Young people probably have no idea about that happened back then. But those of us who are older certainly remember. It was stunningly shocking at the time, and even worse because it occurred in Germany at what was supposed to be a peaceful and happy venue, the Olympics. As events unfolded, the almost unbelievable extent of Germany’s mishandling and incompetence and even perhaps malevolence was eventually revealed, but I think most people are still unaware of its extent.

This video (it can’t be embedded here, but it’s easy to watch if you click on the link) is a talk given by Simon Reeve, who is the author of a book entitled One Day in September. The entire video is fascinating, but the first half hour or so is an especially good summary of the entire Munich event. The details are harrowing and the description of Germany’s role infuriating.

Or, if you’re unfamiliar with the events, a simple way to learn the main facts is to watch the powerful award-winning documentary “One Day in September.” Those of you who were around in 1972 can relive the horror, including some details you’ve probably forgotten; those who were not around back then can familiarize themselves with a day that put Palestinian terrorism on the Olympic map and the world map.

Despite initial outrage, much of the world seemed to sympathize with the terrorists more than with the victims:

…Munich was one of the most successful attacks in terrorist history. As Bruce Hoffman, a leading authority on terrorism points out, “The premier example of terrorism’s power to rocket a cause from obscurity to renown…was without doubt the murder of eleven Israeli athletes seized by Palestinian terrorists at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games…

Most of the world had forgotten the Palestinians existed before the attack at Munich. Within two years of the massacre…Yassar Arafat was being feted by world leaders and invited to address the General Assembly of the United Nations…

It’s also difficult and immensely frustrating to watch the film and relive the incident step by step as an observer; the impulse is to reach out and change history. The film also (in my opinion) is too graphic in some of its photos of the victims, so be forewarned on that score.

One particularly outrageous element of Germany’s role in the incident involves the hijacking of Lufthansa Flight 651. If you haven’t heard that aspect of the attack’s aftermath, here’s a summary:

The hijacking of Lufthansa Flight 615 was an act of Palestinian terrorism that occurred on 29 October 1972 and aimed at the liberation of the three surviving perpetrators of the Munich massacre from a West German prison.

When the Lufthansa airplane was seized by sympathisers of the Black September Organization during the Beirut-Ankara part of a multi-stopover flight from Damascus to Frankfurt, the West German authorities complied with the demand of having the prisoners released. They were handed over at Zagreb Airport, and the hijacked aircraft was flown to Tripoli, where all hostages were released. The liberated Munich attackers were granted asylum by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

For its actions, the West German government was criticised by Israel and other parties. Allegations were made that the hijacking had been staged or at least tolerated with theories of a secret agreement between the German government and Black September – release of the surviving terrorists in exchange for assurances of no further attacks on Germany.

See this for more information on why it is suspected that the hijacking was accomplished with the co-operation of the German government.

Another point that’s often made – and that Reeve mentions as well – is the idea that the Israeli response of killing Palestinian terrorists was motivated by revenge. I believe that is a common misunderstanding:

In a February 2006 interview,[84] Zamir answered direct questions:

Was there no element of vengeance in the decision to take action against the terrorists?

No. We were not engaged in vengeance. We are accused of having been guided by a desire for vengeance. That is nonsense. What we did was to concretely prevent in the future. We acted against those who thought that they would continue to perpetrate acts of terror. I am not saying that those who were involved in Munich were not marked for death. They definitely deserved to die. But we were not dealing with the past; we concentrated on the future.

Did you not receive a directive from Golda Meir along the lines of “take revenge on those responsible for Munich?”

Golda Meir abhorred the necessity that was imposed on us to carry out the operations. Golda never told me to ‘take revenge on those who were responsible for Munich.’ No one told me that.

In a way it feels like less than fifty years have passed, but in a way it feeks like more. The world seemed a lot more innocent back then – at least to me – and the Munich Olympics massacre was one of the events that disabused us of that notion.