Munich massacre
1972 Olympic tragedy
The Munich massacre was the terrorist attack at the 1972 Summer Olympics in which Palestinian militants from Black September took Israeli athletes hostage, ultimately killing eleven team members along with a German police officer.
The botched rescue attempt and its aftermath transformed international counterterrorism policy and Olympic security.
The Munich massacre ended the era of unguarded sporting events.
- Middle East conflictLongstanding geopolitical disputes in western Asia
- Summer OlympicsWorldwide athletic competition, warm season
- memorialsTributes to the departed
- political violenceForce for political ends
- helicoptersRotorcraft that hover
Golda Meir · Olympic history · hostage crisis · eleven · survivors · Steven Spielberg · Mossad · intelligence agencies · hostage-taking · airport tarmac · West Germany · Cold War era · security protocols · Olympic athletes · international terrorism · media coverage · Olympic venues · vengeance
Munich massacrenatural disaster
Catastrophic environmental event
earthquake · tsunami · hurricane · volcanic eruption · industrial accident