In the first week of the sports meeting, the athletes' achievements were impressive, and people were immersed in the peace and joy of the Olympic Games. However, behind this peaceful competition, there is a huge hidden worry: the relevant decision-making officials reduced the expenditure on security personnel and safety facilities to meet the huge investment demand for purchasing advanced sports equipment. For the officials of West Germany who worked hard to host this Olympic Games, they hope that this Olympic Games will convince the world that West Germany has restored its image as a civilized country, and people should erase the shadow left by World War II in Hitler's era and the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. West German border guards and important traffic stations generally relaxed the inspection of people entering and leaving, which gave terrorists an opportunity.
Black September launched a terrorist act.
On September 4th 1972, Israel did not play. Most athletes rest in the Olympic Village and go out to watch movies at night. After watching the movie, Israeli athletes returned to the Olympic Village one after another. At about 4 am on the 5th, they were still sleeping. Eight vague figures suddenly appeared outside the Olympic village. Carrying heavy sports bags, they quietly walked to a fence next to the gate of 25A.
These eight people are members of a terrorist organization called Black September. Armed with submachine guns and grenades, they crossed the fence and headed for the established target-Building 3 1 in the Olympic Village where Israeli athletes lived. They chose to go in from here because they had seen it before and knew that some athletes were drunk outside and often climbed this 2-meter-high fence when they came back, and the security guards would never stop them. Eight terrorists put on sportswear to disguise themselves. By today's standards, the security of the Munich Olympic Games is really a joke: the entire Olympic Village is only blocked by a thin layer of barbed wire. The athletes came back late and were willing to cross the barbed wire and take a shortcut home. In addition, there are no cameras, detectors and roadblocks in the Olympic Village. There are several security guards at the door, but they are unarmed! These terrorists also made careful preparations in advance: one terrorist once worked as a construction worker in the construction of the Olympic Village and knew the Olympic Village like the back of his hand. Another terrorist sneaked into the Olympic village the day before the incident and made a detailed reconnaissance of the floor where Israeli athletes lived.
They took a good position outside the apartment suite 1 where several Israelis lived, and then opened the door with a key prepared in advance. Their action was discovered by an Israeli athlete in the room. Later, terrorists fought with Israeli athletes. Twenty-five minutes later, two Israeli athletes were killed and nine others were taken hostage.
In the struggle between the two sides, the security department of the Olympic Village received some calls from passers-by, but they didn't pay enough attention. The struggle was intermittent, and after several shots and heartbreaking cries, everything was calm again. People who just woke up from sleep can't tell what happened, because in the Olympic Village, there are various celebrations almost every night, and people often set off firecrackers and fireworks for fun.
At about 4: 55, an unarmed West German policeman came to inspect the situation. He turned on his walkie-talkie and muttered to a hooded terrorist standing in front of No.31Connery Street: "What's going on?" The man slipped away from the apartment door without saying a word.
The hostage rescue operation failed.
At 5 am, Manfred Schreiber, the police chief of Munich, was awakened by the alarm in his sleep, so he hurriedly organized manpower to deal with the crisis.
05: 10, West German authorities began to rescue hostages. During the confrontation between the two sides, "Black September" issued an ultimatum, demanding the release of 234 prisoners held in Israel and two prisoners in West German prisons; The deadline is 9: 00 a.m. on the 5 th, and the killing begins after the deadline. But then, the "Black September" elements repeatedly revised the deadline.
At 9: 00, killanin, President of the International Olympic Committee, and Domer, President of the Organizing Committee of this Olympic Games, issued a joint announcement announcing that all competitions will be suspended from the afternoon of September 5th.
The West German government responded to the "ultimatum", saying that it could agree to their demands, but the specific details need further consultation. West German police want to buy time and prepare to rush into Building 3 1 to rescue the hostages.
In the afternoon 18: 35, the two sides had the first direct contact. West German Interior Minister, Munich Police Chief and the head of the Olympic Village entered Building 3 1 and witnessed the determination of the hijackers to put all their eggs in one basket, so they decided to change the original plan of rushing into the building to rescue the hostages.
The police then agreed to the gangsters' request and transferred them and the hostages to Egypt by plane, and decided to carry out rescue operations at Munich airport.
From 20: 30 to 2 1 hour, the West German side dispatched three helicopters.
When the "Black September" elements walked across the asphalt tarmac, the commander in charge of the operation ordered the fire. Two snipers fired two shots and two gangsters who were watching the helicopter pilot fell to the ground. The airport was a mess in an instant. Then the two sides launched a fierce battle.
The gun battle lasted for more than an hour before it ended. When the police counted the bodies, five gangsters were killed, one policeman from West Germany/KLOC-0 died and several policemen were injured. All nine Israeli hostages were killed by terrorists.
On September 6th, the Olympic Stadium was solemn. When the second movement of Beethoven's heroic symphony was played, many athletes couldn't help crying.
In memory of 1 1 victims, 1 1 seats are vacant. The surviving Israelis could hardly control themselves at the memorial service.
On September 7th, the Olympic Games resumed.
After the failure of the rescue operation, world public opinion was in an uproar, accusing the West German police of incompetence and criticizing the West German government for "taking hostage lives as a child's play". This terrorist incident brought great shame to West Germany, and also made the West German government feel a sense of crisis about the increasing international terrorist activities.
Since then, the safety of the event has been promoted to an unprecedented height.
Although five terrorists were also killed in the terrorist attack, no one would doubt that Munich incident was a "success" for terrorists and would induce other terrorist organizations to target the Olympic Games.
On the other hand, the bloody scene of the Munich Olympic Games has also awakened the organizers' safety awareness and made them see that combating terrorism is also an important part of hosting the Olympic Games. In the subsequent Olympic Games and other major events, organizers increased their investment in safety measures.