Germany asks for forgiveness for ‘shameful’ response to Munich Olympic atrocity
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier's apology comes after half a century of campaigning by victims' families and a revised compensation offer
Germany’s president has formally asked for forgiveness from the families of 11 Israeli athletes killed during the 1972 Munich Olympics, saying his country should take responsibility for its failure to protect them.
The unprecedented apology from Frank-Walter Steinmeier came as relatives gathered to mark half a century since members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage and killed by members of the Palestinian terror group Black September.
Israeli president Isaac Herzog also joined the commemoration, which the victims’ families only agreed to attend last week after an agreement for compensation was struck.
Relatives will be paid €28 million (£24 million) in total from the German government, a significant increase on the €10 million initially offered.
“We cannot make right what happened,” Steinmeier said in his speech.
“I am ashamed. As head of state of this country and in the name of the Federal Republic of Germany I ask for forgiveness for insufficient protection of the athletes, for insufficient resolution of this matter.”
Monday’s ceremony in Fürstenfeldbruck, the town west of Munich where members of the Israeli Olympic team had been taken hostage, saw both presidents lay wreaths.
As part of the agreement with families Germany has also agreed to acknowledge it had committed failures in policing and security during the original hostage incident.
The families say the Olympic Village site had been poorly guarded. Many of the Israeli team died during a subsequent armed standoff and a botched rescue attempt by police.
Germany has also agreed to set up a joint committee of German and Israeli historian to examine the events surrounding the attack.
Earlier, Steinmeier said it had been shameful that it had taken so long to arrange compensation for the victims’ families.
But Herzog praised the German president’s “personal involvement, which ultimately led to a breakthrough, based on the taking of responsibility by the German Government for the security and rescue failures, an exhaustive historical inquiry, and compensation for the bereaved families.”
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