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On September 5, 1972, Palestinian militants took 11 members of the Israeli delegation hostage inside the Olympic village in Munich, Germany. The terrorists, claiming to be part of the Black September movement, demanded the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. But a German police operation to rescue the Israelis went terribly wrong. In the end, all the hostages were killed, along with five of the eight attackers and a German policeman.
Inside the Olympic Stadium, equestrian dressage was taking place as planned, even as the tragedy unfolded. The following day the Games were suspended for 24 hours in tribute to the victims.
Just a month later, the three surviving attackers were freed as part of a hostage swap when other Black September supporters hijacked a Lufthansa plane.
At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, the murdered Israeli athletes were honored at the opening ceremony. As for the families of the Israeli victims, they had to wait until the 50th anniversary of the attack to reach a financial settlement with the German government. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier apologized on September 5 this year for mistakes made both during and after the attack and asked for “forgiveness”.
Anne Maillet, Gwendoline Debono and Nick Spicer of France 24 reviewed the tragedy of the Munich Olympics, five decades later.
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