Know how terrorists turned the 1972 Munich Olympics into a bloodbath

New Delhi: The 1972 Munich Olympics were the second Summer Olympics to be held in Germany, after the 1936 Games in Berlin, which had taken place under Nazi regime.But the spirit of the games was overshadowed by the attack on Israeli athletes by the Palestinian guerrilla group Black September. On the 5th September 1972 morning, war, politics and religion invaded the Munich Olympics.Terrorists claiming to be from Black September, a Palestinian guerrilla organisation broke into the Olympic Village dressed as athletes and carrying their weapons in gym bags and opened fire on Israeli athletes. The attack claimed two Israelis and the terrorists took nine hostages. Ransom for the release of the hostages was the release of 200 Arab guerrillas jailed in Israel and safe passage for themselves for the games village. By the night of the fateful day, the hostages, five of their captors and one West German police officer were dead as the outcome of a failed rescue attempt. Three Arabs were held. During the siege, with two Israelis already dead, Avery Brundage, president of the International Olympic Committee, ordered that the Games will continue. The following day, competition was suspended. The 11 surviving Israeli Olympians, wearing white yarmulkes and maroon blazers, sat among 3,000 athletes, surrounded by 80,000 spectators, honoring and mourning their murdered teammates in a memorial service at the enormous Olympic Stadium. But five hours later, Brundage decreed that the Games resume, another controversial decision criticized by Israel and other nations, though some Israelis said cancelling the Games would have been giving in to blackmail. Five days later, in the rain, a subdued closing ceremony was held that included a silent meditation and fewer athletes than usual. The flags of the competing nations were paraded around the stadium. Israel's was not among them.