"The correction took a long time": the memorial ceremony in the Olympic Park in Munich to mark the 50th anniversary of the massacre

After President Herzog's meeting with his German counterpart, and the signing of the reparations agreement, a ceremony was held in the city's Olympic Park with the participation of German and Israeli ministers, the chairman of the Israeli Olympic Committee, Yael Arad, and the widow of one of the murdered. "Justice is visible and present."

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05/09/2022

Monday, September 5, 2022, 11:01 a.m. Updated: 11:40 a.m.

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In video: President Yitzhak Herzog meets with the President of Germany (Reuters)

One of the terrorists in the Munich massacre (Photo: Reuters)

As part of President Yitzhak Herzog's visit to Germany and the signing of the reparations agreement, a memorial ceremony was held today (Monday) in the Olympic Park in Munich to mark the 50th anniversary of the massacre of the Israeli athletes.

The ceremony was also attended by Prof. Michael Piazzolo, the Bavarian Minister of Education and Culture, the Israeli Minister of Culture and Sports, Hili Troper, the Mayor of Munich, Dieter Reiter, the President of the Israeli Olympic Committee, Yael Arad, and the widow of Miriam Mashkulo Yosef Romano, Ilana Romano.

"A jubilee has passed since the horrific events of September 1972, and the correction took a very long time. Decades of Olympic sports events, festive and exciting, that took place while repressing and removing the darkest stain in the history of the Olympic Games," said Minister Trooper at the ceremony.

"Years in which you mourned, the bereaved families, took place on the margins of events; years of waiting to be beaten for sin and recognition of injustice, added to the disaster. It took 50 years for justice to be seen, but persistence paid off and justice, albeit late, was seen and present."

"Justice is visible and present."

Minister Trooper at the commemoration ceremony in memory of the 11 martyrs in Munich (photo: official website, no)

Yesterday President Herzog met with German President Frank Walter Steinmeier at the Presidential Palace in Berlin.

At the end of the meeting, Herzog made a statement: "Our painful history in this country was reflected once again 50 years ago. In the last few months we have dealt together - you and me - quite a bit, with the tragedy of the massacre of the Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972. I thank you for your moral commitment And the tireless commitment to historical justice, a commitment that was reflected in your personal involvement, which ultimately led to a breakthrough, which is mainly: taking responsibility on the part of the German government."

During the conversation between the two, the German president took responsibility for the massacre at the Munich Olympics in 1972. "There were mistakes and omissions that Germany should take responsibility for," he said, referring to anti-Semitism in Europe.

"It is forbidden in Germany to tolerate anti-Semitism, traditional or new, such as disdain for the Holocaust, conspiracy theories or anti-Semitism related to Israel.

President Herzog with his German counterpart (Photo: Government Press Office, Amos Ben Gershom)

The leaders were asked about the compensation agreement with the families of the victims in Munich.

"There was a tragic repression here, the families tried to overcome it over the years," Herzog said.

"The more I studied the cases, you perceive unimaginable situations, that the games continued when hostages were led to the massacre, a human phenomenon that they did not want to talk about out of shame. That is why the agreement is a very important agreement, because it allows us to deal with a human phenomenon, to open it up, to deal with the failures and mistakes to learn and teach to future generations."

The German president also responded to the compensation issue.

"There were mistakes and an omission that Germany has to take responsibility for in the events of Munich 1972. We suppressed it as a German nation, and it's embarrassing and shameful," the president said.

Herzog added and shared a personal connection to the massacre in Munich.

"My wife's uncle Michal was also there on the expedition. And yesterday, 90 years old, he started telling us how he went to identify the bodies of his friends."

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• Yitzhak Herzog

• Germany

• Munich

• The massacre of the athletes in Munich