From September 5th to 7th, the Leibniz Institute for Contemporary History in Munich will host the first working conference of the commission tasked with examining the attack on the Israeli Olympic team. In addition to discussing the most important research questions, the event will feature a workshop including representatives of state archives and authorities, who are to prepare the documents of relevance to the research. 

Juliane Seifert, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community, stated: “I am very pleased that after all these years, we can finally undertake a comprehensive scholarly examination of the attack. By assembling an international commission of historians, we’ve brought together distinguished experts who, together with the Institute for Contemporary History and its excellent research infrastructure, will investigate the events of September 5, 1972, along with their preceding and subsequent histories, over the next three years. As the Federal Ministry of the Interior, we assure our greatest possible support in this endeavor and in providing access to government documents.” 

The project is planned to span three years, during which the immediate lead-up to the attack, the incident itself, the actions of security agencies and political authorities, the consequences for West Germany’s Middle East policy, and the aftermath will all be thoroughly examined with regard to domestic politics and culture of remembrance. Commission member Prof. Christopher Young of the University of Cambridge noted: “There are still many unresolved questions on concerns such as the intelligence exchanges prior to the attack, the background and networks of the assailants, and possible support from German left- and right-wing extremists. We also need to explore why the Israeli government’s offers to send an elite unit to free the hostages were rejected, what transpired during the hijacking of a Lufthansa plane to secure the release of the attackers, and lastly how the events in Munich in 1972 impacted subsequent relations between the Federal Republic of Germany, Israel, and Arab states.” 

The research project will place particular emphasis on the perspective of the bereaved families. Prof. Dr. Andreas Wirsching, Director of the Leibniz Institute for Contemporary History, explained: “The way German authorities treated the victims’ families led to significant discord. It is our hope that this research project will mark a turning point: In addition to studying the archival sources, we aim to systematically bring the lived experiences of the bereaved to light.” 

Commission member Prof. Dr. Shlomo Shpiro from Bar-Ilan University in Tel Aviv plans to include Israeli sources and archives in the research and expects significant insights into the events. “There are high expectations for the commission’s work, especially in Israel. The Munich attack is deeply ingrained in the memory of many people in Israel. The work of the commission is of immense importance – not only as a means of evaluating history but also in order to better understand, counter, and prevent the terrorist threats of today and tomorrow.” 

The place the Munich attack holds in national cultures of remembrance will also be the focus of a public event at the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities on September 6th at 7:00pm. With the title “Munich 1972: A Divided Remembrance?”, representatives of the commission of historians and other experts will discuss the different ways Germany and Israel have dealt with the memory of the attack on the Olympics. To ensure that the Israeli public, and the families of the victims in particular, can also participate in this event, the panel discussion will be streamed live at www.badw.de with simultaneous translation into Hebrew. 

By means of context: On September 5, 1972, eight members of the Palestinian terrorist organization Black September attacked the Israeli men’s team during the Summer Olympics in Munich. Eleven members of the Israeli Olympic team, one police officer, and five of the hostage-takers were killed during the attack and a failed rescue attempt by the Bavarian police. 

In April 2023, the German government launched an international research project: A commission of eight internationally renowned historians was tasked by the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community, in collaboration with the Leibniz Institute for Contemporary History, with the comprehensive scholarly examination of the attack, along with its background and aftermath. The establishment of the commission fulfills the final component of a comprehensive plan agreed upon with the victims’ families to mark the 50th anniversary of the attack.