A ceremony scheduled for the Fürstenfeldbruck air base, on the outskirts of Munich, remembers this Monday (5) the attack that killed 11 members of the Israeli delegation at the 1972 Olympic Games, held in the Bavarian capital. About 70 relatives of the victims are expected, in a ceremony designed to minimize a tension fed for decades.
It was with great difficulty that, 50 years later, an agreement was reached for the payment of compensation to the relatives of the dead. They were reluctant, however, in negotiations that dragged on in recent months, they accepted payment of 28 million euros (R$ 145.7 million).
The bulk of the amount will come from Germany’s federal government, but the state of Bavaria and the municipality of Munich will also contribute. It is a symbolic gesture of acknowledgment of his responsibility in the events that took place between the dawn of September 5th and 6th, 1972.
On the occasion, eight members of Black September, a group linked to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) invaded the Olympic village and took hostages, including athletes and coaches, 11 Israelis. Two of them were killed right there shortly after the invasion.
A clumsy rescue negotiation took place in the following hours, which ended up at the Fürstenfeldbruck air base, from which the terrorists intended to flee by plane. A poorly organized ambush attempt resulted in 15 more deaths: the other nine members of the Israeli Olympic delegation, five terrorists and a German police officer.
Germany was heavily criticized for ignoring security warnings, for failing to provide adequate protection for Israelis and for refusing to stop the Games after the brutal episode. Israel was particularly irritated that the Germans would not allow it to participate in the attempted rescue operation.
“They didn’t make the slightest effort to save lives. They didn’t take the slightest risk to save lives, theirs or ours,” Zvi Zamir, head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence service, told Israeli ministers at the time.
Since then, the tension on the subject has not dissipated. Victims’ families have always complained of a lack of transparency on the part of the Germans, who kept most of the files on the 1972 episode secret.
Some details came to light only 20 years later. In 1992, two of the widows had access to photos whose existence was denied by Germany. They proved that there was torture with the hostages and at least one castration.
“What they did was cut off his genitals and tortured him,” said Ilana Romano.
Her husband, weightlifter Yossef Romano, tried to react to the invasion and was shot while still in the Olympic village. Then he was tortured and left to die. “Can you imagine the other hostages sitting around, tied up, watching this?” Ilana said.
She and other relatives of the victims also always complained about the lack of more substantial compensation. Over the years, according to a memorandum from the German government obtained by The New York Times, 4.8 million euros were paid in compensation. In more recent rounds of negotiations, an offer of 5.4 million euros (R$ 28.1 million) was made, something that Ankie Spitzer, widow of fencing coach Andre Spitzer, called a “joke”.
The standoff threatened that the event scheduled for the 50th anniversary of the tragedy would become a fiasco, without the participation of family members of the dead or members of the Israeli government. It was only last Wednesday (1st) that there was an agreement, jointly announced by the President of Israel, Isaac Herzog, and the President of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
The families hesitated, but, pressured by Herzog, ended up accepting the terms of the arrangement. And members of the German government, in recent days, have sought to demonstrate that they are finally taking on the role of their country in the episode five decades ago.
“It’s an important step,” said Steinmeier, who credited the country’s top leader, Prime Minister Olaf Scholz, for the effort to reach a deal.
“The German government, led by Chancellor Scholz, is taking responsibility and making amends for the historic injustice committed to the families,” he added. “After 50 years, it’s time to finally give grieving families some relief and reaffirm the lessons of this tragedy, including the importance of fighting terror, for generations to come.”
In addition to the financial compensation, Germany says it intends to establish a joint commission with Israel and open access to all case files so that there is “scrutiny of all sources” and an “academic evaluation”.
There is still some mistrust. And harsh words are expected at the ceremony in Fürstenfeldbruck.
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