The Munich Massacre

The Backroom

During the second week of the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, 11 Israeli coaches and athletes were taken hostage at 4:30 am on September 5, 1972. The perpetrators, Black September, were a Palestinian militant group who were motivated by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. After taking the Israeli team hostage, Black September demanded that 234 Palestinian prisoners be released from Israeli jails. During the subsequent break in, two members of the Israeli team were shot and killed. During the stand off, West German authorities tried to persuade the attackers. The also tried, and failed, to rescue the hostages. At 10pm, an agreement was made for the perpetrators and hostages to be helicoptered to a nearby airport and sent to Egypt, where the hostages could be held prisoner. This was all a ruse. When the helicopters arrived at the airport, all hell broke lose. Because there was no planning and tactics, the rescue was unsuccessful as there was no communication and the snipers were not actually sniper marksmen. A gunfight was well underway when the lead perpetrator turned and started shooting hostages dead. He then pulled a pin on a grenade and blew the helicopter up, leaving the hostages burnt beyond recognition. In total 17 were killed (11 hostages, 5 Black September members, and 1 police officer). West German police are to blame as they ignored prior warnings from others.