By order of the Ministry of Propaganda, prompted by the upcoming Winter Olympics in Germany, "Jews Not Welcome" signs on main streets vanished quietly. This was one of the measures that Nazi agencies adopted to improve Germany's image in the eyes of the outside world as the Olympics approached. This measure, like others that sought to restrain anti-Jewish activity to some extent, created the feeling that the anti-Jewish policy had eased. Indeed, many observers - Jewish and non-Jewish, German and non-German - "took the bait" and believed that the Nazis' anti-Jewish spree had peaked and was petering out. Thus, the Nazis enhanced their image considerably; many foreign visitors and journalists returned to their home countries with a feeling that the complaints about the condition of German Jewry had been overstated. Importantly, however, the easing of policy was temporary and for outside consumption only. Some of the most crucial decisions concerning the Jews, such as the Four-Year Plan, were made by the Nazis soon after 1936, the Olympic year.
