Violence Flashcards
What was the Munich Massacre?
On September 5th to Sep 6th, 1972, eight members of the group Black September — an affiliate of the Palestine Liberation Organization- hopped the fence at Munich’s Olympic Village, carrying with them Kalashnikov rifles and grenades in duffel bags. Their mission was to hold Israeli athletes hostage and demand the release of 236 prisoners: 234 in Israel and the two leaders of the West German Baader-Meinhof terrorist group.
Their mission failed. About 20 hours after it began, five of the hostage-takers would be dead, along with 11 members of Israel’s Olympic team and a West German policeman.
But the Munich massacre of Sept. 5 to 6, 1972, would have lasting repercussions on an international scale, waking up Western governments to the threat of terrorism, showing the power of live broadcast and setting the stage for future violence.
