1972 OLYMPICS

1
1972 OLYMPICS
MUNICH
by Jeff Golomboski
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OLYMPIC GAMES 1972

• WINNERS UP TO 5 SEPTEMBER.
• MARK SPITZ AMERICAN SWIMMER
• AMERICAN BASKETBALL TEAM
• SHANE GOULD AUSTRALIAN SWIMMER
• HANDBALL AND ARCHERY RETURNED TO THE OLYMPICS
  EVENTS AFTER A LONG ABSENSE.
• THE SOVIET UNION AND UNITED STATES WON THE MOST
  MEDALS PUT OF ALL COUNTRIES PARTICIPATING.
• U.S.S.R 99 MEDALS
• U.S.A. 94 MEDALS
• EAST GERMANY 66 MEDALS
• WEST GERMANY 40 MEDALS

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BLACK SEPTEMBER

• CREATED IN 1970
• 16 SEPTEMBER 1970, KING HUSSIEN OF JORDAN
  DECLARED MILITARY RULE AGAINST THE PALESTINIANS
  AFTER THEY ATTEMPTED TO SEIZE HIS KINGDOM.
• THIS RESULTED IN THE EXECUTION AND EXPULSION OF
  THOUSANDS OF PALESTINIANS IN JORDAN.
• THE BLACK SEPTEMBER ORGANIZATION WAS CREATED TO
  TAKE REVENGE.

ARAFAT FLANKED BY HAWATEMAH AND NASSER AT A
CONFERENCE IN 1970.
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GETTING IN

• ABOUT 0430 ON 5 SEPTEMBER 1972
• BLACK SEPTEMBER ORGANIZATION (BSO) ENTERED
  OLYMPIC VILLAGE IN MUNICH
• UN-SUSPECTING AMERICANS HELPED THEM SCALE A FENCE
  TO GAIN ACCESS TO THE COMPOUND
• THEY GOT INTO THE ROOMS USING STOLEN KEYS.

5
31 Connollystraße

• The intrusion had injuries on both sides.
• Yossef Gutfreund, wrestling referee, was the
  first to become aware of the intrusion.
• He threw himself against the door and warned
  others in the room about the intrusion.

• Tuvia Sokolovsky was able to break a window and
  escape.
• Moshe Weinberg, Israeli wrestling coach, was
  injured trying to fight back.
• Gad Tsobari was also able to escape.
• Moshe Weinberg and Yossef Romano were both killed
  trying to fight back.

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The Hostages

• Yossef Gutfreund
• Moshe Weinberg
• David Berger
• Yossef Romano
• Zeev Friedman
• Eliezer Halfur
• Amitzer Shapira
• Kehat Shorr
• Mark Slavin
• Andre Spitzer
• Yakov Springer

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The Remaining Team

• The 9 hostages remaining alive were located in
  apartments 1 and 3.
• Other Israeli Olympians in apartments 2, 4, and 5
  were able to escape once things quieted down.

• Other members of the Israeli team were located in
  other buildings off of Olympic Village and
  different parts of Germany.

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Authorities Notified

• German Authorities were notified by the two
  Israeli athletes that escaped during the
  intrusion.
• Within an hour, by 0500, all the hostages were
  kept in one of the apartments.
• They were each bound and then they were bound
  with each other to prevent them from fighting
  back.
• Before the authorities even showed up the Black
  September terrorists had their demands written in
  English.

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The Demands

• The release of and safe passage to Egypt of 234
  Palestinian non-Arabs jailed in Israel along
  with two German prisoners which were the founders
  of the German Red Army Faction.
• The Counter-demands
• Unlimited amounts of money
• Substitution of high ranking German officials for
  the release of the hostages.
• All of the Demands were Denied

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Games Stopped

• All of the Olympic games were stopped, but only
  for 2 days.
• On the day of the attack the games continued even
  12 hours after the first hostage was killed.
• Further negotiations went on and were turned down
  without hesitation by BLO.

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Proof of Life

• Two German officials were allowed access to the
  apartment to check the well-being of the
  remaining hostages. The officials were
  Hans-Dietrich Genscher, Minister for Interior and
  Walter Tröger, mayor of Olympic Village.

Shorr and Spitzer talking with authorities.
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1st Rescue Attempt

• An initial attempt was in the works. However it
  was being shown live on T.V. and was called off
  since the Black September terrorists were
  watching it take place.
• German Police and Officials were told if any
  other attempts were tried that the hostages would
  killed.

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Hostages are Moved

• BSO requested a jet to take them and the hostages
  to Cairo. The requested was denied, Egypt refused
  to take any part in the matter.
• Instead, they were taken to Furstenfeldbruck
  Airport.

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The Final Attempt

• A very basic plan was built to rescue the
  hostages. None of the officials in charge had any
  special training in Hostage-Crisis or
  Negotiation.
• The plan was to set-up snipers and have them
  take-out the terrorists on the way from the
  busses to the airplane.
• This plan failed miserably. There were multiple
  reasons for this.

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• There were no radio sets or any forms of
  communication being used.
• Rifles being used were not equipped with scopes.
• Not enough manpower was being used during the
  attempt.
• Lack of knowledge to this type of situation.

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• The news broadcasts first said that all the
  hostages were alive. With the morale of everyone
  boosted the real broadcast came through
• "Our greatest hopes and our worst fears are
  seldom realized. Our worst fears have been
  realized tonight. They've now said that there
  were eleven hostages two were killed in their
  rooms yesterday morning, nine were killed at the
  airport tonight. They're all gone.
• --Jim McKay, ABC News

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Effects on the Games

• The 1972 Olympics were halted for a only a short
  period. 2 Days
• The first on the day of the attack, 5 Sep 72
• The second for a memorial service, 6 Sep 72
• Until this time the Olympic Games have never been
  stopped for any reason.

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• Israel took immediate action.
• Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir met with the
  families of the hostages. She assured them that
  action would be taken against those involved in
  anyway.
• Send the boys forth.

Golda Meir
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Operation Wrath of God

• Israeli Mossad agents were sent out to
  assassinate the key players involved in the
  planning of Munich.
• An exact number of targets killed has yet to be
  determined. They range between 20-35.

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• The main part of the operation ended with the
  assassination of a civilian not involved in any
  way with Black September. Numerous Mossad agents
  were arrested immediately after.
• The Mossad took rest when Ali Hassan Salameh was
  killed on 22 January 1979.
• Salameh was the mastermind behind the Munich
  attack.

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References

• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich_massacre
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Wrath_of_Go
  d
• http//www.fas.org/irp/eprint/calahan.htm
• http//news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/905000/images/_90761
  4_terror300.jpg
• http//www.gamla.org.il/images/1999/nov/munich1.jp
  g
• Munich, the Movie
• http//dsc.discovery.com/convergence/koppel/timeli
  ne/long-war/long-war_02.html