The 1972 Summer Olympic were supposed to be a new beginning. Germany had a dream to show the world a new face of optimism at the XX Olympic Games in Munich. After the reign of Hitler, Germany wanted the world to know that the country turned a new leaf. The dream instead turned into a nightmare filled with tragedy and chaos. Eleven Israeli Olympic team members were killed by Arab terrorists.
As the Summer Olympics were occurring, eight Palestinian terrorists passed security with ease. The group of terrorists went to an Olympic Village where the Israeli Olympiads were staying and took them hostage. Eleven Israelites were taken hostage by eight Arab terrorists.
All of this was on live television and the world was in terror. The peaceful Olympics which put the nations at peace, turned into a negotiation between terrorists. “We have learned to be on guard for this kind of thing almost all the time, but not here-not with all the nations gathered in peace, with all the talk about sportsmanship and freedom.” Said Asher Mashia, an Israeli student. A series of bullets and gunfire quickly put an end to that sort of talk. This event created a new organized terror from their attack. After three hundred German policemen surrounded the building, the long wait began. Later, the leader of the group threw out a poster that listed their demands. The demand was the release of two hundred Palestinian guerrillas who were imprisoned in Israel and safe passage to the Arab world. If the demands were not met by noon, the terrorist group would begin executing some of their prisoners/hostages. The government refused the blackmail and noon followed shortly after. There were no gunshots and no deaths. As the hostages waited, German officials began to assemble a strike force that would save them. “It is difficult to be optimistic when your friends have machine guns pointed at them.” Said an Israeli woman.
Many offers were given to the terrorists but none grabbed their attention. Eventually, one offer caught their ears. There was an offer that promised them a plane to Cairo. Shortly after 10:00 pm, the terrorist group emerged from the building along with the hostages. The group and hostages boarded a bus that took them to a helicopter pad where they would be taken to an airbase 15 miles away, where a jet would be waiting for their arrival. As the helicopters were traveling to the air base, five snipers were waiting for them. These snipers needed to make precise shots that would kill eight terrorists before they would turn and kill the Israel hostages. After the helicopters landed, two of the terrorists emerge from the helicopters and were shot down by German policemen. Those shots started a two-hour fight. The end of this battle resulted in the deaths of all nine of the hostages, five of the terrorists, and a German police officer. The other three terrorists were captured and were taken into custody.
The captured terrorists were Abdullah, Badran, and Dnawy. These three-captured Arab’s were brought in and held in a Munich prison for trial.
“The Munich Massacre” was an attack during the 1972 Olympics in Munich, West Germany. It killed eleven Israeli Olympic team members, five Palestinian terrorists, and a German policeman. A Palestinian group of terrorists known as “Black September” shocked the world with this event. The Olympics are a peaceful event regarding athleticism and good-sportsmanship between nations around the world. This tragic event destroyed all hopes of the Arab-Israeli differences resolving. After the “Munich Massacre”, Israeli jet fighters lashed out at ten Arab commando bases in Syria and Lebanon. The raids took more than sixty lives. Political tensions rise between nations as these events transpired.
The 1972 Summer Olympics is now known as a tragic event with no peace, no serenity, and no freedom. The event became significant in many ways. It sparked fights and arguments between Arabs and Israelites and brought the citizens of the world to their knees.