'Possible Terror Attack' in Munich Has Many Recalling 1972 Summer Games
— -- A shooting at a shopping mall in Munich has many recalling a previous incident in the German city more than 40 years ago, not far from where today's incident took place.
The 1972 Summer Olympics, dubbed the "Games of Peace and Joy," took a tragic turn when Palestinian terrorists took 11 Israeli Olympic team members hostage. The resulting failed negotiations by the West German police and shootout at the airport left 17 people dead, including some of the perpetrators. All 11 hostages were killed.
ABC News covered the hostage situation and broadcast to the world as the "Games of Peace and Joy" became known as the "Munich massacre."
After the failed negotiation attempts, German authorities tried to ambush the terrorists at an airport. Police attempted the ambush soon after the terrorists and their hostages arrived at the airport by helicopter, where the terrorists were planing on boarding a plane to an Arab nation.
German authorities thought that this would have resulted in certain death for the Israelis, and the decision was made to try and stop them from being taken. Police shooters open fired on the terrorists at the airport, and subsequently the terrorists who were not hit then open fired on the hostages, killing all of them.
For hours, there was a report that all of the hostages had been freed due to what was later blamed on "poor communications," according to ABC News archival videos.
A memorial service attended by 80,000 Olympic fans was covered by Peter Jennings, who described the mood as "a state of shock and devastation." Arab athletes did not attend, according to Jennings, mostly for political reasons. The surviving Israeli team members flew home the following day.
Jennings added that thousands of Germans "had seen their games of serenity turned overnight into the Olympics of terror."
