It only took 45 years, but Germany has finally recognized the 11 Israeli athletes and coaches murdered at the 1972 Munich Olympics, along with a West German policeman. So much for German efficiency. In contrast, it took less than a day for the PLO-offshoot Black September to permanently shatter the illusion of Olympic brotherhood.
Nearly everything about the Olympic terrorist attacks are worse than you assumed. The Federal Republic of Germany’s response was stunningly incompetent and there is ample evidence to suggest that a government cover-up of the worst details remains ongoing. What is undeniable is 11 Israelis were assassinated by Black September for the crimes of being Jewish and Israeli (some were also Holocaust survivors).
Crisman concisely but comprehensibly recaps the crimes with the help of fellow team-mates, surviving family members, and journalists covering the Munich Games. Ironically, some of the most telling commentary comes from so-called Palestinian “journalists,” who accurately gloat the murders put their cause on the world’s front-burner.
However, when pressed regarding the torture endured by the athletes, including a castration allowed to fatally bleed out, they protest ignorance or respond with the sound of crickets chirping.
Indeed, this is a case where the world (especially Europe) rewarded cowardly carnage. Time and again, survivors describe the dissembling responses they received from Germany and the IOC when they requested a proper memorial for their loved ones. We hear at length from Ankie Spitzer, Ilana Romano, and Michal Shahar, who suffered such terrible losses and then endured decades of insults in the form of silence from the craven IOC.
The Munich memorial looks classy and altogether fitting, which is something. However, until the IOC finally acknowledges the 12 victims during the official Olympic ceremonies, they continue to provide passive encouragement for further acts of utter butchery.
It is amazing how much Crisman packs into 29 minutes. The film is part history lesson, part exposé, and partly a tutorial in how to affirm life in the face of death.
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