1936 Reemsta Sammelwerk Berlin Olympics

Country of origin: Germany
Size: 4-3/4" x 6-3/4" (large) and 3-1/8” x 4-3/4” (small)

This is one of several German sets depicting the first year that basketball appeared in the Olympics. More notably however, the Nazi Party had risen to power in 1933, and despite significant international pushback the games still persisted in Berlin, giving the Nazis a platform for their propaganda. The Reemtsma Cigarette Company’s name is not actually on the cards themselves (Sammelwek is displayed on top of the backs) however they are identified as the distributor of these cards due to their presence on the blue collectible albums that were created for collectors to glue their cards into. This set was split into 2 releases, ‘Band I’ and ‘Band II', containing a total of 3 basketball cards printed on thin paper. The jumbo card depicts an image of the Philippine national team that is used in several other sets from that year. Of the other two smaller sized cards, one depicts two players from the Mexican basketball team wearing sombreros while being spectators at the games.

Additional resources: Checklist + more info