Today marks the
50th anniversary of the massacre of the 1972 Munich Olympics
.
It was September 5, 1972 when the Palestinian terrorist group 'Black September' attacked the accommodation of Israeli athletes, immediately killing two and taking nine others hostage.
A subsequent release attempt by the German police proved disastrous, resulting in the death of all Israeli sportsmen, as well as that of a German policeman.
Of the eight members of the Palestinian commandos, five were killed.
Until now, Germany had compensated the relatives of the Israeli victims with 4.6 million euros.
However, the recent offer of an additional 5.4 million had been flatly rejected by the family, who had also announced that they did not want to participate in the commemoration for the anniversary of the massacre as a sign of protest.
Thanks to a new agreement, the relatives of the victims will instead be present at the celebrations on 5 September near Munich.
There will also be German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Israeli president Isaac Herzog.
The two heads of state of Germany and Israel issued a joint statement stating that "the agreement cannot heal all wounds but opens doors. With this agreement, the German state recognizes its responsibility and recognizes the terrible suffering of murdered, whom we want to commemorate next week, and their relatives. "
According to the German agency Dpa, the figure of 28 million euros - which has not been officially confirmed - will be paid largely by the German federal state (22.5 million), but also by the Land of Bavaria (5 million). and from the city of Monaco (half a million).
But it's not just about money.
The spokesman for the German government, Steffen Hebestreit, underlined that the agreement "includes the re-evaluation of the events by a commission of German and Israeli historians, the disclosure of documents in accordance with the law, the assumption of political responsibility. as part of the commemoration ceremony and further acknowledgments and actions by the federal government, the Land of Bavaria and the city of Munich ".
The legal representative of the victims' relatives in Germany, former German minister Gerhart Baum, also stressed how important it is for the families of the murdered Israelis that the agreement also contains the possibility of new and in-depth assessments on the massacre.
The 1972 Munich Olympics should have marked a moment of international recognition for West Germany, a few decades after Nazi crimes.
Instead they turned out to be a nightmare.
The lack of security and the disastrous inability of the German police to save the lives of Israeli athletes marked an epochal shock.
Over the years Israel has criticized errors, shortcomings and underestimations by the German authorities.
After Munich '72 West Germany reorganized its security forces, creating, a few months later,