Fürstenfeldbrücke: German President Frank-Walter steinmeier Apologized on Monday at a ceremony to mark the 50th anniversary of 1972 Munich Olympic attacks on Israeli athletes and team members at an airfield near Munich where a failed rescue attempt took place.
Steinmeier said Germany It must take its share of responsibility for the failures to protect athletes and the decades it took to compensate the families of the victims.
“We cannot fix what happened,” Steinmeier said in his speech. “I am ashamed. As the head of state of this country and in the name of the Federal Republic of Germany, I apologize for the inadequate protection of athletes, for inadequate resolution of this matter.”
Members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage in the athletes’ village on September 5, 1972 by Palestinians from the Black September group.
Eleven Israelis, a German policeman, as well as five Palestinian gunmen were killed after a standoff at the Olympic Village and nearby Feuerstenfeldbrück airfield, as rescue efforts were flooded with gunfire.
The game continued despite the attacks and IOC For nearly half a century, official recall calls from the families of the victims were ignored at a ceremony at the Olympic Games.
The IOC eventually held a moment of silence and made reference to the victims of the Munich Games at the Tokyo Summer Olympics opening ceremony last year – for the first time in nearly half a century. Steinmeier said both German security forces and state officials had failed in their roles, much to the suffering of relatives.
“You have a right to answers to questions that have harassed you,” he said with relatives of the Israeli victims present at the ceremony. “There’s also the answer to the question why you were left alone with your pain for so long.”
As flags were flown at half-mast in all state buildings in the Bavarian capital, Israeli Presidents Isaac Herzog and Steinmeier laid wreaths at the site.
The ceremony was attended by the head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bacho and other officers.
The ceremony to mark the attacks was welcomed by relatives of the victims and Israel’s government, but Monday’s memorial was jeopardized by families threatening to boycott over Germany’s offer of compensation.
The German government and Israeli families agreed on Friday to offer compensation for a total of 28 million euros, with the federal government contributing 22.5 million euros, while 5 million euros will come from the state of Bavaria and 500,000 euros from Munich.
Steinmeier said Germany It must take its share of responsibility for the failures to protect athletes and the decades it took to compensate the families of the victims.
“We cannot fix what happened,” Steinmeier said in his speech. “I am ashamed. As the head of state of this country and in the name of the Federal Republic of Germany, I apologize for the inadequate protection of athletes, for inadequate resolution of this matter.”
Members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage in the athletes’ village on September 5, 1972 by Palestinians from the Black September group.
Eleven Israelis, a German policeman, as well as five Palestinian gunmen were killed after a standoff at the Olympic Village and nearby Feuerstenfeldbrück airfield, as rescue efforts were flooded with gunfire.
The game continued despite the attacks and IOC For nearly half a century, official recall calls from the families of the victims were ignored at a ceremony at the Olympic Games.
The IOC eventually held a moment of silence and made reference to the victims of the Munich Games at the Tokyo Summer Olympics opening ceremony last year – for the first time in nearly half a century. Steinmeier said both German security forces and state officials had failed in their roles, much to the suffering of relatives.
“You have a right to answers to questions that have harassed you,” he said with relatives of the Israeli victims present at the ceremony. “There’s also the answer to the question why you were left alone with your pain for so long.”
As flags were flown at half-mast in all state buildings in the Bavarian capital, Israeli Presidents Isaac Herzog and Steinmeier laid wreaths at the site.
The ceremony was attended by the head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bacho and other officers.
The ceremony to mark the attacks was welcomed by relatives of the victims and Israel’s government, but Monday’s memorial was jeopardized by families threatening to boycott over Germany’s offer of compensation.
The German government and Israeli families agreed on Friday to offer compensation for a total of 28 million euros, with the federal government contributing 22.5 million euros, while 5 million euros will come from the state of Bavaria and 500,000 euros from Munich.