These days mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the GSG-9 unit, Germany's "General Staff Patrol".
This unit specializing in the war on terrorism and special operations of the German police was established as one of the lessons learned from the security failures that led to the massacre of the 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics.
Israel assisted West Germany at the time in establishing this unit.
If 50 years ago Germany was devoid of the operational ability to deal with terrorist incidents, then through the unit it has accumulated an impressive record of over 2200 operations.
At the official ceremony to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the unit that took place in Bonn, Germany, the Israeli ambassador to Germany, Ron Proschauer, spoke, referring in his words to the impressive capabilities of the unit - the fighting spirit, the leadership concept and the pursuit of contact, and the excellent cooperation that exists between the unit and similar Israeli forces, especially "M.
"All democratic countries need such units to protect themselves and democracy," stressed Proshaur, "in Germany and Israel the existence of such units is a deterrent and terrorists will think twice before doing anything."
This is a success in itself.'
Terrorism at the Munich Olympics in 1972, photo: E.P
The capabilities of the German unit were built, among other things, thanks to the doctrine of combat shared with it by the "Mittal Defense Patrol". This is actually another example of reciprocity in Israel-Germany relations - Germany is not only a supplier of power and ammunition for Israel, but Israel has also contributed quite a bit to Germany's security over the years - The becoming dimension is particularly relevant these days. The unit still cooperates with the Israeli Navy and is conducted according to the training model of the "Mittal Defense Patrol". The cooperation between the units over the years is fruitful and unique, and the GSG-9 has even previously won the title " The best counter-terrorism unit in the world" by the commander of the Israeli Border Guard, Zvi Bar.
This, following the unit's success in dealing with the hijacking of Lufthansa Flight 181 in 1977.
were we wrong
We will fix it!
If you found an error in the article, we would appreciate it if you shared it with us