From the DW:
“German and Israeli presidents
commemorate 50 years since Munich Olympics attack”
(The presidents of Germany and
Israel, along with their partners, attend a memorial event)
In 1972, eight Palestinian
militants stormed the Israeli apartment in the Munich Olympic village. In the
bungled police operations that followed, all nine Israeli hostages were killed.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Monday asked for forgiveness from
the families of the Israeli Olympic team members who were slaughtered at the
1972 Munich Olympic Games. Steinmeier was speaking alongside his Israeli
counterpart Isaac Herzog at a ceremony to mark the 50th anniversary of the
attack, in which 11 Israelis were killed. "We cannot make up for what
happened; we cannot make up for the obstruction, ignorance and injustice you
experienced and suffered. That shames me," Steinmeier said at a ceremony
at Fürstenfeldbruck airbase, where the 1972 terror attack came to a climax. "As the head of state of this country and
in the name of the Federal Republic of Germany, I ask your forgiveness for the
woefully inadequate protection afforded to the Israeli athletes at the Olympic
Games in Munich and for the woefully inadequate investigation afterwards — for
the fact that it was possible for what happened to happen." "I have a
duty and a need to acknowledge Germany's responsibility — here and now and into
the future. May the outcome of today be that you, the families, feel properly
seen and heard in your pain and feel that we take our responsibility
seriously."
What happened in 1972? On
September 5, 1972, eight Palestinian gunmen stormed the Israeli team's
apartment at the Olympic village. The Black September militants shot dead two
Israeli team members, and took a further nine Israelis hostage. In a
botched response from West German police, all nine hostages were killed, as
well as five hostage-takers and a police officer. The incident caused a deep
rift between Germany and Israel, just 27 years after the Holocaust and during
the first major international sporting event on German soil since the 1936
Berlin Olympics. West Germany had hoped the Games would showcase a new
face to the country, but the actions of police and German security authorities
were harshly criticized and caused outrage in Israel. In his speech,
Steinmeier said the Games were supposed to represent a counterpoint to the
Nazi-run Berlin games in 1936. The fact that Israel had taken part — survivors
of the Holocaust were among the team members — was a show of confidence in the
new face of Germany, but they failed as hosts. "Intrinsic to the sad and
painful truth of this commemoration is the fact that we wanted to be good
hosts, but did not live up to the trust that the Israeli sportsmen and their
families had placed in Germany. They were not safe. They were not protected. In
our country, they were tortured and killed by terrorists." Israel's Herzog
later praised Steinmeier for a "brave and historic speech". "It
represents, half a century later, an important step of morality and justice for
the victims, for the families, and for history itself," Herzog said.
Mayor apologizes for
'momentous mistakes' At a separate ceremony at the Olympic village on
Monday morning, Munich mayor Dieter Reiter apologized for the "momentous
mistakes" of the organizers of the Games. "I am sorry for that
and I apologize for the fact that after the attack, what would have been
demanded by humanity was simply not done — admitting the mistakes and taking
responsibility for them." At the village event, Israeli Sports
Minister Hili Tropper said the hostages had been murdered in cold blood, and
the fact the Games had continued as planned meant the event was stained with
blood.
Family members receive
compensation Bereaved family members had threatened to overshadow Monday's
events with a boycott over a long-delayed compensation deal. However, Germany
on Wednesday agreed to an increased €28 million ($28 million) payout for
relatives, averting the boycott. In the deal, the German state for the first
time acknowledged its "responsibility" in failings that led to the
deaths of 11 Israelis. Family members had long fought for an official
apology, and access to official documents. Steinmeier thanked the
families for attending Monday’s events, as well all those who made the deal
possible. "Honored family members, we cannot fathom what suffering,
what pain you have been through. We can only imagine what the loss of your
sons, husbands, fathers meant to you and still means to you." Steinmeier
called for ongoing reconciliation between Germany and Israel. "The
friendship, the reconciliation that Israel has afforded us is nothing less than
a miracle." "May the outcome of today also be that we Germans
prove ourselves worthy of the precious asset which forms the foundation of that
friendship — the asset which was so badly damaged in this place 50 years ago:
trust." 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.
^ It took the Germans 50 years to
finally apologize to Israel and the Israeli Victims and admit their mistakes
during the 1972 Olympics.
1972 could have been 1942 - the
Germans gave the same disregard to Jewish Life then as during the Holocaust. In
2022, things are just slightly better - slightly. ^
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