As Israeli, German and American politicians pressure the International Olympic Committee to stage a moment of silence to recognize the anniversary of the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, where eleven Israeli athletes and coaches were murdered, the I.O.C. has resisted the call, claiming “the games are apolitical.”

From the start of the modern Olympic Games, political overtones have influenced the way we view the event, from Hitler’s 1936 Games to the dueling Cold War boycotts of the 1980s.

Worldview examines the intersection of global politics and the Olympic Games with Alfred E. Senn, author of Power, Politics and the Olympic Games: A History of the Power Brokers, Events and Controversies that Shaped the Games.