Fifty years later following the bloody attacks at the 1972 Munich Olympics, German officials, led by the president, formally asked for forgiveness to the family of Israeli athletes and team members for his country’s failure to protect them during the sporting event. He also announced the granting of compensation for the surviving families of the victims.
In the commemoration event marking the 50th anniversary of the attacks, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Israeli President Isaac Herzog, with International Olympic Committee (IOC) chief Thomas Bach and other officials, met with some 70 family members of the victims. For the first time in 5 decades, German authorities have apologized and own up to their failures.
“We cannot make amends for what has happened,” said German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. “I ask for forgiveness for the lack of protection of the Israeli athletes during the Olympic Games in Munich and for the lack of clarification afterwards; for the fact that what happened could happen.” The German government will also grant the surviving families with a compensation deal totalling $28 million.
“The decision to take responsibility for the failures surrounding and following the massacre, to allow for an objective and rigorous inquiry, and to compensate the victims’ families is part of that sanctification of the good and triumph over evil,” Israeli president Herzog said. Herzog and Steinmeier laid a wreath at the site. Flags across all state buildings in the Bavarian capital also flew at half-mast during the event.
Considered as one of the darkest chapters of the Olympics, an armed band of Palestinian terrorists storms the Israeli compound at the Olympic Village in Munich, Germany that houses Israeli athletes. The terrorists, members of a group known as Black September, killed two and took nine others hostage in return to release over 230 Arab prisoners being held in Israeli jails and two German terrorists.
The officials did not comply with their demands that resulted in a shootout at the Munich airport. In the tragic confrontation, the nine Israeli hostages were killed along with five terrorists and one West German policeman. Olympic competition was suspended for 24 hours to hold memorial services for the slain athletes. Follow the best online gambling site for free betting tips, odds and prediction!
After a two-day suspension and following the memorial service at the main Olympic stadium, the then IOC President Avery Brundage ordered that the Games continue in an attempt to show that terrorism has no place in the Olympics. The Black September assassins were slain by the Israeli government, headed by Golda Meir along with a group of Mossad agents.
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