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The 1972 Summer Olympics (German: Olympische Sommerspiele 1972), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972. The sporting nature of the event was largely overshadowed by the Munich massacre in which eleven Israeli athletes and coaches and a West German police officer were killed. Five Black September Palestinian terrorists died.
The 1972 Summer Olympics were the second Summer Olympics to be held in Germany, after the 1936 Games in Berlin, which had taken place under the Nazi regime. Mindful of the connection, the West German Government was eager to take the opportunity of the Munich Olympics to present a new, democratic and optimistic Germany to the world, as shown by the Games' official motto, "Die Heiteren Spiele",[1] or "the cheerful Games".[2] The logo of the Games was a blue solar logo (the "Bright Sun") by Otl Aicher, the designer and director of the visual conception commission.[3] The Olympic mascot, the dachshund "Waldi", was the first officially named Olympic mascot. The Olympic Fanfare[4] was composed by Herbert Rehbein, a companion of Bert Kaempfert.
The Olympic Park (Olympiapark) is based on Frei Otto's plans and after the Games became a Munich landmark. The competition sites, designed by architect Günther Behnisch, included the Olympic swimming hall, the Olympics Hall (Olympiahalle, a multipurpose facility) and the Olympic Stadium (Olympiastadion), and an Olympic village very close to the park. The design of the stadium was considered revolutionary, with sweeping canopies of acrylic glass stabilized by metal ropes, used on such a large scale for the first time.[5]
Munich won its Olympic bid on April 26, 1966, at the 64th IOC Session at Rome, Italy, over bids presented by Detroit, Madrid, and Montréal. Montreal would eventually host the following Olympic games in 1976.[7]
The Games were largely overshadowed by what has come to be known as the "Munich massacre". On September 5, a group of eight members of the Olympic Village and took nine Israeli athletes, coaches and officials hostage in their apartments. Two of the hostages who resisted were killed in the first moments of the break-in; the subsequent standoff in the Olympic Village lasted for almost 18 hours.
Late in the evening of September 5, the terrorists and their hostages were transferred by helicopter to the military airport of Fürstenfeldbruck, ostensibly to board a plane bound for an undetermined Arab country. The German authorities planned to ambush them there, but underestimated the numbers of their opposition and were thus undermanned. During a botched rescue attempt, all of the Israeli hostages were killed. Four of them were shot, then incinerated when one of the terrorists detonated a grenade inside the helicopter in which the hostages were sitting. The five remaining hostages were then machine-gunned to death.
All but three of the terrorists were killed as well. Although arrested and imprisoned pending trial, they were released by the West German government on October 29, 1972, in exchange for a hijacked Lufthansa jet. Two of those three were supposedly hunted down and assassinated later by the Mossad.[8] Jamal Al-Gashey, who is believed to be the sole survivor, is still living today in hiding in an unspecified African country with his wife and two children. The Olympic events were suspended several hours after the initial attack, but once the incident was concluded, Avery Brundage, the International Olympic Committee president, declared that "the Games must go on". A memorial ceremony was then held in the Olympic stadium, and the competitions resumed after a stoppage of 24 hours. The attack prompted heightened security at subsequent Olympics beginning with the 1976 Winter Olympics. Security at Olympics was heightened further beginning with the 2002 Winter Olympics, as they were the first to take place since September 11, 2001.
The massacre led the German federal government to re-examine its anti-terrorism policies, which at the time were dominated by a pacifist approach adopted after World War II. This led to the creation of the elite counter-terrorist unit GSG 9, similar to the British SAS. It also led Israel to launch an aggressive campaign known as Operation Wrath of God, in which those suspected of involvement were systematically tracked down and assassinated.
The events of the Munich massacre were chronicled in the Oscar-winning documentary, Categories Articles needing additional references from March 2014 All articles needing additional references Commons category without a link on Wikidata 1972 Summer Olympics Sport in Munich International sports competitions hosted by West Germany Olympic Games in Germany 20th century in Bavaria Multi-sport events in West Germany 1972 in multi-sport events 1972 in West German sport Summer Olympic Games 20th century in Munich Venues of the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympiapark Boxhalle Hockeyanlage Olympiahalle Olympiastadion Olympisches Dorf Radstadion Schwimmhalle Volleyballhalle Greater Munich Basketballhalle Bogenschießlage Dantebad Dressage Facility Nymphenburg Grünwald Messegelände, Fechthalle 1 Messegelände Fechthalle 2 Messegelände, Gewichtheberhalle Messegelände, Judo- und Ringerhalle Regattastrecke Oberschleißheim Riding Facility, Riem Schießanlage Football venues Drei Flüsse Stadion (Passau) ESV-Stadion (Ingolstadt) Jahnstadion (Regensburg) Rosenaustadion (Augsburg) Urban Stadium (Nuremberg) Handball venues Böblingen Sportshalle Donauhalle Ulm Hohenstaufenhalle Göppingen Sporthalle Augsburg Other venues Bay of Kiel Bundesautobahn 96 Eiskanal (Augsburg) Events at the 1972 Summer Olympics (Munich) Archery Athletics Basketball Badminton (demonstration) Boxing Canoeing Cycling Diving Equestrian Fencing Field hockey Football Gymnastics Handball Judo Modern pentathlon Rowing Sailing Shooting Swimming Volleyball Water polo Water skiing (demonstration) Weightlifting Wrestling Olympic Games Bids Ceremonies Charter Colonialism Diploma Participating nations Summer Olympics Winter Olympics Host cities IOC NOCs Country codes Medal Medal tables Medalists Scandals Special medals Sports Symbols Torch relays Venues Women WWI deaths Summer Games 1896 Athens 1900 Paris 1904 St. Louis 1908 London 1912 Stockholm 1916 (n/h) 1920 Antwerp 1924 Paris 1928 Amsterdam 1932 Los Angeles 1936 Berlin 1940 (n/h) 1944 (n/h) 1948 London 1952 Helsinki 1956 Melbourne 1960 Rome 1964 Tokyo 1968 Mexico City 1972 Munich 1976 Montreal 1980 Moscow 1984 Los Angeles 1988 Seoul 1992 Barcelona 1996 Atlanta 2000 Sydney 2004 Athens 2008 Beijing 2012 London 2016 Rio de Janeiro 2020 Tokyo 2024 2028 Winter Games 1924 Chamonix 1928 St. Moritz 1932 Lake Placid 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1940 (n/h) 1944 (n/h) 1948 St. Moritz 1952 Oslo 1956 Cortina 1960 Squaw Valley 1964 Innsbruck 1968 Grenoble 1972 Sapporo 1976 Innsbruck 1980 Lake Placid 1984 Sarajevo 1988 Calgary 1992 Albertville 1994 Lillehammer 1998 Nagano 2002 Salt Lake City 2006 Turin 2010 Vancouver 2014 Sochi 2018 Pyeongchang 2022 Beijing 2026 Ancient Olympic Games Intercalated Games 1906 Paralympic Games Youth Olympic Games Preceded by Mexico City Summer Olympic Games Munich XX Olympiad (1972) Succeeded by Montreal The main theme of the 1972 Summer Olympics by Gunther Noris and the Big Band of Bundeswehr "Munich Fanfare March-Swinging Olympia Video on YouTube External links Schiller, Kay, and Christopher Young. The 1972 Munich Olympics and the Making of Modern Germany (University of California Press; 2010) 348 pages Preuss, Holger. The Economics of Staging the Olympics: A Comparison of the Games, 1972–2008 (2006) Oxlade, Chris, et al. Olympics. Rev. ed. London: DK, 2005. Print. References and bibliography ^ ^ ^ ^ Herbert Rehbein: Olympic Fanfare Munich 1972 (TV Intro) ^ ^ ^ IOC Vote History ^ Countering Terrorism: The Israeli Response To The 1972 Munich Olympic Massacre And The Development Of Independence Covert Action Teams, M.A. thesis by Alexander B. Calahan at Marine Corps Command and Staff College, 1995. ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ Munich 1972 Opening Ceremony on YouTube ^ "1972: Rhodesia out of Olympics", BBC ^ "Rhodesia expelled", Montreal Gazette, August 23, 1972 Notes Summer Olympic Games Olympic Games International Olympic Committee List of IOC country codes 1972 Summer Olympics – Munich, Bavaria, West Germany — Munich massacre 1972 Summer Olympics medal table The Rt. Hon. The 3rd Baron Killanin 1972 Summer Paralympics 1972 Winter Olympics Olympic Games celebrated in Germany 1936 Summer Olympics – Berlin 1972 Summer Olympics – Munich See also Participating National Olympic Committees Afghanistan (8) Albania (5) Algeria (5) Argentina (92) Australia (168) Austria (111) Bahamas (20) Barbados (13) Belgium (88) Bermuda (9) Bolivia (11) Brazil (81) British Honduras (1) Bulgaria (130) Burma (18) Cameroon (11) Canada (208) Ceylon (4) Chad (4) Chile (11) Republic of China (21) Colombia (59) Congo (6) Costa Rica (3) Cuba (137) Czechoslovakia (181) Dahomey (3) Denmark (126) Dominican Republic (5) Ecuador (2) Egypt (23) El Salvador (11) Ethiopia (31) Fiji (2) Finland (96) France (227) Gabon (1) East Germany (297) West Germany (423) (host) Ghana (35) Great Britain (284) Greece (60) Guatemala (8) Guyana (3) Haiti (7) Hong Kong (10) Hungary (232) Iceland (25) India (41) Indonesia (6) Iran (48) Ireland (59) Israel (14) Italy (224) Ivory Coast (11) Jamaica (33) Japan (184) Kenya (57) Khmer Republic (9) Kuwait (4) Lebanon (19) Lesotho (1) Liberia (5) Liechtenstein (6) Luxembourg (11) Madagascar (11) Malawi (16) Malaysia (45) Mali (3) Malta (5) Mexico (174) Monaco (5) Mongolia (39) Morocco (35) Nepal (2) Netherlands (119) Netherlands Antilles (2) New Zealand (89) Nicaragua (8) Niger (4) Nigeria (25) North Korea (37) Norway (112) Pakistan (25) Panama (7) Paraguay (3) Peru (20) Philippines (53) Poland (290) Portugal (29) Puerto Rico (53) Romania (159) San Marino (7) Saudi Arabia (10) Senegal (38) Singapore (7) Somalia (3) South Korea (42) Soviet Union (371) Spain (123) Sudan (26) Suriname (2) Swaziland (2) Sweden (131) Switzerland (151) Syria (5) Tanzania (15) Thailand (33) Togo (7) Trinidad and Tobago (19) Tunisia (35) Turkey (43) Uganda (33) United States (400) Upper Volta (1) Uruguay (13) Venezuela (23) Vietnam (2) Virgin Islands (16) Yugoslavia (126) Zambia (11)
Rhodesia's invitation to take part in the 1972 Summer Games was withdrawn by the International Olympic Committee four days before the opening ceremony, in response to African countries' protests against the Rhodesian government. (Rhodesia did, however, compete in the 1972 Summer Paralympics, held a little earlier in Heidelberg.)[15][16]
The Parade of Nations was organised according to the German alphabet, with the first country following Greece being Egypt, whilst East Germany was referred to as "DDR".[14]
Eleven nations made their first Olympic appearance in Munich: Albania, Dahomey (now Benin), Gabon, North Korea, Lesotho, Malawi, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Swaziland, Togo, Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso).
* Host nation (West Germany)
These are the top ten nations that won medals at the 1972 Games.
West Germany won gold medal 13, silver medal 11, bronze medal 16, then West Germany won Euro 1972 in Belgium.
[12]
London, Germany, Berlin, Austria, United Kingdom
London, Germany, Paris, United Kingdom, Amsterdam
Olympic Games, World War II, Asian Games, Lausanne, Olympic symbols
Berlin, Adolf Hitler, International Olympic Committee, Netherlands, World War II
Germany, Berlin, Soviet Union, London, United Kingdom
1968 Summer Olympics, 2012 Summer Olympics, 2008 Summer Olympics, 1984 Summer Olympics, 1996 Summer Olympics
United Kingdom, 2008 Summer Olympics, China, Mexico, Germany
Spain, United Kingdom, 1992 Summer Olympics, United States, Canada
1972 Summer Olympics, Gymnastics at the 1972 Summer Olympics, 1970 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, 1974 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, 1976 Summer Olympics