The 1936 weightlifting program was the same as it had been since 1920, with five weight classes, all held at the same weight levels. Since 1928 the competition had also consisted of three lifts – military press, snatch, and clean & jerk. Weightlifting in Berlin was held at the [Deutschlandhalle]. World Championships had not been held since 1923 so it was difficult to pick out favorites in Berlin.

Seven nations won weightlifting medals in 1936, but Egypt and Germany won the bulk of them, each taking five, so together they won 10 of the 15 available medals. Egypt won two golds, with four nations winning one each, as the lightweight class gold medal was shared between [Anwar Mousbah] of Egypt and Austrian [Robert Fein].

The weightlifting competition at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin consisted of five weight classes, all for men only.

American [Tony Terlazzo], the 1932 bronze medalist, took the lead in the military press, tied with German [Georg Liebsch], and then increased the lead in the snatch, giving him a comfortable lead. While he did not have the best clean & jerk, he easily won the gold medal with a world record total of 312.5 kg. Egyptians won the other medals, as [Saleh Soliman] and [Ibrahim Hassanien Shams] had the best marks in the clean & jerk, and won silver and bronze, respectively. Terlazzo would go up in weight and win the World Championships in 1937 and 1938 as a lightweight. Liebsch, who finished fifth in Berlin, won the World Championship in this class in both 1937-38.

The men's featherweight event was part of the weightlifting programme at the 1936 Summer Olympics. The weight class was the lightest contested, and allowed weightlifters of up to 60 kilograms (132 pounds). The competition was held on Sunday, August 2, 1936.

Austrian [Robert Fein] took a big lead in the military press with a lift of 105.0 kg, putting him 7.5 kg clear of the field. He maintained that lead after the snatch, but Egyptian [Anwar Mousbah] had the best snatch with 105.0 kg and moved into second. When Mousbah also led the clean & jerk with 145.0 kg, he and Fein tied with world record totals of 342.5 kg, breaking the mark of 337.5 held by Mousbah. As there was no tie-breaking method in place in 1936, Fein and Mousbah both received gold medals. Mousbah never competed internationally again, and labored in anonymity as Egyptian radio failed to announce that he had won a medal. He was forced to carry around his gold medals for years to prove to people that he won it. Fein won a silver medal in this class at the 1937 World Championships, trailing [Tony Terlazzo], who won the featherweight division in Berlin.

The men's lightweight event was part of the weightlifting programme at the 1936 Summer Olympics. The weight class was the second-lightest contested, and allowed weightlifters of up to 67.5 kilograms (148.8 pounds). The competition was held on Sunday, August 2, 1936.

This class saw one of the most dominant performances in Olympic weightlifting history as Egyptian [Khadr El-Touni] won by 35 kg, bettering his own world record with a total of 387.5 kg. That mark would have won him the light-heavyweight division by 15 kg. El-Touni had the highest lift for all three phases of the competition, setting world records in both the press and snatch. El-Touni went on to win three world titles (1946, 1949-50), placing 3rd at the 1951 World Championships. He also competed in the 1948 Olympics, but illness prevented him from successfully defending his title and he placed fourth. El-Touni also recorded 16 world records, although only 11 of them were recognized.

Well back in Berlin were the silver and bronze medalists, both Germans, [Rudolf Ismayr], the defending gold medalist, and [Adolf Wagner]. Wagner would win silver (1937) and gold (1938) in this class at the next two World Championships, while Ismayr would win silver behind Wagner in 1938.

The men's middleweight event was part of the weightlifting programme at the 1936 Summer Olympics. The weight class was the third-lightest contested, and allowed weightlifters of up to 75 kilograms (165 pounds). The competition was held on Wednesday, August 5, 1936

Frenchman [Louis Hostin] was the defending gold medalist, and had won silver in 1928 at Amsterdam, and he returned and comfortably defended his title. He had also been European Champion in 1930 and 1935. World record holder, and 1934 European Champion, [Fritz Haller] of Austria was well back in fifth place. The silver medal eventually went to German [Eugen Deutsch] who was initially disqualified for missing all three snatches, but on appeal, the jury reinstated one of his snatches which moved him into second place, to the consternation of the non-German competitors. Haller would win the 1937 World Championship in this class, defeating Hostin, who took silver. In 1938 Haller was second and Hostin third to American teenager [John Davis], who after the war, would win seven straight heavyweight titles in the Worlds and Olympics (1946-52).

This was expected to be a battle between German [Josef Manger], who had won the 1935 European Championship, and world record holder [Václav Pšenička, Sr.] of Czechoslovakia, who had won the silver medal in this class at the 1932 Olympics. Manger went well ahead with a press of 132.5 kg and Pšenička could never catch up, as Manger won gold and Pšenička silver. Manger also bettered Pšenička’s world record with a total of 410.0 kg. The bronze went to Estonian [Arnold Luhaäär], who had been the silver medalist in the class at Amsterdam in 1928. Manger would continue to dominate this class in the next few years, winning the 1937 and 1938 World Championships, before international competition stopped because of the hostilities.