The 1972 Olympic Games did not only concern Munich.
They were also a mega event for Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen.
A new series commemorates this.
Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen - At the beginning of February 1972, the Wolfratshausen Women's Association held its carnival evening in the parish hall.
Highlight: The parade of the nations with flags, Waldi and tent roof model, the symbols of the forthcoming Olympic Games in Munich.
"A grandiose spectacle," wrote our newspaper at the time.
You can see that the games kept people busy, also in Wolfratshausen.
In Germany, new beginnings are in the air at this time – and maybe even a bit of revolution.
The 1968 movement is having an impact, especially in the environmental, peace and women's movements.
The RAF terrorism terrifies the republic, nobody knows what is to come.
Chancellor Willy Brandt has not had a majority in parliament since April's vote of no confidence.
The only reason why there are no new elections is because you want to be quiet during the games.
Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen: The 1972 Olympics were a mega event in the district
With this major sporting event, Germany wants to make people forget the Nazi Games of 1936.
Abroad, people remember only too well what pompous theater Hitler had put on in Berlin, how he pretended to be peaceful, even though he had been planning war for a long time.
Germany should and wants to present itself as a refined and mature democracy.
Willy Brandt famously said: "Let's refute the thesis that friendly Germans only exist in exceptional cases."
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Reading material: Our newspaper prepared the readers for the games with a special supplement.
© Sabine Hermsdorf-Hiss
New times are also dawning in the district of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen.
Topic number one is local government reform.
Today's district is formed from the old districts of Bad Tölz and Wolfratshausen, and there is a heated debate about which municipality will join forces with which other municipality.
But the Olympics are also omnipresent.
The planned "cheerful games" help to implement infrastructure projects such as the A95, which initially extends to Penzberg, and the S-Bahn to Wolfratshausen.
Today's long approval times are unknown, it's easy to do.
Torch relay to Olympia 72 led across the district of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen
The district is looking forward to the games.
Also because of the torch relay that leads straight through.
On August 25th at 6.50 a.m. the torch will be taken over and at 5.15 p.m. it will be handed over in Baierbrunn.
The stations: Kochel - Bichl - Bad Tölz - Waakirchen - Rottach - Gmund - Warngau - Holzkirchen - Ascholding - Geretsried - Wolfratshausen - Schäftlarn - Baierbrunn.
Dozens of clubs, hundreds of runners are involved, an unforgettable memory for each individual.
Everyone gets to keep their Olympic-branded jersey and torch.
Something special happens when the torch bearers come through Geretsried.
Because there, near Tyczka, the Olympic flame was significantly developed.
"The torch reaches its birthplace," headlined our newspaper at the time.
The district also serves as the venue.
The men's team time trial will take place on August 29th, on the new A95, with start and finish in Schorn.
On September 7th, the men's road race follows, starting in Grünwald, over the new Dürnstein bridge, which was completely renovated just because of the games, wood became concrete.
In both cases, doping offenders are convicted, it started with the bad habit of illegal performance enhancement back then, in the battle of the systems between West and East almost every means was right.
Königsdorf had already been awarded the contract for the construction of the regatta course in the local felt, but was cheated by Oberschleißheim at the last moment.
Many people in Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen associate Olympia 72 with something unforgettable
The hilarity of the games ended abruptly on September 5: the Palestinian terrorist organization Black September took eleven Israeli athletes hostage.
After an amateurish attempt at liberation by the German police, all the Israelis are dead. The dismay is also great between the Isar and Loisach.
Should the games continue?
The newly elected District Administrator Dr.
Otmar Huber thinks yes.
"You can't let a few desperados impose the law of action on you," he says.
"Otherwise, athletes from all over the world will be deprived of the fruits of years of hard work." The IOC sees it the same way, the sentence became notorious: "The games must go on."
In a series we look back in time.
We tell the stories of people who associate something unforgettable with the Olympics.
For the 50+ generation, the games must have been one of the formative youth impressions.
They were exciting times - we bring them back in our series.
District Administrator Huber said "Yes to the Olympics"
Sometimes it is pretended that sheer enthusiasm about the Olympics in Munich ruled.
But that was not the case, there were also skeptics.
In rural areas in particular, people kept a close eye on how much money flowed to Munich.
The new district administrator Dr.
Otmar Huber, for example, often complained about the “financial focus that Munich inevitably triggered.” The fact that savings are being made in the countryside can easily be seen from the condition of the roads.
Nevertheless, in an interview with our newspaper, he said yes to the games: "The 1972 Olympics gave our entire sport a tremendous boost.
And just promoting the whole tourist area is priceless.”
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