"Pierre de Coubertin: L'homme qui n'inventa pas les Jeux olympiques" (Pierre de Coubertin, the man who did not invent the Olympic Games) by French journalist Aymeric Mantoux was published 17 May by Editions du Faubourg containing the letter extracted by German historian Hans Joachim Teichler from the archives of the Third Reich.

"He is a researcher who revisited the entire history of sports in Germany in the 20th century. He found this letter which proves that, contrary to what Coubertin's family and the IOC (International Olympic Committee) say, there was a good relationship between the two men," Mr. Mantoux explained to L'Agence France-Presse.

The exact nature of the relationship between the two men divides historians. In his book, Mantoux evokes a probable reciprocity: Coubertin wanted the 1936 Games to be organised at all costs, Hitler was looking for moral support. Dated March 17, 1937, the letter thanks the German regime for its contribution to its "Jubilee Year", namely 50 years of its action to promote sport.

Historians have found traces of payments from Nazi Germany to an endowment fund set up by Pierre de Coubertin to continue his work. And the Third Reich was preparing to open an “International Olympic Institute” in Berlin.

Coubertin, who was 73 years old at the time of the politically-charged Berlin Olympics in 1936, did not attend. During the inauguration ceremony, failing to have the Frenchman in the stadium, the organisers broadcast his voice over the loudspeakers.

"We don't know why. The Berlin Games are, however, the pinnacle of what he wanted to do," notes the author of the critical biography.

A French aristocrat, Baron Pierre de Coubertin still remains known for his very conservative, quite colonialist opinions. He refused the professionalisation of sport, as well as its feminisation, and believed in the 'superior essence' of 'the white race'. "I don’t think he espoused the Nazi ideology of eradicating the enemies of the Aryan race," underlines Mantoux. "But between his vision and that of the Third Reich, we find common points, around the desire to revitalise a Nation through sport."