Politics
Athletic competition between the Soviet Union and United States had grown intense during the 1950s. Politically their opposing ideologies and interests in nations such as Germany, China and Korea created a delicate situation as the 1960 Winter Games approached. Of particular interest was the question of whether China would be allowed to participate. China last participated at the 1952 Summer Games but had since withdrawn from the IOC due to a dispute over Taiwan's participation as a separate country. The United States supported Taiwan while the Soviet Union stood behind China. Given the fact that the 1960 Games were to be held in America, there was concern among IOC members that the United States would not allow China, or any other Communist country to participate. In 1957 IOC president Avery Brundage announced that if the United States refused entry to any country recognized by the IOC, then they would revoke Squaw Valley's invitation to host the Games. Bowing to international pressure, the United States allowed athletes from Communist countries to participate. China continued to demand that Taiwan be expelled from the IOC, demands that were refused until China broke off relations ending any hope that they would participate in 1960.
Problems similar to the issue with China broke out over North Korea and East Germany. Prior to the Korean War the IOC had recognized the Olympic committee of Korea, which was headquartered in Seoul. North Korea was not recognized as a separate country by the IOC who maintained the existence of one Olympic committee. A unified team compromise was proposed but rejected, which meant only athletes from South Korea participated due to their prior recognition. Pressure for full recognition of East Germany continued despite the fact that both East and West Germany had participated as a unified team in 1956. Part of the negotiations for a unified German team was that they be represented by a neutral flag. Initially West German officials refused to agree to this stipulation citing the fact that the West German flag had been used at both the 1956 Winter and Summer Games. Eventually the neutral flag was adopted and a unified German team participated.
Read more about this topic: 1960 Winter Olympics
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