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Back to Subjects - Political Science

Munich Massacre

Munich Massacre As soon as Ilana Romana heard about the situation in Munich, she expected the worst: “I knew who he was. He would not sit quietly. He was not the type. I knew it would end badly.” She spoke of her husband, and, unfortunately, her prediction was correct. Earlier that day, her husband, Yossef, and his teammates were awoken by Arab terrorists beginning an episode that would result in the death of eleven Israeli athletes and forever scar the 1972 Olympics, leaving the games to be remembered for the years to come as the “Munich Massacre.” Most Germans hoped that the 1972 Olympics would help to heal the racial damage caused by the 1936 Olympics. It was the first time the games had returned to the state since Nazism and Adolph Hitler were in full stride; the first time the games were held in Germany since Hitler had tried to use them as a way to show the superiority of his Aryan race on a world’s stage. At this time, the world was still in political unrest as the Vietnam War raged on, racial tensions in the United States continued, and violence persisted in the Middle East. German president Gustav Heinemann welcomed the Olympics as “a milestone on the road to a new way of life with the aim of realizing peaceful coexistence among peoples.” His goal was not meant to be, however. At approximately four o’clock in the morning on September 5, 1972 (six days before the end of the games), Yossef Gutfreund, a 275 pound wrestling referee, reacted to the sound of Arab voices behind the door of the apartment where he and other Israeli athletes were staying. The terrorists had accessed the building unnoticed as they were dressed in athletic warm-ups and carried their weapons in gym bags. Gutfreund quickly alerted his roommates that something was wrong and proceeded to push his body against the door in an effort to prevent Arab entrance. His efforts were successful for only a few moments, however, as the Arabs soon entered the apartment, immediately taking five Israelis hostage. It was at this time that Romana, in an effort to save his teammates, took a knife out of the kitchen and stabbed one of the gunmen. Moments later, he and wrestling coach Moshe Weinberger were each shot several times, resulting in the first casualties of the morning. Approximately an hour after the attack began, the terrorists left, having killed two Israeli team members and capturing nine. Due to the unanticipated chaos and struggle, the terrorists failed to locate eight other team members in the neighboring apartments. Within the next hour, the Arabs had issued a set of demands, and had thrown Weinberger’s body into the street. The Palestinian off-shoot group, the Black September Organization, claimed responsibility for the actions at the apartment of the Israeli athletes. Their demands included the release of 234 Arab and German prisoners held in Israel and West Germany. The terrorists provided a typewritten list of prisoners for release, including the founders and leaders of the German based Baader-Meinhof Gang. The terrorists also demanded three planes for their escape; one would be used to return the released prisoners to a safe location. The Munich police commissioner, chief of Olympic security forces, and others worked with the Israeli Prime Minister, Golda Meir to attain the release of the hostages. However, Meir made it perfectly clear to all involved that the government of Israel would not negotiate with terrorists. The West German police extended the three deadlines originally imposed by the terrorists, giving the officials more time to deal with the situation. Eventually, after the failure of last-minute negotiations and further demands by the Black September Organization, combined with Meir’s absolute refusal to negotiate, the police commissioner was forced to believe that a rescue attempt was the only option. Bibliography:

Word Count: 641