Munich Massacre
One of the eight Palestinian terrorists comprising the Black September group stands on a balcony of the Olympic Village during a standoff after they kidnapped nine members of the Israeli Olympic team and killed two others on Sept. 5, 1972 in Munich. (Getty Images/Stringer)
Historical Importance of the Munich Massacre:
The Munich Massacre was a terrorist attack during the 1972 Olympic Games. Eight Palestinian terrorists killed two members of the Israeli Olympic team and then took nine others hostage. The situation was ended by a huge gunfight that left five of the terrorists and all of the nine hostages dead. Following the massacre, the Israeli government organized a retaliation against Black September, called Operation Wrath of God.
Dates:
September 5, 1972
Also Known As:
1972 Olympics Massacre
Overview of the Munich Massacre:
The XXth Olympic Games were held in Munich, Germany in 1972. Tensions were high at these Olympics, because they were the first Olympic Games held in Germany since the Nazis hosted the Games in 1936. The Israeli athletes and their trainers were especially nervous; many had family members who had been murdered during the Holocaust or were themselves Holocaust survivors.
The first few days of the Olympic Games went smoothly. On September 4, the Israeli team spent the evening out to see the play, Fiddler on the Roof, and then went back to the Olympic Village to sleep. A little after 4 a.m. on September 5, as the Israeli athletes slept, eight members of the Palestinian terrorist organization, Black September, jumped over the six-foot high fence that encircled the Olympic Village.
The terrorists headed straight for 31 Connollystrasse, the building where the Israeli contingent was staying. Around 4:30 a.m., the terrorists entered the building.
They rounded up the occupants of apartment 1 and then apartment 3. Several of the Israelis fought back; two of them were killed. A couple of others were able to escape out windows. Nine were taken hostage.
By 5:10 a.m., the police had been alerted and news of the attack had begun to spread around the world. The terrorists then dropped a list of their demands out the window; they wanted 234 prisoners released from Israeli prisons and two from German prisons by 9 a.m.
Negotiators were able to extend the deadline to noon, then 1 p.m., then 3 p.m., then 5 p.m.; however, the terrorists refused to back down on their demands and Israel refused to release the prisoners. A confrontation became inevitable.
At 5 p.m., the terrorists realized that their demands were not going to be met. They asked for two planes to fly both the terrorists and the hostages to Cairo, Egypt, hoping a new locale would help get their demands met. The German officials agreed, but realized that they could not let the terrorists leave Germany. Desperate to end the standoff, the Germans organized Operation Sunshine, which was a plan to storm the apartment building. The terrorists discovered the plan by watching television. The Germans then planned to attack the terrorists on their way to the airport, but again the terrorists found out their plans.
Around 10:30 p.m., the terrorists and hostages were transported to the Fürstenfeldbruck airport by helicopter. The Germans had decided to confront the terrorists at the airport and had snipers waiting for them. Once on the ground, the terrorists realized there was a trap. Snipers started shooting at them and they shot back. Two terrorists and one policeman were killed. Then a stalemate developed. The Germans requested armored cars and waited for over an hour for them to arrive.
When the armored cars arrived, the terrorists knew the end had come. One of the terrorists jumped into a helicopter and shot four of the hostages, then threw in a grenade. Another terrorist hopped into the other helicopter and used his machine gun to kill the remaining five hostages. The snipers and armored cars killed three more terrorists in this second round of gunfire. Three terrorists survived the attack and were taken into custody.
Less than two months later, the three remaining terrorists were released by the German government after two other Black September members hijacked a plane and threatened to blow it up unless the three were released.
1972 - Terrorists Attack at the Olympic Games in Munich
Terrorists Attack at the Olympic Games in Munich (1972): Early in the morning on September 5, 1972, eight members of the Palestinian terrorist organization, Black September, snuck into the Olympic Village at the XXth Olympic Games which were held in Munich, Germany.
The Black September members raided the building housing the Israeli athletes. Two Israeli athletes were killed during the raid and nine others were taken hostage.
After spending most of the day trying to negotiate an exchange of prisoners for the hostages, the Black September members finally realized that their demands were not going to be met. They then asked for transport to an airport and two planes to take them to Cairo, Egypt.
German officials decided that they could not let the terrorists leave the country with the hostages and so they prepared for a rescue attempt at the airport. Unfortunately, the rescue attempt failed and all nine of the Israeli hostages were killed during the shoot-out. Five of the Black September members were killed and the other three were taken into custody.
See full article: The Munich Olympics Massacre
International Terrorism: The Entebbe Raid
Conflict:
The Entebbe Raid was part of the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict.
Date:
The Israeli Sayeret Matkal commandos landed at Entebbe on July 4, 1976.
Commanders & Armies:
Israelis
- Colonel Yonatan Netanyahu
- 29 commandos
Terrorists
- Wadie Haddad
- Wilfried Böse
- Idi Amin
- 7 terrorists, unknown number of Ugandan Army
Battle Summary:
On June 27, Air France Flight 139 departed Tel Aviv for Paris with a stop in Athens. Shortly after taking off from Greece, the plane was hijacked by two members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and two Germans from the Revolutionary Cells.
The terrorists directed the plane to land and refuel at Benghazi, Libya before continuing on to pro-Palestinian Uganda. Landing at Entebbe, the terrorists were reinforced by three more extremists and were welcomed by dictator Idi Amin.
After moving the passengers into the airport terminal, the terrorists released the majority of the hostages, keeping only the Israelis and Jews. The Air France air crew elected to remain behind with the captives. From Entebbe, the terrorists demanded the release of 40 Palestinians held in Israel as well as 13 others held around the world. If their demands were not met by July 1, they threatened to begin killing the hostages. On July 1, the Israeli government opened negotiations in order to gain more time. The following day a rescue mission was approved with Colonel Yoni Netanyahu in command.
On the night of July 3/4, four Israeli C-130 transports approached Entebbe under the cover of darkness. Landing, 29 Israeli commandos unloaded a Mercedes and two Land Rovers hoping to convince the terrorists that they were Amin or another high ranking Ugandan official.
After being discovered by Ugandan sentinels near the terminal, the Israelis stormed the building, freeing the hostages and killing the hijackers. As they withdrew with the hostages, the Israelis destroyed 11 Ugandan MiG-17 fighters to prevent pursuit. Taking off, the Israelis flew to Kenya where the freed hostages were transferred to other aircraft.
In all, the Entebbe Raid freed 100 hostages. In the fighting, three hostages were killed, as well as 45 Ugandan soldiers and six terrorists. The only Israeli commando killed was Col. Netanyahu, who was hit by a Ugandan sniper. He was the older brother of future Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
History of the Olympics
1972 - Munich, West Germany
The 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, West Germany
The 1972 Olympic Games will probably be best remembered for the murder of eleven Israeli Olympians. On September 5, a day before the Games were to begin, eight Palestinian terrorists entered the Olympic Village and seized eleven members of the Israeli Olympic team. Two of the hostages were able to wound two of their captors before they were killed. The terrorists requested the release of 234 Palestinians that were being held in Israel.
During a failed attempt at rescue, all of the remaining hostages and five of the terrorists were killed, three terrorists were wounded.
The IOC decided that the Games should go on. The following day there was a memorial service for the victims and the Olympic flags were flown at half staff. The opening of the Olympics was postponed one day. The decision of the IOC to continue the Games after such a horrific event was controversial.
More controversies were to affect these Games. During the Olympic Games a dispute arose during the basketball game between the Soviet Union and the United States. With one second left on the clock, and the score in favor of the Americans at 50-49, the horn sounded. The Soviet coach had called a time-out. The clock was reset to three seconds and played out. The Soviets still hadn't scored and for some reason, the clock was again set back to three seconds. This time, Soviet player Alexander Belov made a basket and the game ended at 50-51 in the Soviet's favor. Though the timekeeper and one of the referees stated that the additional three seconds was completely illegal, the Soviets were allowed to keep the gold.
In an amazing feat, Mark Spitz (United States) dominated the swimming events and won seven gold medals.
More than 7,000 athletes participated, representing 122 countries.
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