The Munich massacre was a terrorist attack carried out during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, by eight members of the Palestinian militant organization Black September, who infiltrated the Olympic Village, killed two members of the Israeli Olympic team, and took nine others hostage. Black September called the operation "Iqrit and Biram", after two Palestinian Christian villages whose inhabitants were expelled by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. The Black September commander was Luttif Afif, who was also their negotiator. West German neo-Nazis gave the group logistical assistance.
The Black September Organization (BSO) was a Palestinian militant organization founded in 1970. Besides other actions, the group was responsible for the assassination of the Jordanian Prime Minister Wasfi Tal, and the Munich massacre, in which eleven Israeli athletes and officials were kidnapped and killed, as well as a West German policeman dying, during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, their most publicized event. These attacks led to the creation or specialization of permanent counter-terrorism forces in many European countries.
The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad and commonly known as Munich 1972, was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972.
The Olympiapark in Munich, Germany, is an Olympic Park which was constructed for the 1972 Summer Olympics. Located in the Oberwiesenfeld neighborhood of Munich, the Park continues to serve as a venue for cultural, social, and religious events, such as events of worship. It includes a contemporary carillon. The Park is administered by Olympiapark München GmbH, a holding company fully owned by the state capital of Munich. The Olympic Park Munich was also considered to be an architectural marvel during the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany.
David Mark Berger was an American and Israeli Olympic weightlifter, and one of the 11 Israeli Olympians taken hostage and killed by the Palestinian group Black September during the Munich massacre at the 1972 Summer Olympics. Born and raised in the United States, Berger was a lawyer by education and had emigrated to Israel after taking part in the 1969 Maccabiah Games, where he won a gold medal.
Andre Spitzer was an Israeli fencing master and coach of Israel's 1972 Summer Olympics team. He was one of 11 athletes and coaches taken hostage and subsequently killed by terrorists in the Munich massacre.
Mohammad Daoud Oudeh, commonly known by his nom de guerre Abu Daoud or Abu Dawud was a Palestinian militant, teacher and lawyer known as the planner, architect and mastermind of the Munich massacre. He served in a number of commanding functions in Fatah's armed units in Lebanon and Jordan.
Moshe Weinberg was an Israeli wrestler who was the coach of the national team, as well the coach of Hapoel Tel Aviv.
Yossef Romano, also known as Joseph Romano or Yossi Romano, was a Libyan-born Israeli weightlifter with the Israeli team that went to the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany. He was the second of eleven Israeli team members killed in the Munich massacre by Palestinian members of Black September during that Olympics. He was the Israeli weight-lifting champion in the light and middle-weight divisions for nine years.
Milbertshofen, Am Riesenfeld and Am Hart are three boroughs situated in the north of Munich in Germany. Jointly, they form the city district 11 Milbertshofen-Am Hart. As of December 2016, the three boroughs had 76,255 inhabitants.
The president of the International Olympic Committee is head of the executive board that assumes the general overall responsibility for the administration of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the management of its affairs. The IOC Executive Board consists of the president, four vice-presidents, and ten other IOC members; all of the board members are elected by the IOC Session, using a secret ballot, by a majority vote.
The 2012 Olympics one minute of silence campaign refers to an international campaign created to persuade the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to hold one minute of silence at the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics to remember the Israeli athletes killed in the Munich massacre at the 1972 Olympics by the Palestinian terrorist organisation Black September. Support for the campaign came from a number of high-ranking officials and governments, including the United States Congress, U.S. President Barack Obama, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, U.S. Republican Party presidential candidate Mitt Romney, the Italian Parliament, the Australian Parliament, the Canadian Parliament, the German Parliament, and German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle.
Michael Brenner is a German historian who researches and publishes on the history of Jews and Israel. Brenner has authored eight books on Jewish history, which were translated into twelve languages and is the editor and co-editor of eighteen books. He holds teaching positions at both the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and the American University.
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics, are leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games are considered the world's foremost sports competition with more than 200 nations participating. The Olympic Games are held every four years, with the Summer and Winter Games alternating by occurring every four years but two years apart. In the Olympic Games during the years, despite its approach of "peace through sport", there have been many expressions of antisemitism, most notably in the Munich Massacre of 1972, which ended in the death of eleven Israeli athletes. The first official commemoration by the International Olympic Committee in acknowledgment of the massacre happened in 2016.
Am Riesenfeld is the westernmost of the three subdistricts of the Munich city district 11 Milbertshofen-Am Hart.
The Connollystraße is a street in the Olympic Village and student quarter of the Olympic Park Munich.
Anneliese Graes was a chief detective (1951–1991) from Essen, Germany, who acted as mediator between German officials and Black September terrorists during the 1972 Munich Olympic Games after eight Black September terrorists broke into the Israeli Olympic delegation building at 31 Connollystrasse, taking eleven of the Israeli delegation hostage during the early hours of 5 September 1972.
Klaus Bechler is a former German helicopter engineer of the West German Border Guard (Bundesgrenzschutz) who volunteered to transport eight Black September terrorists and their nine Israeli hostages from the Munich Olympic Village to Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base in what became known as the Munich Massacre. He is one of the few survivors of the event.
The Erinnerungsort Badehaus is a historical museum situated at Kolpingplatz in Waldram, a district of the town of Wolfratshausen, approx. 30 km south of Munich (Germany). Documents of the settlement's history since its foundation in 1939 are exhibited in the museum. It is an extracurricular place of learning and a place of encounters for various generations, nations and religions. The association Bürger fürs Badehaus Waldram-Föhrenwald e.V. is owner and operator of the museum. It saved the building from demolition, had it refurbished and developed the concept for it to be turned into a museum. All the activities of people are and have been on an honorary basis. In 2022 the museum received the Obermayer-Award for its outstanding engagement in saving the Jewish history and for its ongoing fight against current prejudices.
