Munich Olympics of 1972
"Violent clashes of political and religious ideologies are a disturbing reality of our world." So states Joe Garner in his book We Interrupt This Broadcast. However, there is an island of peace amidst this ocean of political and religious conflict every four years. This island, the summer Olympics, provides a shelter away from the turmoil of the outside world. The 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany, started this way, with peace amongst the world community. The previous games in Germany in the 1930's were used by Adolph Hitler as a propaganda tool to show off his "master" race. The Germans wanted to make up for what had happened. They even refused to let security guards to carry firearms, in fear of evoking memories of the Nazi army. The games went smoothly for the first days, but, with only six days left in the games, they soon turned gloomy and dismal. On September 5, eight Arab commandoes from the terrorist group Black September snuck into the Olympic Village, broke into the Israeli team's apartment building, killed two Israelis, and took nine as hostages. The terrorists wanted to trade the Olympic athletes for the release of Palestinians in Israeli prisons. Negotiations commenced and the deadline was extended six times. Two alter
Politically, countries throughout the world, learned from the Munich incident. There was an immense argument over whether the Olympics would continue after this great tragedy occurred. nate offers were supplied to the terrorists: they get paid a large ransom and are safely removed from Germany, or to have the athletes trade spaces with West German officials. More than 800 people attended his funeral in mourning (Marcovitz 83). These terrorist attacks at the Olympics in Munich affected the international community emotionally, socially, and politically. Along with the strong offensive, Operation Wrath of God, mounted by the Israeli government, many international leaders kept their eyes on the terrorists for years to come. The counter terrorism strike was called Operation Wrath of God. " Some athletes even decided to leave the Olympics - whether it be for fear of their lives, or for disagreeing with the decision. I saw the rest of the families getting coffins and I felt guilty for being alive. It is stated that Operation Wrath of God was: "an extraordinary campaign characterized by planning, false identities, exotic weaponry, and guile" (Reeve 167). Hence, the Munich Olympics of 1972 affected the international community socially. 80,000 people attended the funeral for the 11 dead, and while the games did continue, the atmosphere was particularly uneasy (Infoplease.
Common topics in this essay:
Wrath God,
Munich Olympics,
Jim McCay,
Cairo German,
Avery Brundage,
Black September,
Adolph Hitler,
Olympics Munich,
Georgia Munich,
Henry Herskowitz,
operation wrath,
wrath god,
operation wrath god,
black september,
munich olympics,
international community,
affected international,
affected international community,
israeli athletes,
german officials,
black september terrorists,
david berger,
september terrorists,
missions operation wrath,
eleven israeli athletes,
|
Acceptance Essays
