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In Munich, a Tribute to Israeli Athletes and Families' Persistence

(New York Times) Andrew Keh - The Munich 1972 Massacre Memorial, carved into a grassy hillside, is set to open on Sept. 6, commemorating that year's Olympic Games, when 11 members of the Israeli team and one German police officer were killed by members of the Palestinian group Black September. Ankie Spitzer, whose husband, Andre, a fencing coach, was among those killed at the Munich Games, said, "It took 45 years, but like I tell my kids, if you have a dream, pursue it, if you feel that it is just." Spitzer and the other families had urged the Bavarian government for years to erect a memorial and museum at the Olympic Park, where the Israeli team members were initially taken hostage. Two team members were killed there, and the rest, as well as the German policeman, died during a chaotic rescue attempt at a nearby air base. "It is late," said Ludwig Spaenle, the Bavarian minister of culture, whose office led the project. "But it is not too late." The exhibition area includes a 36-foot LED screen that will play a 27-minute loop of news footage broadcast during the crisis. In the center of the memorial, a triangular column will display biographical profiles of each victim in German and English, with photographs.
2017-09-01 00:00:00
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