Teaching Munich the Munich Memory Project

Teaching Munich The Munich Memory Project

Terrorism took the international stage at the Munich Olympics of 1972 when 11 Israeli athletes were murdered by Palestinian Arabs. Too often, these events in history go unlearned because approaching them is too difficult or overly politicized. This activity is designed to encourage critical thinking about the event and its impact on the world, as well as on its relevance today.

Objectives • For participants to know what the Munich Massacre was, and about the events that took place on September 5th-6th 1972 • For participants to learn who Jim McKay was and why he “matters” as a figure in the story • For participants to know the importance of the broadcast, the atmosphere surrounding the news as it was happening, and the significance of the phrase ‘they’re all gone’. • For participants to learn something about at least one of the 11 Israeli victims • For participants to learn how Israel and the Jewish world reacted to the incident • For participants to be able to articulate and be aware of the role of antisemitism as it played out in the sports world and the lasting repercussions of the Munich events • For participants to learn the skills to eloquently express themselves and to articulately communicate their views

Supplies needed • Jim McKay interview and broadcast videos • Whiteboard and markers • Computer and screen • Teaching Munich slideshow

1 © Israel Forever Foundation israelforever.org Activity or Booklet Title Getting Started/Introduction Educator should explain that the purpose of this lesson is to learn about the 1972 Olympics massacre and the Munich 11. This lesson will look at important events leading up to the Munich massacre, the timeline of the tragedy itself, and the attitude of the IOC (International Olympic commitee). Begin discussion with the following questions (specific answers/responses for educator are in parenthesis): • What do you know about the Munich 1972 Olympics massacre? (This is what we will be looking at today.) • Who knows where the Olympics were held in 1936? (In Berlin.) • Has anyone heard of any famous athletes who competed in the 1936 games? (Jesse Owens, the famous African-American track-and-field star.) • But he wasn't supposed to compete. Does anyone know how he came to compete? (There is a story behind this, that we will hear soon.) At this time (and perhaps still now? A discussion for another time.) the Olympic spirit and institution was unfortunately antisemitic in various ways and Jewish athletes struggled for Jewish rights and equality, in both the sporting and Olympic world.

Educator to read aloud:

In 1936 the Olympics were held in Nazi Germany in Berlin under the supervision of Adolf Hitler. Two American track and field stars who were set to compete for Team USA in the 4x100 meter relay event were Jews. American sprinters Sam Stoller and Marty Glickman, the only two Jews on the US Olympic team, were pulled from the 4×100 relay team on the day of the competition, leading to speculation that US Olympic committee leader Avery Brundage did not want to add to Hitler's embarrassment by having two Jews win gold medals. As a result Jesse Owens was named as one of the replacements, and he ended up winning that race and several other gold medals. Glickman and Stoller were the only two members of the US Olympic team who did not compete after arriving in Berlin. In the entire history of US participation in the Olympic Games, it is extremely rare that uninjured team members don't compete in any event at all, and indeed after practice trials Glickman and Stoller had been assured that they would be running in the relay event.

• Does anyone have any thoughts about this situation? • What connection might there be between the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and the 1972 Olympics in Munich?

2 © Israel Forever Foundation israelforever.org Activity or Booklet Title

Now we are going to learn more about the Munich 1972 Olympics. Educator to show the Munich timeline slideshow. While progressing through each slide, read the corresponding texts. Slide 2 4:30 am - Members of the Black September terrorist group snuck into the Olympic Village.

Slide 3 Yossef Gutfreund heard a noise, went to investigate, and shouted a warning to the other occupants of his room. This gave one Israeli a chance to break a window and escape to get help.

Slide 4 Moshe Weinberg, the Israeli wrestling coach, then tried to fight one of the gunmen, got shot, and was forced to lead the terrorists to find more hostages.

Slide 5 Weinberg attacked another gunman, allowing another wrestler a chance to escape. Weinberg was then shot again and killed. Slide 6 Yossef Romano then attacked another terrorist, and was also shot and killed. Slide 7 At this point, we have 9 more Israelis who are still alive but are now hostages: Yossef Gutfreund, Kehat Shorr, Andre Spitzer, Amitzur Shapira, David Berger, Ze’ev Friedman, Mark Slavin, Eliezer Halfin, and Ya’akov Springer. Educator to ask participants: • How long do you think they postponed the Olympic Games following the massacre? (Not even a full day.)

Slide 8 The Olympics continued to go on as scheduled, and 12 hours after the initial attack, German police entered the Olympic Village and demanded to see the hostages. The plan was to kill the terrorists by sneaking around the back of the Village, but that failed. Then the terrorists demanded transportation to Cairo, Egypt.

Slide 9 While these events are taking place, ABC Sports’ Jim McKay is broadcasting from the ABC Olympic studio in Munich, allowing people in the US to know what is going on. 10:30 pm - The helicopters brought for the terrorists are vacated by the pilots. Chaos ensued, and 2 kidnappers were killed. 12:04 am September 6th - The kidnappers turned on the hostages. That battle would go on until 1:30am.

Slide 10 3:24 am - Jim McKay gave his final update.

3 © Israel Forever Foundation israelforever.org Activity or Booklet Title TEACHING MUNICH ACTIVITY

Instructions (Note: For your convenience, this information is also included at the end of the Teaching Munich slideshow.)

Names will be shown/written on the board or the slideshow, or distributed on index cards. Everyone will be given the name of an Israeli athlete. You have five minutes to research the person. Then we will come back together as a group, and share our findings. Here are some questions to help facilitate your research: • Where were they born? • Did they serve in the Israeli army? • Why were they at the Olympics? (sport, job, background) • What other compelling information did you learn about them?

Now choose a partner and present your research to them. Teach each other about your athlete. Make sure your partner has a different athlete from you. Once completed, everyone should come back together for a group discussion. (If desired/time allows, present to the group on your partner's athlete.)

Discussion Questions • Can you explain the basic events that took place on September 5th-6th 1972? • Why does the location matter? • Do you remember at least 1 name from one of the 11 Israelis killed in the attack? • What was the most interesting thing you learned about this tragedy? • Why would you share the story about the Munich massacre with someone else? • Why is this a historical event worth remembering? With so many terror attacks happening every year around the world, why does this even matter? • Does anyone know who Jim McKay was? (Show video of an interview with Jim McKay if time allows. (Interview is 14 minutes long.) If you have less time, you can show a compilation of his reporting from the event.) • How did Jim McKay become an advocate for the victims? • The 1972 Olympic games continued even while the terror attack was taking place and no reference was made to the other athletes. Do you think this was an appropriate response?

• IOC President Avery Brundage made little reference to the murdered athletes during a speech praising the strength of the Olympic movement later on the 6th. Was this “enough?” What more do you think could have been done by the IOC or anyone at the time of the attack? • Who are the advocates of remembering Munich? How have they made an impact on the world?

What Did You Learn? • Say two things you learned about the Munich massacre. • What if anything could have been done to avoid this tragedy? • Why is remembering this event important, in your opinion? • Why would you become an advocate for Munich memory? How will you keep their memories alive?

Concluding Thoughts Too often, these events in history go unlearned because approaching them is too difficult or overly politicized. Our goal today has been to learn about the tragedy in a way that personalizes the victims AND those who went on to become advocates for the continued memory of the terrorism that took over the international sports arena - a space that is supposed to be free of politics and allow for unity among the athletes. We learn from Munich that even the worst imaginable things are possible when driven by hate, and we carry on the memory of the Munich athletes as a part of our effort to ensure they did not die in vain.

Next Steps Come meet the Leaders of Munich Advocacy and learn more about The Munich Memory Project.

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