Remembering the terror attack on the 1972 Munich Olympic Games

29.08.2022, 10:38 dw.com

Eleven Israeli athletes and a policeman were assassinated by Palestinian terrorists during the Olympic Games that began in Munich on August 26,1972. Germany is still struggling to come to terms with the events. Hans Völkl still feels a bit queasy when he hears the sound of rotors. It makes him remember the roar of the two Bell-UH 1 helicopters, a sound that has been with him ever since the night of September 6, 1972. At that time, Völkl was a young Bundeswehr soldier stationed at an air base just outside Munich, Bavaria. He worked the night shift in the tower and was supposed to help pilots land here. The 21-year-old had been glued to the TV news watching a drama unfold at the Olympic village, just 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) away in Munich. That morning, Palestinian terrorists had broken into the Israeli Olympic team's quarters, where they shot and killed weightlifter Josef Romano and wrestling coach Mosche Weinberg and took nine other Israelis as hostages.