Neo-Nazis Helped Carry Out Munich Massacre
German neo-Nazis helped the Palestinian Black September group kill 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics, according to German documents.
The connection between neo-Nazi activist Willi Pohl and Palestinian terrorist Abu Daoud was published Sunday in the German weekly Der Spiegel. The report was based on a 2,000-page file compiled by Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
Pohl helped Abu Daoud procure fake identification, including passports and other documents, according to Der Spiegel, and also helped Black September obtain weapons.
Dortmund police reportedly were aware of the connection between Daoud and Pohl seven weeks before the attack but did not intervene.
Eleven Israeli athletes and coaches were killed at the 1972 Games in Germany by Black September.
The International Olympic Committee has officially rejected a request by the slain Israelis’ families to hold a moment of silence for the Munich 11 at the London Olympics next month on the 40th anniversary of the assassinations.
Israel has regularly requested a moment of silence at the Olympics; the IOC has consistently turned down the proposal. The Israel National Olympic Committee will hold its own memorial ceremony during the Games, as it has at every Olympics since ‘72.
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Dive In
-
Fast Forward Nike apologizes for marathon ad using the Holocaust phrase ‘Never Again’
-
Fast Forward Ohio Applebee’s defaced with antisemitic graffiti reading ‘Jews work here’
-
Fast Forward J.B. Pritzker accuses Trump of ‘disparaging the very foundation of Judaism’
-
Fast Forward Trump on Iran: ‘If we don’t make a deal, I’ll be leading the pack’ into war
Most Popular
- 1
Culture Trump wants to honor Hannah Arendt in a ‘Garden of American Heroes.’ Is this a joke?
- 2
Fast Forward The invitation said, ‘No Jews.’ The response from campus officials, at least, was real.
- 3
Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
- 4
Fast Forward Columbia staff receive texts asking if they’re Jewish, as government hunts antisemitic harassment on campus
In Case You Missed It
-
News These are the most influential Jews in Trump’s first 100 days
-
Fast Forward Nike apologizes for marathon ad using the Holocaust phrase ‘Never Again’
-
Opinion I wrote the book on Hitler’s first 100 days. Here’s how Trump’s compare
-
Fast Forward Ohio Applebee’s defaced with antisemitic graffiti reading ‘Jews work here’
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.