Israeli president in Germany for Munich commemoration
September 5, 2022
On his first visit to the country as Israel's president, Herzog joins his German counterpart to attend a remembrance ceremony for the Munich massacre.
Germany's Steinmeier vowed to confront antisemitism during his meeting with HerzogImage: Markus Schreiber/AP Photo/picture alliance
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Israeli President Isaac Herzog arrived in Germany on Sunday for a three-day visit during which he will join in commemorations on the 50th anniversary of the massacre at the 1972 Munich Olympics, in which 11 Israeli athletes lost their lives at the hands of Palestinian terrorists.
The commemorations in the Munich region on Monday will now be taking place in the presence of relatives of the victims, who had initially declined to attend in protest at Germany's handling of the massacre and its aftermath.
Herzog will also hold a speech in the German parliament, or Bundestag, on Tuesday, and visit the former concentration camp of Bergen-Belsen, where thousands of Jews were imprisoned under the Nazi regime. Many died of disease, starvation and mistreatment.
Herzog's father, Chaim Herzog, who later became Israeli head of state, was among the British troops who liberated the camp in April 1945.
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Steinmeier: Germany must 'cast light' on shortcomings
At a state banquet in Berlin to welcome Herzog, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier took his own country to task for its failures in connection with the massacre.
"For much too long, we did not want to accept that we also had our part of responsibility: It was our task to ensure the safety of the Israeli sportspeople," he said.
Now, he said, it was "our responsibility as Germans" to "cast light on unclarified aspects of the Munich massacre."
"We did not want to recognize the pain of those left behind for much too long," he said.
The German president also said he was "happy and relieved" that the "most important guests," the relatives of the victims, could now take part in the commemorations.
Steinmeier also spoke of his "rage" at a recent rise in antisemitism in Germany, saying the country would only be truly at one with itself "when Jewish women and men feel completely safe and at home here."
1972 Summer Olympics: The Munich massacre
The 1972 Games were marred by an attack in which 11 Israeli athletes and coaches were killed by a Palestinian terrorist group. Precisely why a West German plan to rescue the hostages went horribly wrong remains unclear.
Image: picture alliance / Sven Hoppe/dpa
A bright opening ceremony
Cosmopolitan and colorful is how Munich aims to present itself to the world as Olympic host in 1972. Organizers are hoping to change Germany's image as the country hosts its first Games since the Nazis staged the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. The local police are in civilian clothes and are unarmed. For 10 days, Munich celebrates a peaceful festival with guests from all over the world.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Top sporting performances
From a sporting point of view, there are memorable performances, none less than those of American swimmer Mark Spitz, who wins seven gold medals. The West German hosts have their own triumphs to celebrate, too. On September 4, 16-year-old Ulrike Meyfarth (pictured) sets a new world record as she wins gold in the high jump. The fans are euphoric. But just hours later, everything will change.
Image: picture-alliance / Sven Simon
Dawn attack
Eight members of the Palestinian terrorist organization "Black September" break into an Israeli team apartment in the Olympic Village in the early hours of September 5. They shoot dead wrestling coach Moshe Weinberg and seriously injure weightlifter Josef Romano. He bleeds to death while nine other hostages are tied up in the same room and forced to watch him die.
Image: dapd
Negotiations break down
The terrorists demand the release of more than 200 prisoners from Israeli custody. In return, they would release the hostages. German Interior Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher (third from left) and other officials negotiate with the terrorists' leader, who calls himself Issa. Genscher and others even offer to take the place of the hostages in order to win their freedom. The terrorists refuse.
Image: picture alliance / dpa
No backing down
"Should we give in, then no Israeli in the world can feel that his life is safe," says Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, rejecting what she termed "blackmailing of the worst kind." Israel offers to send special forces to free the hostages, but this is turned down by the West German government.
Image: Hugues Vassal/akg-images/picture alliance
Sporting events suspended
Initially, the sporting events continue despite the murders and the hostage-taking. While police officers seal off the building occupied by the terrorists, visitors continue to pack the Olympic Park. Only after Israelis hold a demonstration to demand the Games be suspended do the organizers order that events not be held on the afternoon of September 5.
Image: Horst Ossinger/picture alliance
Rescue attempt on live TV
The Bavarian police are not well equipped to deal with a hostage-taking. Armed police officers attempt to storm the apartment at 31 Connollystrasse, but do not go unobserved. Live television footage shows the officers approaching the hostage-takers — and the terrorists are among those tuning in. The plan to free the hostages is quickly aborted.
Image: Horst Ossinger/dpa/picture alliance
Hostage demands met — as a pretense
The terrorists' ultimatum is extended several times. Finally, it is agreed that they should be taken to a nearby military airport by two helicopters and from there flown out to Cairo together with the hostages. However, the German negotiators only agree to the demands as a pretense. They are aiming to set a trap for the terrorists. But their plan will go horribly wrong.
Image: dpa/picture alliance
Ill-fated plan
A Boeing waits at Fürstenfeldbruck Airport with police officers disguised as the crew. They are meant to overpower the assassins. But the officers are neither adequately armed nor trained. They abort the mission on their own authority. The remaining few police officers at the airport do not know that there are eight hostage-takers and not, as previously believed, only five.
Image: Heinz Gebhardt/IMAGO
Blood bath
When two terrorists inspect the Boeing, the police open fire. An hours-long firefight ensues. Reinforcements arrive late, hindered by the many onlookers gathered outside the airport. The terrorists blow up one of the helicopters with a hand grenade, before shooting dead the remaining prisoners in the second. In the end, 15 people are dead: A policeman, five of the attackers and all nine hostages.
Image: dpa/picture alliance
'The Games must go on'
A memorial service for the victims is held in the Olympic Stadium on September 6. There, IOC President Avery Brundage announces that the Games will not bow to terror. "The Games must go on," he said. Opinion is divided on whether this was the right decision. The Munich Games do indeed continue but are no longer cheerful in the remaining days.
Image: Heidtmann/picture alliance/dpa
Horrible scene
A few days after the attack, Ankie Spitzer, widow of murdered fencing coach André Spitzer, arrives at Connollystrasse to pick up her husband's personal belongings. "It was chaos, there was blood everywhere," she said in a documentary on German public broadcaster ZDF. "There was food on the floor, plus they hadn't let the hostages go to the bathroom. It was terrible."
Image: dpa/picture alliance
'No mistakes made'
By that time, Munich's police department under Chief Manfred Schreiber (pictured) had already published a report. It states that "no mistakes were made" and that "nothing could have been done better" with the available means and under the given circumstances. Instead, it says, Israel "issued the hostages with death sentences" by rejecting the terrorists' demands.
Image: picture-alliance / dpa
Prisoner swap
It didn't take long for the three surviving assassins to escape West Germany. When a West German airliner was hijacked in Zagreb in October 1972, the three were flown to the former Yugoslavia and exchanged for the passengers and crew of the airliner. Rumors persist to this day that the hijacking of Lufthansa Flight 615 was staged by West German authorities to rid themselves of the terrorists.
Image: Klaus-Dieter Heirler/picture-alliance/dpa
Still no apology
A proper reexamination of how the events played out has never been conducted. The investigation files are set to remain under lock and key until 2047. Inquiries by the surviving relatives have repeatedly been rejected. Above all, however, there has never been an official admission of guilt from the German side – and a dispute over financial compensation for the relatives has yet to be resolved.
Image: Peter Hille/DW
No reconciliation
So far, €4.6 million ($4.62 million) has been paid to the bereaved families, with a further €5.4 million recently offered. The families are demanding about €10 million per victim. "I am no longer prepared to endure further insults," says Ankie Spitzer (photo), spokeswoman for the relatives, for whom the behavior of German officials since 1972 has left deep scars.
Image: Maya Alleruzzo/AP Photo/picture alliance
Families to boycott German memorial service
Therefore, the bereaved families will boycott a memorial service to mark the 50th anniversary of the attack. They have asked Israeli President Isaac Herzog to do the same. "This is our final decision, because we feel that the abuse and the way we are being treated has not stopped," Spitzer says.
Image: picture alliance / Sven Hoppe/dpa
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What happened in Munich in 1972?
Eight terrorists from the Palestinian group Black September entered the Olympic Village on September 5, 1972, and took 10 members of the Israeli delegation hostage. In exchange for their release, the hostage takers demanded the release of 234 prisoners held in Israel and West Germany.
A botched rescue operation by the West German authorities left 12 innocent people dead: 11 Israelis and one West German policeman. Five of the terrorists were also killed.
The actions of police and German security authorities were harshly criticized following the massacre and also caused outrage in Israel.
tj/sri (KNA, AFP)
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