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.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
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 the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
