The Olympic Games are the most famous sports competitions of a universal nature, "a philosophy of life that magnifies and unites in a harmonious whole the qualities of body, will and mind." Every four years, competitions in one or another country of the world unite people who are not indifferent to physical art from all over the world, regardless of ethnicity or religion. The Olympic Games are a celebration of peace, courage and the desire to win. But, unfortunately, in the history of this event there were terrible tragedies…
On September 5, 1972, eight members of the Islamic radical group Black September stormed the Olympic Village, entered the house where members of the Israeli delegation lived, and captured them. They resisted, and the two escaped, killing two other members of the Israeli delegation, Yossef Romano and Moshe Weinberg. The terrorists have 9 people left hostage. An hour later, the terrorists announced their own terms: the release of 234 Palestinian prisoners and two German militants who were in prisons in Israel and some European countries. Prolonged and painful negotiations began. Throughout the day on September 5, the terrorists set a time when they would start killing the hostages, and changed the "H hour" several times.
At about 6 o'clock in the evening of the same day, the militants demanded a plane for departure to Cairo. Eight terrorists and nine Israeli hostages were flown by helicopter to the airfield, where a refueled plane and five German snipers were waiting in ambush. Two terrorists boarded the plane and, seeing that it was empty, realized that they were trapped. The shooting started, during which 5 terrorists were killed, 2 wounded, 1 survived. Three terrorists were arrested. But by the end of the operation, all Israeli athletes had already been killed. Among them were Holocaust survivors, their children who sought to represent their country in one of the most prestigious sporting events in the world…
After the terrible tragedy of 1972, in order to prevent similar terrorist attacks in the future, the Israeli government led by Golda Meir decided to carry out an operation to destroy all members of the group Black September involved in the killings of athletes. The operation, which began on October 16, 1972 and was called the Wrath of God, killed almost everyone involved in Israeli intelligence, Mossad, in the organization of the abduction and murder of athletes in Munich.
Since then, a new term has appeared in the history of the Olympic Games - "Munich Syndrome", which has caused not only huge costs to ensure the safety of sports competitions, but also manifests itself in a certain psychological pressure on athletes and guests of the Olympics: discomfort due to various restrictions, constant inspections strict rules dictated by modern challenges, especially potential terrorist acts.
The Museum Library invites you to learn more about the following events: