The spokesman for the victims’ families described the federal government’s offer of compensation as an “insult” and a “tip” – and announced that the relatives did not want to take part in the planned commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the 1972 Olympic attack. Anti-Semitism Commissioner Ludwig Spaenle said he was not surprised by this – he has been warning for weeks that the complaints of the bereaved must be taken seriously and discussed at eye level.
Now Spaenle is completely questioning the commemoration. “You have to seriously check whether the memorial service can still take place after the cancellation of the bereaved,” he said Editorial Network Germany. “It must not degenerate into the grotesque.” A central commemoration ceremony was planned on September 5 in Fürstenfeldbruck with the victims’ relatives.
The negotiators of the Federal Republic, the Free State of Bavaria and the state capital Munich do not yet consider the rejection to be final. Some of those involved interpret the relatives’ step simply as an attempt to increase the pressure. Now, according to SZ information, the idea of a foundation should prevent the negotiations from failing.
The President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, regrets the refusal of the bereaved. “The efforts of the German side are to be recognized in my eyes. I had hoped that an agreement would be reached,” he told the newspapers of the editorial network. The federal government also regretted the cancellation. Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said that the federal government considers a reassessment of how the events of the time were handled to be necessary.
On September 5, 1972, Palestinian terrorists attacked the Israeli Olympic team. Eleven members of the Israeli team and one police officer were killed.