19725–6 September 1972 · Munich

Munich Olympics massacre

Connollystraße 31 in Munich's Olympic Village, where the Israeli team was taken hostage in 1972 — Photo: High Contrast. CC BY 3.0 de, via Wikimedia Commons

Palestinian gunmen of the Black September group broke into the Israeli team's quarters in the Olympic Village and took athletes and coaches hostage. A failed German rescue attempt at Fürstenfeldbruck airbase ended with all eleven Israelis and a West German policeman dead. The Games resumed after a memorial service, and West Germany set up its GSG 9 counter-terrorism unit.

Sites

Site 1: Connollystraße 31, Olympic VillageThe Israeli team's building, with a memorial plaque at the door.Map ↗
Site 2: Olympic Massacre Memorial, OlympiaparkA cut in the hillside with the stories of the twelve victims.Map ↗
Site 3: Memorial at Fürstenfeldbruck airbaseMemorial outside the airfield where the rescue attempt failed.Map ↗

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