Overdue – that is the first word that occurs to the observer on the agreement between the families of the victims of the Palestinian terrorist attack on the Summer Olympics and the federal government.
Less than a week before the 50th anniversary, the tugging that has been going on since 1972 finally comes to an end. Anyone who reads the files in the political archive of the Foreign Office in Berlin would like to sink into the ground with shame at the callousness of German diplomats. This is one of the reasons why the now promised payment of 28 million euros to the families of the eleven murdered athletes can only be part of the necessary work-up.
Of course, the Palestinians of the PLO-affiliated Black September organization were primarily responsible. But representatives of Germany made serious mistakes in the run-up to September 5, 1972, on the day of the hostage-taking itself, and afterwards. They must be disclosed.
In addition to compensation, firstly, a comprehensive investigation is required. The course of the 21 Hours of Munich has finally been traced in detail in books since this year. Nevertheless, a German-Israeli commission of historians should investigate the history of the attack and its consequences, also based on Israeli material.
Secondly, the authentic place where the hostages were taken, the house at Connollystrasse 31 in the Olympic Village, must finally be converted into a worthy memorial and documentation site. Guest scientists from the Max Planck Institutes in Munich have been living there for decades – a use that can be ended immediately. Instead, information opportunities for visitors and a worthy memorial room belong here.
Thirdly, the current federal government must officially withdraw the “Documentation on the Incidents in Munich” presented on September 20, 1972 by the then Brandt-Scheel cabinet and the then Bavarian state government and apologize for it on behalf of Germany. This 71-page report is still a scandal half a century later, because two weeks after the attack it acquitted everyone responsible, even though the investigators in Munich had not yet come up with any valid results.
In dealing with the first major international terrorist attack on its territory, the Federal Republic certainly did not show itself to be sovereign. 50 years later, the agreement with the relatives of the victims at least opens up the chance to admit mistakes made. This is overdue – and even more important than money.