how she depended on her anger toward the Nazis to help her succeed in the running and jumping events; her time in school and training in Stuttgart, Germany; her outstanding performance in qualifying events in Stuttgart just prior to the Olympics; her dismissal from the German Olympic team following the qualifying events in Stuttgart; immigrating to the United States in May 1937; her father's brief imprisonment in the Dachau concentration camp in 1938; her family's escape from Germany to England in 1939; her impressions of the Olympic Games as Nazi propaganda; and her decision to attend the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996 as a special guest of the German government.

    View All 5 Items in the Collection