Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

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.

A message from our editor-in-chief Jodi Rudoren

We're building on 127 years of independent journalism to help you develop deeper connections to what it means to be Jewish today.

With so much at stake for the Jewish people right now — war, rising antisemitism, a high-stakes U.S. presidential election — American Jews depend on the Forward's perspective, integrity and courage.

—  Jodi Rudoren, Editor-in-Chief 

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

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 credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link 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.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.