<p>The IOC apologized on Friday and deleted a Twitter message which some saw as celebrating Nazi Germany's hosting of the 1936 Olympics.</p>.<p>Joining a message thread on Thursday one year before the Olympic cauldron is lit at the postponed 2020 Tokyo Games, the International Olympic Committee used its official account to tweet a film about the first-ever torch relay entering the Berlin stadium.</p>.<p>"We apologize to those who feel offended by the film of the Olympic Games Berlin 1936," the IOC wrote on Friday.</p>.<p>"We have deleted this film, which was part of the series of films featuring the message of unity and solidarity, from the @Olympics Twitter account."</p>.<p>Replies to the IOC's original message on Thursday expressed surprise by Twitter users at broadcasting footage from the Berlin Games and suggested the Olympic body lacked awareness of history.</p>.<p>The official museum at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp added its reply to the IOC in the message thread on Friday.</p>.<p>"For 2 weeks the Nazi dictatorship camouflaged its racist, militaristic character," said the Auschwitz museum's verified account.</p>.<p>"It exploited the Games to impress foreign spectators with an image of a peaceful, tolerant Germany."</p>.<p>The IOC's message also included footage of Jesse Owens, the Black American who won four athletics gold medals in Berlin.</p>.<p>Owens "taught a resounding lesson to the Nazi regime, shattering its despicable fascist claims of racial superiority," the IOC wrote on Friday.</p>.<p>"We understand that the film about the Olympic Games Berlin 1936 which includes this story was not perceived in this way."</p>.<p>The apology follows a comment last week by the IOC's German president, Thomas Bach, that there was "no reason to rewrite history at this moment" about one of his predecessors, Avery Brundage.</p>.<p>Brundage, the IOC president for 20 years until 1972, has long been criticized for racist views and being a Nazi sympathizer at the Berlin Olympics where he led the United States team.</p>.<p>The Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, which houses an extensive collection donated by Brundage, last month removed his bust from the display.</p>.<p>The museum director described Brundage as "a hateful person." </p>
<p>The IOC apologized on Friday and deleted a Twitter message which some saw as celebrating Nazi Germany's hosting of the 1936 Olympics.</p>.<p>Joining a message thread on Thursday one year before the Olympic cauldron is lit at the postponed 2020 Tokyo Games, the International Olympic Committee used its official account to tweet a film about the first-ever torch relay entering the Berlin stadium.</p>.<p>"We apologize to those who feel offended by the film of the Olympic Games Berlin 1936," the IOC wrote on Friday.</p>.<p>"We have deleted this film, which was part of the series of films featuring the message of unity and solidarity, from the @Olympics Twitter account."</p>.<p>Replies to the IOC's original message on Thursday expressed surprise by Twitter users at broadcasting footage from the Berlin Games and suggested the Olympic body lacked awareness of history.</p>.<p>The official museum at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp added its reply to the IOC in the message thread on Friday.</p>.<p>"For 2 weeks the Nazi dictatorship camouflaged its racist, militaristic character," said the Auschwitz museum's verified account.</p>.<p>"It exploited the Games to impress foreign spectators with an image of a peaceful, tolerant Germany."</p>.<p>The IOC's message also included footage of Jesse Owens, the Black American who won four athletics gold medals in Berlin.</p>.<p>Owens "taught a resounding lesson to the Nazi regime, shattering its despicable fascist claims of racial superiority," the IOC wrote on Friday.</p>.<p>"We understand that the film about the Olympic Games Berlin 1936 which includes this story was not perceived in this way."</p>.<p>The apology follows a comment last week by the IOC's German president, Thomas Bach, that there was "no reason to rewrite history at this moment" about one of his predecessors, Avery Brundage.</p>.<p>Brundage, the IOC president for 20 years until 1972, has long been criticized for racist views and being a Nazi sympathizer at the Berlin Olympics where he led the United States team.</p>.<p>The Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, which houses an extensive collection donated by Brundage, last month removed his bust from the display.</p>.<p>The museum director described Brundage as "a hateful person." </p>