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Sad But True

Image related to the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre

Sad But True: The Munich Olympics Massacre, 1972

The 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich were meant to show a new, peaceful West Germany to the world. Instead, they are remembered for one of the darkest days in Olympic history.

What happened

In the early hours of 5 September 1972, eight members of the Palestinian group Black September broke into the Olympic Village and entered the apartments housing the Israeli delegation. Wrestling coach Moshe Weinberg and weightlifter Yossef Romano were killed during the initial assault, and nine other Israelis were taken hostage.

The attackers demanded the release of 234 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel, along with two German militants held in West Germany. Israel refused to negotiate. That night, German authorities attempted a rescue at the Fürstenfeldbruck airbase. The operation failed. All nine remaining hostages were killed, along with a West German police officer, Anton Fliegerbauer, and five of the eight attackers.

The eleven victims

Moshe Weinberg, Yossef Romano, Ze'ev Friedman, David Berger, Yakov Springer, Eliezer Halfin, Yossef Gutfreund, Kehat Shorr, Mark Slavin, Andre Spitzer and Amitzur Shapira. They were athletes, coaches and officials who had come to Munich to compete and to represent their country.

The aftermath

The Games were suspended for about a day and a memorial service was held in the stadium before competition resumed. The failed rescue exposed serious gaps in security planning, and in response West Germany created the elite counter-terrorism unit GSG 9 in 1973. Security at the Olympics has been far more extensive ever since.

For decades, the victims' families campaigned for greater recognition of what happened. In 2022, on the 50th anniversary, Germany acknowledged failures in the handling of the attack and agreed to compensation for the families.

Why it still matters

Munich 1972 is a reminder that sport can never be fully separated from the world around it. It is also a reminder that the victims were people with families and ambitions, not just a headline. Remembering them by name is the least we can do.

Sources: Olympics.com historical archive; Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Munich Massacre."

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