The Massacre Of Israeli Delegates At The Summer Munich Olympics

The Olympics have shown over the decades that they can be affected by political conflict. However, it seems that this is the point of the Olympics, to illustrate national pride, by competition. Bloodshed should not be the way for pride of one’s country to be shown, but it should be shown through competition, in the words of the founder of the modern Olympic movement, Pierre de

Ever since its inception in 1896, the Modern Olympics has hosted an invisible sport: politics. The Olympics calls for “a halt to all conflicts … [and to] strive towards a more peaceful world,” but politics soon spoiled its biennial message. “As the Olympics continue to dissolve into … a political competition … they no longer … justify the time and trouble,” Dave Anderson, Pulitzer Prize winner for his sports column, wrote in the New York Times in 1984. The Olympic spirit has routinely been used as an outlet for political agendas. With political and Olympic ambitions intersected, the great international sports festivity negatively affects all nations involved.

The Olympics are held every four years and are used as a global stage for many thousands of sportsmen and women who come from many different countries around the world to demonstrate their abilities ranging from running to rowing. In theory, the Olympic Games are supposed to be free from any politics and be purely about the athlete’s competition and celebrations. It is supposed to be non-gender, non-religion and non-race biased to show the accomplishment of the athletes that compete. Sporting officials are also supposed to be un-biased offering equal opportunities to all athletes.

The Munich massacre occurred during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, where members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage and eventually murdered by Black September, a Palestinian terrorist organisation. By the end of the agonising ordeal, 11 Israeli athletes and coaches had been killed, and one German police officer. Consequently, the “Operation Wrath of God” was carried out in order to assassinate the individuals involved in the massacre, in which five of the eight members of the terrorist group were killed. The remaining three members were captured, and later released by West Germany after the hijacking by Black September of a Lufthansa airliner. The aftermath of the terrorist attack consisted of several short and long term impacts, including the effects on the Olympic Games, the world’s view on security and the victims’ families.

The history of the State of Israel and the Holocaust strongly correlate with each other. For one to understand the State of Israel, one must look at in it relation to the Holocaust because Israel uses defence techniques that it would not feel necessary if not for the Holocaust, the Holocaust has changed the Jewish faith, and the Holocaust has caused issues with the overall view of the Jews.

Chapter three of Eyal Press’ Beautiful Souls follows Avner Wishnitzer, an Israeli combat soldier serving in the occupied territories during the Second Intifada. In the 6-Day War of 1967, Israel captured the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and has since kept the land under an Israeli military occupation. In 1987 to 1991, a Palestinian uprising involving resistance and civil disobedience, known as the First Intifada, occurred in the occupied territories. Consequently, Israel deployed many soldiers into the occupied territories, and an estimated 1,674 people were killed in total. The Second Intifada, a much more violent Palestinian uprising in the occupied territories, transpired from 2000 until 2005. In response, Israel enacted Operation Defensive Shield, a large-scale military operation, in 2002 to stop the terrorist attacks and suicide bombings of the Second Intifada. An approximate 4,426 people were killed in the Second Intifada. Avner Wishnitzer’s public refusal to serve in the occupied territories was worth getting kicked out of Sayeret Matkal and being disgraced by Israeli society because it made people question the occupation and the treatment towards Palestinians. Even if Avner had been my father, I would have condoned his choices because I could create my own reputation in the military. Additionally, the current controversy over the Israeli occupation legitimizes his stance and actions for many Israeli citizens.

As a sporting mega-event, the Olympic Games have numerous social impacts on the people, not only on those from the host country, but on individuals all over the globe.

Most people would classify the Berlin Olympic Games of 1936 as just another Olympics, and they would be right because the Games did have the classic triumphs and upsets that occur at all Olympic Games. What most people did not see, behind the spectacle of the proceedings, was the effect the Nazi party had on every aspect of the Games including the results. Despite Nazi Germany’s determination to come off as the superior nation in the 1936 Olympics, their efforts were almost crushed by the very people they were trying to exclude.

“No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas” (Advertising, Demonstrations, Propaganda* 98). This rule shows just what the Germans were hoping for, a peaceful, passive, war-free environment in which countries can get together and compete. Although we all know that quite the antithesis was upon the 1972 Olympics in Munich between September the fifth and September the sixth. The Munich Massacre, one of the worst massacres of all time, was driven by the vengefulness of the Palestinian group known as Black September, towards the people of Israel, or more relevantly, towards their Olympic team (Rosenberg). Since this confrontation between Palestine and

While there are clear contrasts between the ancient and the modern Olympics there is still the respect for the athlete striving to perform at the highest level. Today, the Olympic Games are the world's largest carnival of athletic skill and competitive spirit. They are displays of nationalism, commerce, and politics. These important elements of the Olympics are not a modern invention, as the first Olympics was in 776 BC in Ancient Greece. After 1503 years, in 1896 the Olympic Games were recreated as what we know today. The Ancient Games were once dedicated to the Olympian God, Zeus Olympios and were staged on the ancient plains of Olympia, which is also how the word ‘Olympics’ originated from. The modern Olympics is the largest international sporting event, which feature both summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of respectable athletes from over 200 different nations compete against one another. There are clear contrast between the modern and ancient forms of the Olympic Games regarding uniforms, participants, religion, events, politics and the concept of amateurism. However both the Ancient Greeks and the people in the modern world still respect and admire the athletics achievements of the participants making the Olympics the most highly regarded contest in sport.

"...Sport is prostituted when sport loses its independent and democratic character and becomes a political institution...Nazi Germany is endeavoring to use the Eleventh Olympiad to serve the necessities and interests of the Nazi regime rather than the Olympic ideals."

Regarding my question, I am trying to find a variety of sources which portray differing perspectives as I not only intend on recounting the actions of the West-German Authorities, but also portray differing views and criticisms of their response. From what I have gathered from my initial research, these historical interpretations don’t necessarily derive from specific schools of thought (as the event is quite recent) but more-so from differing sociopolitical/cultural regions of the world. These include a Western view, such as American Simon Reeve, Israeli view such as Yarin Kimor and German perspective such as Manfried Schreiber. Furthermore, some of these sources aren’t necessarily historical scholars but rather journalists, experts in their respective field, or simply significant characters surrounding the crisis.

Throughout history, there are certain events that have impacted society and the methods of security that protect it. One such event is the Munich Massacre. In 1972, a Palestinian terrorist organization known as Black September carried out an attack at the Summer Olympic Games in Munich, West Germany. They targeted the Israeli Olympic Team, taking eleven athletes hostage and later killing them. The terrorists had demanded the release of Palestinian prisoners jailed in Israel. While attempting to rescue the hostages a German police officer was also killed.

For many Israelis seeing the massacre of Jewish men on German grounds so soon after the Holocaust was harrowing. The Israelis struck back sending warplanes over Palestinian war bases, killing militants, but also innocent children and civilians. Starting two days after the massacre, Israel began Operation Wrath of God, a covert operation directed at those who were suspected to be behind the Munich killings. The operation targeted both Black September and Palestine Liberation Organization and spanned from 1972-1988. Throughout the operation, the Israelis managed to kill two of the three remaining terrorists involved in the 1972 massacre, however they were not able to assassinate the final

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."