Germany had not been invited to the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, Great Britain because of their role in World War II, and because their NOC restored in 1947 did not represent a recognized state yet, which was founded in 1949. Germany took part in the 1952 Winter Olympics, with the GDR declining to cooperate and form a United German team as required by the IOC, joining only in 1956 and later. On the other hand, the French-occupied Saar protectorate had to send a separate team, but could join for 1956. As a result, the team for the 1952 Summer Games was de facto representing West Germany.
While the first-ever (and only) failure to score gold in the Summer Games was disappointing, resulting in a 28th ranking, the number of total medals ranked fifth. 24 medals is the highest number of total medals achieved at an Olympic Games without a gold medal.
