With the death of 11 Israelis, the 1972 Munich Olympics is remembered for putting terrorism on the winners’ podium. What should have showcased the new face of Germany actually showcased arrogance, incompetence and International Olympic Committee indifference that continues to this day. The Olympics should have been a roaring success, less than four decades after the infamous Nazi-era Olympics in Berlin in 1936. The presence of the Israeli team, competing just six miles from the Dachau concentration camp, was a statement on Israel’s willingness to accept a different Germany. But just 30 years after the Holocaust, Jewish blood was spilled on German soil once again. The Munich Massacre was carried out by the infamous Black September group on September 5, 47 years ago.
