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A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives.
“They’re all gone.”
On Sept. 5, 1972, Palestinian militants attacked the Israeli Olympic delegation at the Munich Games, killing two and taking nine others hostage. Five of the militants, a German police officer and all nine hostages were killed in the following 24 hours.
And ABC sportscaster Jim McKay shared those words to the world.
The 1972 Munich Summer Games was supposed to be the opposite of Berlin 1936, which was fraught with tense nationalism. Nearly three decades after the Holocaust, West German authorities wanted to host the “cheerful Games.”
But 10 days into the Games, a small group of the group Black September — an affiliate of the Palestine Liberation Organization — took Israeli athletes hostage and demanded the release of 236 prisoners: 234 in Israel and the two leaders of the West German Baader-Meinhof terrorist group.
Their mission failed. About 20 hours after it began, five of the hostage-takers would be dead, along with 11 members of Israel’s Olympic team and a West German policeman.
And security at national and international sporting events would not ever be the same.
Many Americans — remember, this was the Olympics of Mark Spitz and Olga Korbut — watched every minute of the breaking news. Newspapers covered the drama, and the aftermath.
In reality, the Games were paused for a mere 34 hours. A day after the tragedy, more than 80,000 dignitaries, officials, athletes and fans gathered to solemnly honor the 11 dead Israelis. Then, International Olympic Committee President Avery Brundage stated, “the Games must go on.”
As for McKay, who covered 12 different Olympic Games, the final time in Salt Lake City in 2002, when word came down in Munich that Palestinian terrorists had kidnapped 11 Israeli athletes, McKay was summoned from a day off, hurriedly putting clothes over a bathing suit to anchor ABC’s coverage of the drama as the competitions stood still.
The commando raid to free the hostages ended awfully, McKay told the world. Later, at the closing ceremony, he read a poem by A.E. Housman, “To an Athlete Dying Young.”
“I had to control myself,” he later recalled. “I was full of emotion. But when you are a professional, it is important to communicate what it is like, to capture the moment.”
Here are some stories from Deseret News archives about the 1972 Munich massacre:
“‘72 Games changed us forever”
“Munich widows call for Olympic ceremony protest”
“11 slain Israelis remembered at Munich memorial”
“Sydney remembers 1972 Munich massacre”
“Summer 1972 — church in Italy”
“Rebel set to admit PLO behind 1972 massacre”
“‘One Day in September’ powerful despite many flaws”
“Charles Krauthammer: ‘Munich’ is a well-filmed anti-Zionist rant”
“Sports legend Jim McKay dies at 86″
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