by Jeff Golomboski OLYMPIC GAMES 1972

by: Jeff Golomboski

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

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.

GETTING IN • ABOUT 04: 30 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.

31 Connollystraβe • 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.

The Hostages • • • Yossef Gutfreund Moshe Weinberg David Berger Yossef Romano Ze’ev Friedman Eliezer Halfur Amitzer Shapira Kehat Shorr Mark Slavin Andre Spitzer Yakov Springer

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

1 st 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.

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.

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.

• 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.

• 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 Mc. Kay, ABC News

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.

• 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

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.

• 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.

References • http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Munich_massacre • http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Operation_Wrath_of_ God • http: //www. fas. org/irp/eprint/calahan. htm • http: //news. bbc. co. uk/olmedia/905000/images/_ 907614_terror 300. jpg • http: //www. gamla. org. il/images/1999/nov/munich 1. jpg • Munich, the Movie • http: //dsc. discovery. com/convergence/koppel/tim eline/long-war_02. html