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One Day in September: The Full Story Of The 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre And The Israeli Revenge Operation "WrathOf God"
An in-depth account of the terrorist kidnapping and massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics draws on interviews with the surviving athletes and Arab extremists, family members of the victims, German authorities, journalists, and intelligence agents to provide a full analysis of the attack, the role of German authorities, and Israeli retaliation for the crime. Reprint. 17,500 first printing.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
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About the author
Simon Reeve
14 books270 followersSimon Reeve is an English author and broadcaster. In recent years he's been travelling around little-known regions of the world for a series of BBC television documentaries.
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November 10, 2024
“Several officials, including six German postmen…saw the groups climbing the fence with their sports bags at around 4:10 a.m. But as Issa had assumed, none of the passersby challenged them because they thought the fence-climbers were just athletes returning home…The group split up and stole through the sleeping [Olympic] Village to a drab three-story building on Connollystrasse, one of three broad pedestrianized streets, adorned with shrubbery and fountains, snaking from east to west…Even if the unarmed Olympic guards or the Munich police had been alerted, it would have been too late. For the eight men were heavily armed terrorists from Black September, an extremist faction within the Palestinian Liberation Organization. The fedayeen were carrying Kalashnikov assault rifles and grenades, hidden under clothing in the sports bags, and they were fully prepared to fight their way to their target: 31 Connollystrasse, the building…that housed the Israeli delegation to the Olympic games. The new entrants were about to make their mark on the XXth Olympiad…”
- Simon Reeve, One Day in September: The Full Story of the 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre and the Israeli Revenge Operation Wrath of God
In the world of terrorism, there is no such thing as negative attention. The whole point is to get people’s attention by any means necessary. To that end, Black September’s botched kidnapping of members of the Israeli delegation at the Munich Olympics in September 1972 has to be deemed successful, though this is an extremely relative term.
On September 5, 1972, eight members of a militant Palestinian organization broke into the apartments of the Israeli delegation, killed two members outright, and took nine hostages. The world then watched on live television as negotiations were conducted. The following day, West German police tried to ambush Black September at Fürstenfeldbruck Airport. Five terrorists died, along with all nine hostages.
This incident is far from the deadliest in history. It has, in point of fact, been far overshadowed by a vastly larger assault that occurred in a different city, in a different September. Nevertheless, it remains chillingly unforgettable: the image of a masked Black September member creeping onto a balcony; the sight of track-suited snipers scampering across rooftops; the voice of ABC correspondent Jim McKay, as he informs a breath-held world that “they’re all gone.”
Simon Reeve’s One Day in September is a sturdy recounting of the so-called Munich Massacre, as well as its lethal and ethically ambiguous aftermath. It has its flaws, but as a single volume contextualizing the whole of the saga, it is worthwhile.
***
Reeve covers a lot of ground in 250 pages. In timeworn manner, he starts with a hook, describing the takeover of the Israeli quarters by a small group of fighters led by Luttif “Issa” Afif. By the end of this section – in which “Jewish blood…was once again being shed on German soil” – there is really no possibility that you will not continue reading.
At this point, Reeve circles back, to explain the foreground leading up to the crashing of the “serene Olympics.” And when I say “circles back,” I mean way back. Reeve starts with the time of King David, and works his way forward. Obviously, the summary he provides is pared down to the extreme – touching on the Roman conquest of Palestine; the subsequent Arab conquest and the Crusades; the rule of the Ottoman Empire, and its collapse after the First World War; and the Balfour Declaration in 1917, agreeing to support the creation of a Jewish state – but it serves an important purpose, demonstrating the long roots of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, stretching back over centuries.
During this section, Reeve does a good job of explaining without excusing. The killing of the Israeli athletes was murder, plain and simple. None of them were directly responsible for any of the grievances of their killers, and so there is no reasonable moral framework in which these actions are acceptable. With that said, the Munich attack did not occur in a vacuum. As Reeve notes, Black September was moved to take unjustifiable actions for justifiable reasons.
This is not relativism, but reality. We don’t inhabit a simple world.
***
Once he has backfilled the setting, Reeve returns to a strictly chronological account of the unfolding hostage situation. He covers the negotiations; the attempted rescue at the airport; Israel’s notorious Operation Wrath of God, in which Mossad assassination squads eliminated individuals purportedly involved in Munich; and Operation Spring of Youth, the 1973 assault on Palestinian Liberation Organization targets in Beirut, carried out by Israeli Defense Forces disguised as tourists.
***
One Day in September is at its liveliest, and most engaging, in discussing Germany’s mishandling of the Black September incursion. In an attempt to seem as un-Nazi-like as possible, security was thin, with only a minimal presence of walkie-talking wielding police officers in non-threatening light-blue uniforms. The initial negotiations were handled by an untrained officer essentially freelancing. Despite not having a counterterrorism force of their own – Germany’s GSG 9 was later formed by Ulrich Wegener, present at the Fürstenfeldbruck bloodbath – Germany refused Israeli help. Furthermore, the German military was constitutionally prohibited from lending any assistance, while the setup of their Federal Republic meant that the incident was handled as a Bavarian affair.
Without any dedicated snipers, ordinary Munich policemen were plucked from the ranks, poorly positioned at the airport in too few numbers, and given inadequate rifles, but no radios. Reeve also demonstrates that German police officers stationed in a nearby 727 airplane – which the terrorists thought would fly them to safety – abandoned their posts. Thus, a central pillar of the German police response collapsed just moments before the terrorists and their hostages arrived.
In all, a poor showing. None of this came about by malicious intent. But that changes nothing in the end.
***
It should be noted that Reeve wrote this in conjunction with a very good documentary of the same name. At times, you can tell. Portions of One Day in September feel like nothing more than a transcription of the documentary. For instance, when Reeve is introducing some of the Israeli hostages, he tells the story of Andre and Ankie Spitzer. In the documentary, Ankie is interviewed about Andre, and says “Being the person that he was, it was hard not to fall in love with him.” This works in a documentary because there is music, there are images, and you can hear the catch in Ankie’s voice. In a book, though, this quotation fails to land, and feels almost banal. Unfortunately, the book version lacks the emotional resonance of the film.
***
Whatever its literary shortcomings, it’s clear that Reeve worked very hard on this. There are detailed and annotated endnotes discussing the sources. This is significant, as much about Operation Wrath of God is hotly debated. He also makes an effort – as far as possible – to talk with all sides. For obvious reasons, though, one side was more willing to talk than the other.
***
The phrase “cycle of violence” is hopelessly cliched. Yet its endless repetition does not make it any less true. One Day in September is a microcosm of violence in the Middle East. One party is injured, and takes revenge. The revenged-upon party transforms into the righteous victim, and responds with more violence, likely indiscriminate. The next victim turns perpetrator, while the former perpetrator becomes a victim. And it goes on and on, as it has for years, and as it will – it seems – continue for many more.
- Simon Reeve, One Day in September: The Full Story of the 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre and the Israeli Revenge Operation Wrath of God
In the world of terrorism, there is no such thing as negative attention. The whole point is to get people’s attention by any means necessary. To that end, Black September’s botched kidnapping of members of the Israeli delegation at the Munich Olympics in September 1972 has to be deemed successful, though this is an extremely relative term.
On September 5, 1972, eight members of a militant Palestinian organization broke into the apartments of the Israeli delegation, killed two members outright, and took nine hostages. The world then watched on live television as negotiations were conducted. The following day, West German police tried to ambush Black September at Fürstenfeldbruck Airport. Five terrorists died, along with all nine hostages.
This incident is far from the deadliest in history. It has, in point of fact, been far overshadowed by a vastly larger assault that occurred in a different city, in a different September. Nevertheless, it remains chillingly unforgettable: the image of a masked Black September member creeping onto a balcony; the sight of track-suited snipers scampering across rooftops; the voice of ABC correspondent Jim McKay, as he informs a breath-held world that “they’re all gone.”
Simon Reeve’s One Day in September is a sturdy recounting of the so-called Munich Massacre, as well as its lethal and ethically ambiguous aftermath. It has its flaws, but as a single volume contextualizing the whole of the saga, it is worthwhile.
***
Reeve covers a lot of ground in 250 pages. In timeworn manner, he starts with a hook, describing the takeover of the Israeli quarters by a small group of fighters led by Luttif “Issa” Afif. By the end of this section – in which “Jewish blood…was once again being shed on German soil” – there is really no possibility that you will not continue reading.
At this point, Reeve circles back, to explain the foreground leading up to the crashing of the “serene Olympics.” And when I say “circles back,” I mean way back. Reeve starts with the time of King David, and works his way forward. Obviously, the summary he provides is pared down to the extreme – touching on the Roman conquest of Palestine; the subsequent Arab conquest and the Crusades; the rule of the Ottoman Empire, and its collapse after the First World War; and the Balfour Declaration in 1917, agreeing to support the creation of a Jewish state – but it serves an important purpose, demonstrating the long roots of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, stretching back over centuries.
During this section, Reeve does a good job of explaining without excusing. The killing of the Israeli athletes was murder, plain and simple. None of them were directly responsible for any of the grievances of their killers, and so there is no reasonable moral framework in which these actions are acceptable. With that said, the Munich attack did not occur in a vacuum. As Reeve notes, Black September was moved to take unjustifiable actions for justifiable reasons.
This is not relativism, but reality. We don’t inhabit a simple world.
***
Once he has backfilled the setting, Reeve returns to a strictly chronological account of the unfolding hostage situation. He covers the negotiations; the attempted rescue at the airport; Israel’s notorious Operation Wrath of God, in which Mossad assassination squads eliminated individuals purportedly involved in Munich; and Operation Spring of Youth, the 1973 assault on Palestinian Liberation Organization targets in Beirut, carried out by Israeli Defense Forces disguised as tourists.
***
One Day in September is at its liveliest, and most engaging, in discussing Germany’s mishandling of the Black September incursion. In an attempt to seem as un-Nazi-like as possible, security was thin, with only a minimal presence of walkie-talking wielding police officers in non-threatening light-blue uniforms. The initial negotiations were handled by an untrained officer essentially freelancing. Despite not having a counterterrorism force of their own – Germany’s GSG 9 was later formed by Ulrich Wegener, present at the Fürstenfeldbruck bloodbath – Germany refused Israeli help. Furthermore, the German military was constitutionally prohibited from lending any assistance, while the setup of their Federal Republic meant that the incident was handled as a Bavarian affair.
Without any dedicated snipers, ordinary Munich policemen were plucked from the ranks, poorly positioned at the airport in too few numbers, and given inadequate rifles, but no radios. Reeve also demonstrates that German police officers stationed in a nearby 727 airplane – which the terrorists thought would fly them to safety – abandoned their posts. Thus, a central pillar of the German police response collapsed just moments before the terrorists and their hostages arrived.
In all, a poor showing. None of this came about by malicious intent. But that changes nothing in the end.
***
It should be noted that Reeve wrote this in conjunction with a very good documentary of the same name. At times, you can tell. Portions of One Day in September feel like nothing more than a transcription of the documentary. For instance, when Reeve is introducing some of the Israeli hostages, he tells the story of Andre and Ankie Spitzer. In the documentary, Ankie is interviewed about Andre, and says “Being the person that he was, it was hard not to fall in love with him.” This works in a documentary because there is music, there are images, and you can hear the catch in Ankie’s voice. In a book, though, this quotation fails to land, and feels almost banal. Unfortunately, the book version lacks the emotional resonance of the film.
***
Whatever its literary shortcomings, it’s clear that Reeve worked very hard on this. There are detailed and annotated endnotes discussing the sources. This is significant, as much about Operation Wrath of God is hotly debated. He also makes an effort – as far as possible – to talk with all sides. For obvious reasons, though, one side was more willing to talk than the other.
***
The phrase “cycle of violence” is hopelessly cliched. Yet its endless repetition does not make it any less true. One Day in September is a microcosm of violence in the Middle East. One party is injured, and takes revenge. The revenged-upon party transforms into the righteous victim, and responds with more violence, likely indiscriminate. The next victim turns perpetrator, while the former perpetrator becomes a victim. And it goes on and on, as it has for years, and as it will – it seems – continue for many more.
October 23, 2022
In this book Simon Reeve gives a detailed account of the events at the 1972 Munich Olympics, when eleven Israeli athletes were taken hostage by Palestinian terrorists and the tragedy that unfolded over the next twenty hours before the eyes of the whole world.
Even though I knew quite a bit about the events and was aware of the outcome, it was still a suspenseful read. I also knew that the crisis was dealt with very badly by German authorities. But to what an extent, well, that was still shocking. I wasn't aware at all of the attempts to cover up the whole thing and I suppose that Reeve's research actually revealed a couple of things that sent shock waves through certain quarters. Or maybe it was a Spiegel article. I couldn't quite trace the time line. But in any case, things happened that I wouldn't normally associate with the country I was born in. It was a bit of an eye-opener.
In one early chapter that was a little dense but also very interesting Reeve goes into the history of the Israeli - Palestinian conflict, making clear that this is far from a one sided struggle. Although, there's still only one side to be taken regarding the 1972 events of Munich as far as I'm concerned.
After the hostage drama and the German incompetence and cover up, Reeve turns his attention to the aftermath and the Mossad revenge operation known by the moniker "Wrath of God". It's equally thrilling and sad to read. Violence begets violence, I suppose. But an eye for an eye just means that everyone loses.
Speaking of loss. The author also looks at the victims' families attempts to have the deaths of their sons, husbands, brothers and fathers investigated properly and to be recognized for what they were. An atrocity happening on German soil that was not dealt with in an even remotely responsible way.
All in all a very sad but also quite fascinating history lesson.
Even though I knew quite a bit about the events and was aware of the outcome, it was still a suspenseful read. I also knew that the crisis was dealt with very badly by German authorities. But to what an extent, well, that was still shocking. I wasn't aware at all of the attempts to cover up the whole thing and I suppose that Reeve's research actually revealed a couple of things that sent shock waves through certain quarters. Or maybe it was a Spiegel article. I couldn't quite trace the time line. But in any case, things happened that I wouldn't normally associate with the country I was born in. It was a bit of an eye-opener.
In one early chapter that was a little dense but also very interesting Reeve goes into the history of the Israeli - Palestinian conflict, making clear that this is far from a one sided struggle. Although, there's still only one side to be taken regarding the 1972 events of Munich as far as I'm concerned.
After the hostage drama and the German incompetence and cover up, Reeve turns his attention to the aftermath and the Mossad revenge operation known by the moniker "Wrath of God". It's equally thrilling and sad to read. Violence begets violence, I suppose. But an eye for an eye just means that everyone loses.
Speaking of loss. The author also looks at the victims' families attempts to have the deaths of their sons, husbands, brothers and fathers investigated properly and to be recognized for what they were. An atrocity happening on German soil that was not dealt with in an even remotely responsible way.
All in all a very sad but also quite fascinating history lesson.
September 24, 2024
Reading this in an Olympic year while there is escalating hostilities between Israel and Palestine to the point where they are tiptoeing the line of all out war was a very sobering experience.
Having spent the better part of last year in London witnessing weekly pro-Palestinian marches I would urge anyone considering taking part to read this book. It goes a long way to understanding why Israel has such an aggressive, and to some disproportionate, response to any form of attack.
Sitting in the world of now where events are regularly called off for safety reasons such as bad weather or a few too many people turned up and speakers are cancelled because someone who has chosen to come and listen might get upset or worse offended by something the speaker says, it is nigh on impossible to imagine the events described in this book.
Reading it one cannot help feeling that the Israeli contingent to the games were pawns in numerous disparate groups PR exercises. It was a significant that they where there on German soil, even more so on Munich soil after the horrors of WWII. Germany to prove on their part that they were no longer Jew haters nor the authoritarian bullies they were perceived to be. This reinvention of themselves as cuddly, laid-back liberals meant they took a consciously lax attitude to security. No guards patrolled the walls of the athletes village – lest anyone be reminded of the infamous wall further north- and no security carried guns.
Athletes had fun in this unrestricted atmosphere – staying out and climbing back over the easily scaled walls into the village after nights out that were probably not best advised for someone needing to be at peak performance to compete – and Germany seemed to be winning its charm offensive. Until the night a group of Palestinians in rudimentary disguises snuck in and took eleven Israeli athletes hostage.
An act of this sort was shocking – even in an age of regular airplane hijacks. To do something so brazen at an event that was intended to unite the world for a fortnight over sport, to show that enemies can bond over competition and mutual respect gained for the individual regardless of their nationality and, even more so, to do it in front of millions of viewers worldwide was outrageous.
Two men were killed shortly after being taken hostage and the remaining nine were kept in a room with the bodies on the floor while the games went on. If anyone needs to ask why Israel feels the need to defend itself so aggressively and behave unilaterally one need only point them to this moment when the world would not cancel a sporting event where eleven athletes were being held hostage in the athletes village. More incredible is the footage of the games at the time which shows news teams cutting between footage of the discus and the leader of the Palestinian terrorists dressed in a safari suit enjoying a cigarette on the balcony of a room where two dead men lay. The world watched and did nothing.
As most people know the whole episode was a disaster with all the Israeli hostages and some of the German rescue operation dying in the chaotic denouement. For all its efforts to show how it had changed, Munich had just showed again how disposable Jewish lives were.
This is a well written harrowing book that conveys how poorly the situation was handled. It does not delve into the background politics nor the justifications or rights and wrongs of the Israel/Palestine conflict as well it shouldn’t. Instead it focusses on the human tragedy of those who lost their lives, the families who lost their loved ones and a German government whose desire for redemption led to catastrophic oversights of their duty to protect and ensure safety.
Truly one of the most shocking events in history and anyone spending their weekends protesting should be forced to read it.
Having spent the better part of last year in London witnessing weekly pro-Palestinian marches I would urge anyone considering taking part to read this book. It goes a long way to understanding why Israel has such an aggressive, and to some disproportionate, response to any form of attack.
Sitting in the world of now where events are regularly called off for safety reasons such as bad weather or a few too many people turned up and speakers are cancelled because someone who has chosen to come and listen might get upset or worse offended by something the speaker says, it is nigh on impossible to imagine the events described in this book.
Reading it one cannot help feeling that the Israeli contingent to the games were pawns in numerous disparate groups PR exercises. It was a significant that they where there on German soil, even more so on Munich soil after the horrors of WWII. Germany to prove on their part that they were no longer Jew haters nor the authoritarian bullies they were perceived to be. This reinvention of themselves as cuddly, laid-back liberals meant they took a consciously lax attitude to security. No guards patrolled the walls of the athletes village – lest anyone be reminded of the infamous wall further north- and no security carried guns.
Athletes had fun in this unrestricted atmosphere – staying out and climbing back over the easily scaled walls into the village after nights out that were probably not best advised for someone needing to be at peak performance to compete – and Germany seemed to be winning its charm offensive. Until the night a group of Palestinians in rudimentary disguises snuck in and took eleven Israeli athletes hostage.
An act of this sort was shocking – even in an age of regular airplane hijacks. To do something so brazen at an event that was intended to unite the world for a fortnight over sport, to show that enemies can bond over competition and mutual respect gained for the individual regardless of their nationality and, even more so, to do it in front of millions of viewers worldwide was outrageous.
Two men were killed shortly after being taken hostage and the remaining nine were kept in a room with the bodies on the floor while the games went on. If anyone needs to ask why Israel feels the need to defend itself so aggressively and behave unilaterally one need only point them to this moment when the world would not cancel a sporting event where eleven athletes were being held hostage in the athletes village. More incredible is the footage of the games at the time which shows news teams cutting between footage of the discus and the leader of the Palestinian terrorists dressed in a safari suit enjoying a cigarette on the balcony of a room where two dead men lay. The world watched and did nothing.
As most people know the whole episode was a disaster with all the Israeli hostages and some of the German rescue operation dying in the chaotic denouement. For all its efforts to show how it had changed, Munich had just showed again how disposable Jewish lives were.
This is a well written harrowing book that conveys how poorly the situation was handled. It does not delve into the background politics nor the justifications or rights and wrongs of the Israel/Palestine conflict as well it shouldn’t. Instead it focusses on the human tragedy of those who lost their lives, the families who lost their loved ones and a German government whose desire for redemption led to catastrophic oversights of their duty to protect and ensure safety.
Truly one of the most shocking events in history and anyone spending their weekends protesting should be forced to read it.
October 9, 2022
This book is a bit dated, but it is still good overall as it gives the background and history of the world’s first international, televised while it was happening, terrorism attack during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. It definitely brought attention to the plight of the Palestinians who have been forced from their homes when Israel declared itself a sovereign state in 1948. It is hard to understand why people can’t just seem to get along and live side by side. It is also hard to understand why these terrorists chose some relatively unknown athletes as their targets. They were totally innocent of any political shenanigans and died needlessly. This book also describes in great detail how thoroughly the Germans botched the safety and rescue of the kidnapped hostages. The best part of this book is the Epilogue, written in 2005. The author does a good job of covering subsequent terror events up til then, especially 9/11. And makes a case that I agree with: that retaliatory assassinations are never going to solve the current world problems. ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 stars. (Some of the material covered is a bit dry.)
September 24, 2022
One of the bleakest books that I have ever read. Considering its subject matter – The 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre and the Israeli Revenge Operation “Wrath of God” (the book’s subtitle) – perhaps that is inevitable.
The book One Day in September seems to have been researched, written, and published in tandem with the production of Kevin Macdonald’s 1999 documentary film of the same name – an Oscar winner for Best Documentary Feature. Author Simon Reeve, a British journalist who has often presented his work on BBC telecasts, may be best known for his book The New Jackals (1998), in which he warned that Islamist militants like Osama Bin Laden might try to carry out spectacular terrorist attacks against Western targets. His predictions were, of course, proven all too correct within three years of his book’s publication.
Considering his prior work relating to both terrorism and the media, Reeve seems well suited for setting forth the grim subject matter of the book. The early chapters of One Day in September set forth the process through which eight agents of the Palestinian terror group Black September entered the Olympic complex in Munich on September 5, 1972, killed two Israeli athletes, and took nine others hostage, demanding the release of Palestinian militants held by Israel.
Reeve makes clear the feeling of horror and disbelief that gripped people all over the world – a terrorist attack on the Olympic Games where political disagreements are supposed to be put aside, for a time, in favor of peaceful athletic competition. The context of Germany’s history – the Second World War and the Holocaust – could not be overlooked. “In Israel, in a smattering of homes across the fledgling state, the horror was mixed with disbelief: not in Germany, not Jews, not again” (p. 55). The same associations were very much on the minds of West German government officials who had wanted the Munich Summer Olympics to show the world a new Germany that rejected fascism and embraced democracy. Accordingly, “The entire German government…seemed to swing into action…in a desperate bid to prevent more Jewish blood being shed on German soil” (p. 59).
The Germans, caught unprepared, improvised a desperate attempt at rescuing the hostages. At the Fürstenfeldbruck air force base outside Munich, an airplane was waiting – supposedly to fly the Palestinian terrorists and their Israeli hostages to an Arab country, as per the terrorists’ demands. Snipers were to be placed where they could take out the Black September agents, and the “crew” of the Lufthansa aircraft was to consist of security personnel who would neutralize the terrorists. But the snipers were too few, and were out of position; and the security officials aboard the plane suddenly “decided their position was untenable” and abandoned the plane! In short, “The German rescue operation suddenly degenerated into an obscene farce” (p. 109); and it should be no surprise that the episode ended in tragedy.
Israeli retaliation was swift – including air force attacks on Palestinian camps in which “Some two hundred innocent people were killed, many of them women and children” (pp. 152-53). Beyond that, however, there was a widespread feeling within the Israeli Government that there needed to be targeted retaliation against the Black September organization, in the form of assassination attacks against all those who were behind the Munich murders.
Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir had hesitated about implementing such an operation – because of its illegality under international law, among other considerations – but when the three surviving Black September terrorists from the Munich operation were released by the Germans after the hijacking of a Lufthansa aircraft, “For Meir, the release of the terrorists was the final straw….Any doubts she might have had about responding violently were quashed by the release” of the surviving Munich assailants (p. 158).
The Israeli operation was called “Wrath of God.” A number of Black September operatives were indeed killed by Israeli agents, though not all of the operations went as planned; one bungled attack in Lillehammer, Norway, shattered the Israeli intelligence service’s long-standing reputation for flawless espionage operations. Nonetheless, the Israelis persisted. Five years after the Munich murders, “The relatives of the athletes killed in Munich were still struggling to rebuild their lives, and the memory of the attack was still an open wound in the Israeli psyche. Government officials desperately wanted to avenge the dead” (p. 203). And thus it was that, even after “Wrath of God” operations had been officially suspended, the hunt went on for some of Black September’s most elite leaders – a process that Reeve describes in a suspenseful manner.
Writing in 2000, four years after the implementation of the Israeli-Palestinian peace accords, Reeve noted optimistically that “Finally, there is hope for a future peace in the Middle East. The endless cycle of violence between Israelis and Palestinians may one day draw to a close….[A]lthough reconciliation takes time, progress is being made” (p. 251).
Those sentiments are admirable, to be sure. Yet within two years after the release of Mcdonald’s One Year in September, and one year after the publication of Reeve’s One Day in September book, the world was once again transfixed by a terrorist attack that unfolded on live television – this time, the attacks of September 11, 2001. Once again, the terrorists who murdered innocent civilians claimed – in part – to be acting on behalf of Palestinian refugees huddling in squalid camps. Once again, the attacks spurred large-scale retaliation that killed most of the terrorists behind the attacks, along with many innocent people who had had nothing to do with the attacks. And meanwhile, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict seems as far from resolution as ever.
It can be helpful to read this book in tandem with a viewing of either Mcdonald's One Day in September film documentary or Steven Spielberg's feature film Munich (2005). The film is, I think, one of Spielberg's best -- particularly in the way it shows its main character, Mossad agent Avner Kaufman (played by Eric Bana), at first embracing the "Wrath of God" operation as a military and political necessity, but later coming to question its vengeance-based rationale. But in any of these three cases, you will be experiencing a real-life story in a manner that is conscientiously crafted and thoroughly depressing.
The book One Day in September seems to have been researched, written, and published in tandem with the production of Kevin Macdonald’s 1999 documentary film of the same name – an Oscar winner for Best Documentary Feature. Author Simon Reeve, a British journalist who has often presented his work on BBC telecasts, may be best known for his book The New Jackals (1998), in which he warned that Islamist militants like Osama Bin Laden might try to carry out spectacular terrorist attacks against Western targets. His predictions were, of course, proven all too correct within three years of his book’s publication.
Considering his prior work relating to both terrorism and the media, Reeve seems well suited for setting forth the grim subject matter of the book. The early chapters of One Day in September set forth the process through which eight agents of the Palestinian terror group Black September entered the Olympic complex in Munich on September 5, 1972, killed two Israeli athletes, and took nine others hostage, demanding the release of Palestinian militants held by Israel.
Reeve makes clear the feeling of horror and disbelief that gripped people all over the world – a terrorist attack on the Olympic Games where political disagreements are supposed to be put aside, for a time, in favor of peaceful athletic competition. The context of Germany’s history – the Second World War and the Holocaust – could not be overlooked. “In Israel, in a smattering of homes across the fledgling state, the horror was mixed with disbelief: not in Germany, not Jews, not again” (p. 55). The same associations were very much on the minds of West German government officials who had wanted the Munich Summer Olympics to show the world a new Germany that rejected fascism and embraced democracy. Accordingly, “The entire German government…seemed to swing into action…in a desperate bid to prevent more Jewish blood being shed on German soil” (p. 59).
The Germans, caught unprepared, improvised a desperate attempt at rescuing the hostages. At the Fürstenfeldbruck air force base outside Munich, an airplane was waiting – supposedly to fly the Palestinian terrorists and their Israeli hostages to an Arab country, as per the terrorists’ demands. Snipers were to be placed where they could take out the Black September agents, and the “crew” of the Lufthansa aircraft was to consist of security personnel who would neutralize the terrorists. But the snipers were too few, and were out of position; and the security officials aboard the plane suddenly “decided their position was untenable” and abandoned the plane! In short, “The German rescue operation suddenly degenerated into an obscene farce” (p. 109); and it should be no surprise that the episode ended in tragedy.
Israeli retaliation was swift – including air force attacks on Palestinian camps in which “Some two hundred innocent people were killed, many of them women and children” (pp. 152-53). Beyond that, however, there was a widespread feeling within the Israeli Government that there needed to be targeted retaliation against the Black September organization, in the form of assassination attacks against all those who were behind the Munich murders.
Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir had hesitated about implementing such an operation – because of its illegality under international law, among other considerations – but when the three surviving Black September terrorists from the Munich operation were released by the Germans after the hijacking of a Lufthansa aircraft, “For Meir, the release of the terrorists was the final straw….Any doubts she might have had about responding violently were quashed by the release” of the surviving Munich assailants (p. 158).
The Israeli operation was called “Wrath of God.” A number of Black September operatives were indeed killed by Israeli agents, though not all of the operations went as planned; one bungled attack in Lillehammer, Norway, shattered the Israeli intelligence service’s long-standing reputation for flawless espionage operations. Nonetheless, the Israelis persisted. Five years after the Munich murders, “The relatives of the athletes killed in Munich were still struggling to rebuild their lives, and the memory of the attack was still an open wound in the Israeli psyche. Government officials desperately wanted to avenge the dead” (p. 203). And thus it was that, even after “Wrath of God” operations had been officially suspended, the hunt went on for some of Black September’s most elite leaders – a process that Reeve describes in a suspenseful manner.
Writing in 2000, four years after the implementation of the Israeli-Palestinian peace accords, Reeve noted optimistically that “Finally, there is hope for a future peace in the Middle East. The endless cycle of violence between Israelis and Palestinians may one day draw to a close….[A]lthough reconciliation takes time, progress is being made” (p. 251).
Those sentiments are admirable, to be sure. Yet within two years after the release of Mcdonald’s One Year in September, and one year after the publication of Reeve’s One Day in September book, the world was once again transfixed by a terrorist attack that unfolded on live television – this time, the attacks of September 11, 2001. Once again, the terrorists who murdered innocent civilians claimed – in part – to be acting on behalf of Palestinian refugees huddling in squalid camps. Once again, the attacks spurred large-scale retaliation that killed most of the terrorists behind the attacks, along with many innocent people who had had nothing to do with the attacks. And meanwhile, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict seems as far from resolution as ever.
It can be helpful to read this book in tandem with a viewing of either Mcdonald's One Day in September film documentary or Steven Spielberg's feature film Munich (2005). The film is, I think, one of Spielberg's best -- particularly in the way it shows its main character, Mossad agent Avner Kaufman (played by Eric Bana), at first embracing the "Wrath of God" operation as a military and political necessity, but later coming to question its vengeance-based rationale. But in any of these three cases, you will be experiencing a real-life story in a manner that is conscientiously crafted and thoroughly depressing.
June 16, 2024
I enjoyed this one. Part true crime part history lesson. It’s especially interesting to read in 2024 as a look into the recent history of violence between Israel and Palestine.
The writing is good, moves quickly, builds an engaging narrative. With all the people in the book, I wish the author reminded us who is who more often. It also drags a bit toward the end.
The writing is good, moves quickly, builds an engaging narrative. With all the people in the book, I wish the author reminded us who is who more often. It also drags a bit toward the end.
March 2, 2021
Expertly researched and reported, this book chronicles the shameful disaster of the 1972 Munich Olympics, where Palestinians conducted a massacre of Israeli athletes, host country Germany tried to cover up its disastrous response, and Israel embarked on a murderous revenge campaign. I was 12 years old when this happened, and naturally had some level of awareness of the events at the time, but reading this now was riveting and illuminating, not to mention horrifying. I don’t know the rest of Simon Reeve’s work, but this is inspired and inspiring journalism, about an event that history must never forget. Sadly, the book reveals how it is already being forgotten, or denied, and to me, that’s the importance of reading it. It also doesn’t hurt that it reads like a thriller that hits the ground running.
October 21, 2016
Very good read. Not only on the horrific moment by moment happenings that went on during the 1972 Munich Olympics, but the follow-up, retaliatory, assassinations by the "Wrath of God Hit Squads, as well. The author does a good job giving, not only, background information on both the Israeli and Palestinians, but brings the story forward to today, with interviews of the surviving relatives of both the murdered athletes, as well as the terrorists' families.
September 30, 2017
Hmmm I had high hopes for this book. The heartbreaking story of the Israeli athletes competing under the Olympic ideal and losing their lives had intrigued me enough to buy this book.
I found it interesting, but lacking in humanity and detail - it was very matter of fact, but lacking the factual depth I needed.
Don't get me wrong, it's a well written and well researched book about the Munich situation, and it definitely gave me an insight into the Israel/Palestine conflict that I was lacking in before, but it didn't grab me. It read more like a book of facts and information, although some may enjoy it's factual dealing with the situation.
If you want to know more about what happened on that day in September, it is worth a read, but don't expect a human side to the story.
I found it interesting, but lacking in humanity and detail - it was very matter of fact, but lacking the factual depth I needed.
Don't get me wrong, it's a well written and well researched book about the Munich situation, and it definitely gave me an insight into the Israel/Palestine conflict that I was lacking in before, but it didn't grab me. It read more like a book of facts and information, although some may enjoy it's factual dealing with the situation.
If you want to know more about what happened on that day in September, it is worth a read, but don't expect a human side to the story.
June 29, 2018
4.5 Stars!
“The inescapable conclusion of this extensive 30 year cover up is that German officers were unprepared to risk their lives for a group of Jews, and that senior figures in successive German and Bavarian governments have been frightened to reveal the true story for fear that Germany would once again be accused of institutionalised anti-Semitism.”
Black September traces its messy origins back to the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organisation), naming itself after an ugly conflict with Jordan, that the Palestinians later described as a ‘black September’. This was initially a covert branch that could operate without the baggage or responsibility of the PLO, a concept not too far away from what Mossad is to the country of Israel, a scapegoat of sorts, that tries to feign independence and take responsibility and attention away from the real people making the decisions.
Many people today will be totally unaware of the fear and terror that the PLO and the Black September movement held over so many people and nations throughout the 1970s. The hijacking of commercial airlines and other atrocious acts like political assassinations, and the murdering of innocent civilians in airports or other public places. Their brand of radicalism and terror was catnip for the media and ensured that they were never too far away from the headlines.
Operation Iqrit and Biri’m, was the rather clunky name given to the planned action by the movement at the Munich Olympics. It all began at the heart of the Olympic village, where the first two victims met their death, but the real drama eventually played out away from the camera, when they all transferred to Furstenfeldbruck airport, where the terrorists tried to fly out of the country, but of course so much went so wrong for so many at the violent and tragic climax.
We see that naivety, incompetence and recklessness played a huge part of both sides. Zvi Zamir, an Israeli expert on counter-terrorism, who was repeatedly ignored by the German authorities, claimed that, “The Germans were useless. Useless, all the way.” Not only were the initial attempts at raiding the complex to free the hostages beamed live to millions around the globe, but the terrorists were also watching it on their TV too. A situation so ludicrous you couldn’t make it up. As Reeve shows, this was only the start of the many disastrous calamities that were to mar this doomed rescue mission.
Reeve builds the tension and anxiety nicely, weighing up various sides of the saga, like the war of words between the woefully incompetent Germans and then Israeli Prime Minster, Golda Meir, who proved to be stubbornly inflexible to the demands of the hostage takers. The extent of Reeve’s research is precise and detailed, he mixes the documentation of the massacre with a mix of first-hand accounts from the terrorists, the media, drawing from the likes of then ITN reporter Gerald Seymour and ABC news caster Peter Jennings, and even documents from the Stasi files, who were watching events unfold from close by.
Not only did the Munich police and the Bavarian government believe that five snipers was enough to tackle eight heavily armed, trained terrorists, but they also sent their men out without walkie talkies, (even though the unarmed security guards at the event had been issued with them). They also had no bullet-proof vests or steel helmets, no telescopic sights or infra-red technology to see in the dark. There were also tactical mistakes to compound these failings.
The Munich police were warned explicitly before the games that the Palestinians might be planning an attack on the Olympics, and yet the Germans still did nothing to increase security. It is astonishing to think that the terrorists were able to fly into a major city in a major western nation during the then biggest sporting event yet to have taken place and get away with carrying ten hand grenades in their hand luggage as well as other weapons.
One of the most bizarre moments in this tragedy is when some random man falsely claims that all hostages had survived and had been rescued and the global media played their part in the lie by spreading it around the world and misinforming the victims' family and friends. Did no one in the media think that they should maybe check the validity of their sources?...And of course adding insult to injury to the families the inevitable cover up, denials, contradictions and lies began to emerge. Thankfully their ability to construct a plausible alternative version of events was as doomed and incompetent as their botched rescue mission.
The second part of this book is dedicated to the aftermath and the escalation of terrorism that would spill out of the Middle East and rip across continental Europe killing many innocent men, women and children along the way. We also get to hear many of the details of Meir and Israel’s series of merciless revenge attacks. If sympathy was on their side after the Munich, then it wouldn’t be for so long after they got the taste for blood. Not only did they make a series of revenge attacks in Lebanon and Syria, killing many innocent men, women and children, but then they ramped up with Operation Wrath of God. This was a further campaign across Europe, targeting various Palestinians from Cyprus to Italy, and France to Norway and beyond, they used bombs and bullets to show how seriously they were taking matters. So the situation descended into outright warfare, and as ever in such cases the biggest group of people to suffer were totally innocent bystanders, as radicals on both sides grew more obsessed in exacting revenge after revenge, blind and hardened to the fact that they were only adding to and creating more misery.
These were athletes who left 32 dependants behind, including 14 children and seven widows, so surely one of the most shocking facts concerning the aftermath and legacy of the massacre is the routine maltreatment and disrespect shown to the families of the victims. Not only did the committee at Vancouver games in 1976 refuse to acknowledge the terrorists attacks with a minute’s silence, but various Olympic committees would continue to do their best to ignore the tragedy altogether. The governments of Germany and Israel were equally if not more contemptuous towards the victims and their appeals for acknowledgement. Of course Israel’s suspicious reluctance to get involved in pressing the German government for more details rightly raised many questions and suspicions of possible backroom deals for Israel to keep quiet and some believed that maybe the Germans had rewarded Israel for its silence?...
“The men died in Germany a second time, when we tried to find out the truth.” said Ankie Spitzer, the widow of one of the victims. Of course the quickest and easiest way to make an unimaginably painful event even worse is to lie and deceive people about the true events, and the Germans made a long and sustained effort to do just that.
It took twenty years and a TV interview played to millions of Germans in 1992 before a sympathetic source got in contact with one of the widows. After denying/lying about having any more information, the truth was they had been hiding more than 4’000 documents, reports and files relating to the Munich massacre. It was an immense government lie and cover up. Other horrors soon leaked out, such as the strong possibility that the Germans may well have killed some of the Israelis, during the chaotic and fatal shootout.
So this was a fascinating, horrific, sad and yet hugely compelling piece of writing. Reeve not only gives us a satisfying overview into the historical background of a horrendously complex and messy conflict, but he also does a sound job of bringing the human cost to the fore, with the many accounts from the victim’s families. The accounts from those who were there also adds gravity and credit to the book, making this essential reading.
June 13, 2015
For people who were mature enough to understand it at the time, the terrorist attacks on the US on September 11, 2001 were THE ones that defined terrorism and will forever be etched in our memories. But for an earlier generation, the most infamous terrorist attack was the one struck at the Israeli delegation to the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, in what was then West Germany.
"One Day in September" is a book that will grip the reader as it recalls the events of that infamous day in 1972, when Palestinian militants of the Black September group took Israeli athletes participating in the Olympic Games in Munich, West Germany as hostages, only for all the hostages and five of the eight Palestinian terrorists killed in an incompetent, chaotic, and disastrous rescue attempt by the German government.
The book is divided into two parts: the first covers the attack on the Israeli quarters at the Olympic Village in the early hours of September 5, the murder of two Israeli athletes who tried to resist, the taking of the remaining nine as hostages, the attempted negotiations with the German authorities, the helicopter flight to an airfield near Munich, and the disastrous rescue operation that ensued. A total of eleven Israeli athletes, five terrorists, and one German policemen were killed in the gunfire and conflagration.
The second part of the book is about the retaliation by Israel on the members and leaders of Black September years after the massacre. The Israeli government certainly practiced a punitive "eye for an eye" attitude towards the three terrorists who were eventually able to escape from Munich and the others who the Israelis thought were also responsible for the massacre.
But not all the Israelis killed were guilty. In Norway, the Israeli hit squad that was supposed to take down one of the leaders of Black September turned out to be an innocent waiter. And one of the terrorists managed to elude Israeli eyes. Perhaps blinded by wrath for the terrorists they held responsible for Munich, the Israelis also committed mistakes that claimed an innocent life.
"One Day in September" is one great read and, with its comprehensiveness, is probably the best book about the subject so far.
"One Day in September" is a book that will grip the reader as it recalls the events of that infamous day in 1972, when Palestinian militants of the Black September group took Israeli athletes participating in the Olympic Games in Munich, West Germany as hostages, only for all the hostages and five of the eight Palestinian terrorists killed in an incompetent, chaotic, and disastrous rescue attempt by the German government.
The book is divided into two parts: the first covers the attack on the Israeli quarters at the Olympic Village in the early hours of September 5, the murder of two Israeli athletes who tried to resist, the taking of the remaining nine as hostages, the attempted negotiations with the German authorities, the helicopter flight to an airfield near Munich, and the disastrous rescue operation that ensued. A total of eleven Israeli athletes, five terrorists, and one German policemen were killed in the gunfire and conflagration.
The second part of the book is about the retaliation by Israel on the members and leaders of Black September years after the massacre. The Israeli government certainly practiced a punitive "eye for an eye" attitude towards the three terrorists who were eventually able to escape from Munich and the others who the Israelis thought were also responsible for the massacre.
But not all the Israelis killed were guilty. In Norway, the Israeli hit squad that was supposed to take down one of the leaders of Black September turned out to be an innocent waiter. And one of the terrorists managed to elude Israeli eyes. Perhaps blinded by wrath for the terrorists they held responsible for Munich, the Israelis also committed mistakes that claimed an innocent life.
"One Day in September" is one great read and, with its comprehensiveness, is probably the best book about the subject so far.
February 22, 2019
Threw this book at the wall a few times out of anger! The ineptitude of the Germans and the heartbreak of the Israelis was killing me.
October 19, 2025
An insightful, interesting, and well-written account, but I didn’t appreciate the amount of “screen time” the Palestinian terrorists got - they’re terrorists, they don’t deserve pages dedicated to their lives and backstories - nor that Reeve referred to the Mossad agents as “killers”. Neither did I care for the epilogue, which spent too long debating the morality of Wrath of God. Again, the author leans too heavily towards Palestinian sympathy at times.
It also became a bit repetitive in the last few chapters, and lost the thrill and momentum of the chapters detailing the massacre and Operation Wrath of God - the best parts of the book.
It also became a bit repetitive in the last few chapters, and lost the thrill and momentum of the chapters detailing the massacre and Operation Wrath of God - the best parts of the book.
October 11, 2021
Excelente en términos del reportaje periodístico pero contenía un número bastante alto de falacias que me molestaron bastante pues sobre simplificaban la naturaleza del conflicto entre Palestina e Israel.
January 29, 2016
Factually heavy, which is never a bad thing, it seemed rather slanted against Israel. It seemed like, yea they did this really bad thing, but what choice did they have? When it came to other attacks, the Palestinian ones were a couple of sentences long where as the Israeli attacks carried out by Mossad were sometimes at 2-3 pages. They spent 5 pages talking about Mossad accidentally killing 1 man but 1 paragraph talking about how the Palestinians shot and killed 20+ people in an airport. Just seemed rather slanted in my opinion.
Also could have used a little more thorough editing.
Also could have used a little more thorough editing.
January 17, 2012
That was intense.
An interesting book, very well researched and quite balanced argument with all those concerned. The writing style was quite engaging and well paced, given the subject matter. I'll never look at the middle eat conflict (or Germany) the same away again, and not sure how I feel about that.
A worthwhile read then for sure, but clearly not a comfortable easy page turner.
An interesting book, very well researched and quite balanced argument with all those concerned. The writing style was quite engaging and well paced, given the subject matter. I'll never look at the middle eat conflict (or Germany) the same away again, and not sure how I feel about that.
A worthwhile read then for sure, but clearly not a comfortable easy page turner.
April 29, 2020
I have high hope for this book.
But I'm disappointed.
The beginning of the book is very interesting, (taking Israeli athletes hostages, negotiations, rescue attempt at airport ) it got me hooked.
But the later part seemed hollow and lack insights.
I won't read it again.
But I'm disappointed.
The beginning of the book is very interesting, (taking Israeli athletes hostages, negotiations, rescue attempt at airport ) it got me hooked.
But the later part seemed hollow and lack insights.
I won't read it again.
Currently reading
July 29, 2013This book has the most detailed research I've ever seen. No details were left untouched.Made me feel a part of the action physically and emotionally. Well written. To bad it's true.
August 23, 2017
Excellent and fascinating book on a terrible, yet also fascinating tragedy that occurred during the 1972 Olympics. Well researched and written, and a book that needs to be read.
November 12, 2021
Took months to read because it was very dry. Additionally, the author was perversely sympathetic with the plight of the terrorists, which rubbed me the wrong way. Not what I expected.
June 3, 2022
I’m completely baffled by this book’s fanfare, to be honest. I couldn’t believe that not a single review exists on Goodreads that even alludes to the fact that Reeve’s book is so heavily prejudiced against the Palestinian struggle. Clearly this book was not read by people very familiar with this horrific abuse of human rights whatsoever, let alone proposals such as the 1947 U.N. Israeli-Palestinian Partition Plan (which the Palestinians rejected and the Israelis violated).
Let me explain. While I do not in any way, shape, or form condone the terror attacks and the murders of the Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics, I also did not expect to read a book that referred to the Israeli side as “operatives, directors” and so forth, while depicting their counterparts on the Arab side all as “terrorists” (Not the terrorists that killed the athletes, but the diplomats and leaders seeking redress on behalf of the displaced Palestinian peoples). It seemed the author was perfectly fine with the perverse “revenge” operation conducted by Mossad (Israel’s “CIA”, if you will) on random Arab League and PLO members, who had no proven affiliation to the Black September terrorists responsible for the hostage crisis in Munich. However, when the vicious cycle of retribution was repeated, the Palestinians were always portrayed as “terrorists” - killing innocent civilians (when the Israelis did the exact same).
No one deserved to die that day, and the Israeli athletes were undoubtedly the victims. It is disturbing, however, that Reeve only minorly brushes over why this incident took place – and also how he only focuses on the grief of the Israeli families. Didn’t Arab families lose young sons that day too? Yes, they may have done something horrific, but they have been humiliated then ignored by the entire world for decades – and no matter what, parents who lose a child deserve sympathy for their loss.
I can say that the reporting on that fateful September day was fantastically detailed and riveting. But the context provided for why these events occurred was simply too distorted and biased, throughout the book’s entirety, for me to read it as a true historical event rather than what I saw it as: near-Zionist propaganda. Sure, Reeve mentions that “the Palestinians now began suffering in their homeland. Zionists forced tens of thousands of Arabs – families who had been living in the region for centuries – to flee their homes.” But immediately following that sentence? “Both sides were responsible for terrible atrocities.
He does mention the Zionist plan to exterminate Palestinians from their homeland - a group that had no rightful claim to this land – along with mentioning the Palestinian suffering, but as I mentioned earlier, quickly skirts over just how inhumane the entire invasion was, with the oppressed becoming the oppressors. The Holocaust was used endlessly to garner worldwide sympathy for an independent Israeli state – when in fact, most Zionists were not Holocaust survivors or displaced citizens fleeing from the war whatsoever. In fact, the concentration camp survivors who had resettled in the Palestinian state largely kept to themselves and had little, if anything, to do with this horrific ethnic cleansing. I’m unsure as to how it can be perceived as a “war”, when the Israelis had years of planning for the creation of the state, and months upon months to plan their military assaults. Not to mention, the Israelis were largely helped by Western countries – thus, they were provided with the best munitions as well as with large, organized armies.
This was a case where literally entire families of Palestinians were bringing rocks to a gun fight. Those were generally the “atrocities” Reeve refers to – Palestinians throwing rocks at Israeli soldiers who were looting their homes and executing their people, or calling the Arab League for help in setting off bombs and deploying very small units of guerilla fighters (their best weapons simply old Soviet Kalashnikov rifles) in a feeble attempt to defend their land.
The fact that Reeve states: “it’s true that while many Palestinians were forcibly evicted from their homes, many also made the voluntary choice to leave” is either ignorant at best, and at worst, deceitful, manipulative and hateful. Since when is it a “voluntary choice” to leave your home due to mass killings and extreme violence? The Palestinians who “voluntarily” left did so early on in the Israeli’s operation, after seeing their neighbors’ homes raided, occupied, or torched to the ground. Most that “voluntarily left” packed a single suitcase, expecting to be back home within a week. They expected most of their homes to be left intact, and were also promised by the occupying British troops as well as the U.N., that any property illegally seized by the Zionist Jews would be returned to them, or if destroyed, they would be compensated for. Neither of those things happened. Instead, they were all forced into squalid refugee camps and the worst parts of the country (prisoners in their own homes) while the Zionists enjoyed the lush, green landscapes with the running water as well as helping themselves to the Palestinians’ best export industries.
Tell me, how do you create a new state within a state of people where a large population already exists (the Palestinians)? Well, mass displacement and mass executions, that's how. The Zionists planned this "war" for quite some time; before the Holocaust even occurred. The Holocaust just gave them the perfect propaganda to use - because after all, who could blame Jews fleeing from death camps for wanting to settle in a new state where they would no longer be oppressed? But that's the Western version and the biased version that Reeve resorts to; not the full story whatsoever - not even close, to the Palestinian cause. At first (for a few brief days, I believe) the US actually condemned the Israelis continued settlement on the West Bank and their continued breach of the 1947 U.N. Israeli-Palestinian Partition Plan by settling on land areas that were reserved for Palestinians. The U.N. denounced the actions as well, and even up to as recently as 2016 I believe, President Obama and U.S. presidents before him have been urging Israelis to STOP settling on Palestinian land.
Yet one follows through with removing them from the land they're stealing, so now the history becomes more and more obscured as more time goes on. Reeve’s book certainly doesn’t help the matter. The peace talks are a joke; there will never be peace because the Zionist Jews brutally murdered innocent Palestinian civilians, the ones remaining and not yet forced into refugee camps (oops, I mean, “those who hadn’t voluntarily left for squalid refugee camps!”). As I said, I don’t know if Reeve is just plain ignorant on the subject or intentionally continuing to perpetrate lies by the original Zionist settlers – but one thing is for certain – he either lacked the knowledge or the objectivity to write this book properly.
If you want to know the actual story of the invasion and not the “war”, read “The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine”, a brilliant book written by Jewish scholar Ilan Pappe. There are many Jewish scholars out there who are trying to get the truth out to the world – the ones who tell of the mass murder campaign orchestrated by the likes of David Ben-Gurion. Once you’ve read an actual properly researched book by an actual scholar of the area, go back and read One Day in September so you can understand why it’s so infuriating. Just to make things clear, I’d appreciate not hearing any accusations of anti-Semitism when my beloved grandfather (who passed when I was 23) as well as my great-aunt and cousins are Jewish. So even if I am not Jewish by culture, I do have Jewish blood. I just prefer to read both sides of a story and come to the natural conclusion. Only hearing one side of the story, like Reeve tells it, helps no one, and certainly not history’s victims.
One final thing I’d like to add is that I think it’s quite telling that Golda Meir, Israel’s prime minister at the time of the incident, chose not to involve Israel in negotiations. They essentially told their delegations and the Germans: “It’s your problem. We are not going to lose face by negotiating with Palestinians, because it would make us look weak politically and we refuse to allow any possible delegitimization of our statehood.” I’m surprised more Israeli families weren’t furious with the government (although some anger was expressed, it was certainly far more concentrated on the outrage of Germans actions of “once again allowing Jewish blood on their soil”). Was NO ONE who read this book at all suspicious of the fact that the Israeli state did absolutely nothing to commemorate the dead athletes?! This book was absolutely insulting to the Palestinian cause at best, and disgusting at worst.
Oh, here's a YouTube video from only a year ago, filmed by CBC Canada, which depicts current conditions. It's worth a quick watch at only 7-8 minutes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2DhI...
Let me explain. While I do not in any way, shape, or form condone the terror attacks and the murders of the Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics, I also did not expect to read a book that referred to the Israeli side as “operatives, directors” and so forth, while depicting their counterparts on the Arab side all as “terrorists” (Not the terrorists that killed the athletes, but the diplomats and leaders seeking redress on behalf of the displaced Palestinian peoples). It seemed the author was perfectly fine with the perverse “revenge” operation conducted by Mossad (Israel’s “CIA”, if you will) on random Arab League and PLO members, who had no proven affiliation to the Black September terrorists responsible for the hostage crisis in Munich. However, when the vicious cycle of retribution was repeated, the Palestinians were always portrayed as “terrorists” - killing innocent civilians (when the Israelis did the exact same).
No one deserved to die that day, and the Israeli athletes were undoubtedly the victims. It is disturbing, however, that Reeve only minorly brushes over why this incident took place – and also how he only focuses on the grief of the Israeli families. Didn’t Arab families lose young sons that day too? Yes, they may have done something horrific, but they have been humiliated then ignored by the entire world for decades – and no matter what, parents who lose a child deserve sympathy for their loss.
I can say that the reporting on that fateful September day was fantastically detailed and riveting. But the context provided for why these events occurred was simply too distorted and biased, throughout the book’s entirety, for me to read it as a true historical event rather than what I saw it as: near-Zionist propaganda. Sure, Reeve mentions that “the Palestinians now began suffering in their homeland. Zionists forced tens of thousands of Arabs – families who had been living in the region for centuries – to flee their homes.” But immediately following that sentence? “Both sides were responsible for terrible atrocities.
He does mention the Zionist plan to exterminate Palestinians from their homeland - a group that had no rightful claim to this land – along with mentioning the Palestinian suffering, but as I mentioned earlier, quickly skirts over just how inhumane the entire invasion was, with the oppressed becoming the oppressors. The Holocaust was used endlessly to garner worldwide sympathy for an independent Israeli state – when in fact, most Zionists were not Holocaust survivors or displaced citizens fleeing from the war whatsoever. In fact, the concentration camp survivors who had resettled in the Palestinian state largely kept to themselves and had little, if anything, to do with this horrific ethnic cleansing. I’m unsure as to how it can be perceived as a “war”, when the Israelis had years of planning for the creation of the state, and months upon months to plan their military assaults. Not to mention, the Israelis were largely helped by Western countries – thus, they were provided with the best munitions as well as with large, organized armies.
This was a case where literally entire families of Palestinians were bringing rocks to a gun fight. Those were generally the “atrocities” Reeve refers to – Palestinians throwing rocks at Israeli soldiers who were looting their homes and executing their people, or calling the Arab League for help in setting off bombs and deploying very small units of guerilla fighters (their best weapons simply old Soviet Kalashnikov rifles) in a feeble attempt to defend their land.
The fact that Reeve states: “it’s true that while many Palestinians were forcibly evicted from their homes, many also made the voluntary choice to leave” is either ignorant at best, and at worst, deceitful, manipulative and hateful. Since when is it a “voluntary choice” to leave your home due to mass killings and extreme violence? The Palestinians who “voluntarily” left did so early on in the Israeli’s operation, after seeing their neighbors’ homes raided, occupied, or torched to the ground. Most that “voluntarily left” packed a single suitcase, expecting to be back home within a week. They expected most of their homes to be left intact, and were also promised by the occupying British troops as well as the U.N., that any property illegally seized by the Zionist Jews would be returned to them, or if destroyed, they would be compensated for. Neither of those things happened. Instead, they were all forced into squalid refugee camps and the worst parts of the country (prisoners in their own homes) while the Zionists enjoyed the lush, green landscapes with the running water as well as helping themselves to the Palestinians’ best export industries.
Tell me, how do you create a new state within a state of people where a large population already exists (the Palestinians)? Well, mass displacement and mass executions, that's how. The Zionists planned this "war" for quite some time; before the Holocaust even occurred. The Holocaust just gave them the perfect propaganda to use - because after all, who could blame Jews fleeing from death camps for wanting to settle in a new state where they would no longer be oppressed? But that's the Western version and the biased version that Reeve resorts to; not the full story whatsoever - not even close, to the Palestinian cause. At first (for a few brief days, I believe) the US actually condemned the Israelis continued settlement on the West Bank and their continued breach of the 1947 U.N. Israeli-Palestinian Partition Plan by settling on land areas that were reserved for Palestinians. The U.N. denounced the actions as well, and even up to as recently as 2016 I believe, President Obama and U.S. presidents before him have been urging Israelis to STOP settling on Palestinian land.
Yet one follows through with removing them from the land they're stealing, so now the history becomes more and more obscured as more time goes on. Reeve’s book certainly doesn’t help the matter. The peace talks are a joke; there will never be peace because the Zionist Jews brutally murdered innocent Palestinian civilians, the ones remaining and not yet forced into refugee camps (oops, I mean, “those who hadn’t voluntarily left for squalid refugee camps!”). As I said, I don’t know if Reeve is just plain ignorant on the subject or intentionally continuing to perpetrate lies by the original Zionist settlers – but one thing is for certain – he either lacked the knowledge or the objectivity to write this book properly.
If you want to know the actual story of the invasion and not the “war”, read “The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine”, a brilliant book written by Jewish scholar Ilan Pappe. There are many Jewish scholars out there who are trying to get the truth out to the world – the ones who tell of the mass murder campaign orchestrated by the likes of David Ben-Gurion. Once you’ve read an actual properly researched book by an actual scholar of the area, go back and read One Day in September so you can understand why it’s so infuriating. Just to make things clear, I’d appreciate not hearing any accusations of anti-Semitism when my beloved grandfather (who passed when I was 23) as well as my great-aunt and cousins are Jewish. So even if I am not Jewish by culture, I do have Jewish blood. I just prefer to read both sides of a story and come to the natural conclusion. Only hearing one side of the story, like Reeve tells it, helps no one, and certainly not history’s victims.
One final thing I’d like to add is that I think it’s quite telling that Golda Meir, Israel’s prime minister at the time of the incident, chose not to involve Israel in negotiations. They essentially told their delegations and the Germans: “It’s your problem. We are not going to lose face by negotiating with Palestinians, because it would make us look weak politically and we refuse to allow any possible delegitimization of our statehood.” I’m surprised more Israeli families weren’t furious with the government (although some anger was expressed, it was certainly far more concentrated on the outrage of Germans actions of “once again allowing Jewish blood on their soil”). Was NO ONE who read this book at all suspicious of the fact that the Israeli state did absolutely nothing to commemorate the dead athletes?! This book was absolutely insulting to the Palestinian cause at best, and disgusting at worst.
Oh, here's a YouTube video from only a year ago, filmed by CBC Canada, which depicts current conditions. It's worth a quick watch at only 7-8 minutes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2DhI...
May 25, 2025
In this 2005 account of the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre, Simon Reeve gives us a well researched and deeply moving story of what happened one fateful day in September and the German and Bavarian authorities fell over each other in adding to the day's confusion and final tragedy. Even twenty years later, the relatives of the victims failed to get satisfactory replies as to the cause of such a monumental failure in their security arrangements.
What I found interesting was that Reeve was almost equally critical of all the parties even remotely associated with the tragedy. While the blame falls directly on the Black September group, the others who share the responsibility include the German government, the Munich security and police officials, the Bavarian autonomous government, who come in for some scathing criticism for their incompetence and unpreparedness to handle a hostage crisis, and later to attempt to cover up their mistakes, and persistent denial for over twenty years to the families that there had been any incident at all. Additionally, the governments of the Soviet Union, and the United States, for complicity and supply of arms to the terrorists, while Israel is accused of obduracy in handling the situation as she did. But his sharpest words are reserved for the President of the Olympic Committee, Avery Brundage, who insisted throughout that the games go on, and that the massacre of the Israeli hostages was a minor incident that shouldn't be allowed to interfere with the Olympic spirit.
On the other hand, Reeve admits that the Palestinians had a right to be recognised, even if their fury made them violent and brutal in their methods. In the Wrath of God revenge attacks, his sympathies are with the bereaved families of the terrorists, just as much as he sympathises with the bereaved relations of the victims, who, while they had wanted justice, had wanted it publicly in a court of law, not by the secret assassinations authorised by the Israeli government and executed by Israeli agents on guilty and innocent alike.
As the author sums up at the end, the spirit of the Olympic Games was forever destroyed on that September day with the massacre of the Israeli athletes in Munich, on German territory, by a Palestinian terrorist group, and thereby permanently politicising a sportsmen’s venue.
What I found interesting was that Reeve was almost equally critical of all the parties even remotely associated with the tragedy. While the blame falls directly on the Black September group, the others who share the responsibility include the German government, the Munich security and police officials, the Bavarian autonomous government, who come in for some scathing criticism for their incompetence and unpreparedness to handle a hostage crisis, and later to attempt to cover up their mistakes, and persistent denial for over twenty years to the families that there had been any incident at all. Additionally, the governments of the Soviet Union, and the United States, for complicity and supply of arms to the terrorists, while Israel is accused of obduracy in handling the situation as she did. But his sharpest words are reserved for the President of the Olympic Committee, Avery Brundage, who insisted throughout that the games go on, and that the massacre of the Israeli hostages was a minor incident that shouldn't be allowed to interfere with the Olympic spirit.
On the other hand, Reeve admits that the Palestinians had a right to be recognised, even if their fury made them violent and brutal in their methods. In the Wrath of God revenge attacks, his sympathies are with the bereaved families of the terrorists, just as much as he sympathises with the bereaved relations of the victims, who, while they had wanted justice, had wanted it publicly in a court of law, not by the secret assassinations authorised by the Israeli government and executed by Israeli agents on guilty and innocent alike.
As the author sums up at the end, the spirit of the Olympic Games was forever destroyed on that September day with the massacre of the Israeli athletes in Munich, on German territory, by a Palestinian terrorist group, and thereby permanently politicising a sportsmen’s venue.
August 16, 2023
Like so many others of my generation, I vividly remember those Olympics--although after reading this book it turns out my memories are not all that accurate and far from complete. For one thing, I could have sworn that hostage situation lasted days, if not weeks. Was it really over in just one day?
I guess that's how much the suspense and horror of those moments affected my young mind. Since it was my first time watching the Olympics, it imprinted on my brain: I've never since watched the Olympics without remembering the long agony of wondering what was going to happen to those poor athletes and why their cruel captors would do such a terrible thing
This happens to be another place where my memory is inaccurate. I somehow have believed all these years that there was a happy ending to the story.
At some point in time I must have learned this wasn't the case, but I could have sworn the story ended with them flying off to safety. The initial false report that they were all alive must have stuck with me more than the truth.
This book filled in the gaps in my hazy memory, and so much more. Given the way the events were handled by so many of those involved, particulary Germany and the IOC, perhaps it isn't entirely my fault that I knew so little.
Cudos to the author for an exhaustive account that tries (maybe too hard) to be impartial to both the Israeli and Palestinian sides, while showing the human fallibility of all involved. His account of the tragedy's fallout on the families is geniuniely moving, although it can feel a little redundant at times. The editor could have helped with this.
Nevertheless the detail is impressive, and the story gripping. Much of what followed that day often reads like a real-life James Bond / Mission Impossible plot, with multiple stake-outs in exotic locales, disguised assassins, gorgeous female spies, and frogmen smuggling explosives ashore. Because actual people are involved, however, the consequences are sad and sobering, and the deaths tragic.
A
I guess that's how much the suspense and horror of those moments affected my young mind. Since it was my first time watching the Olympics, it imprinted on my brain: I've never since watched the Olympics without remembering the long agony of wondering what was going to happen to those poor athletes and why their cruel captors would do such a terrible thing
This happens to be another place where my memory is inaccurate. I somehow have believed all these years that there was a happy ending to the story.
At some point in time I must have learned this wasn't the case, but I could have sworn the story ended with them flying off to safety. The initial false report that they were all alive must have stuck with me more than the truth.
This book filled in the gaps in my hazy memory, and so much more. Given the way the events were handled by so many of those involved, particulary Germany and the IOC, perhaps it isn't entirely my fault that I knew so little.
Cudos to the author for an exhaustive account that tries (maybe too hard) to be impartial to both the Israeli and Palestinian sides, while showing the human fallibility of all involved. His account of the tragedy's fallout on the families is geniuniely moving, although it can feel a little redundant at times. The editor could have helped with this.
Nevertheless the detail is impressive, and the story gripping. Much of what followed that day often reads like a real-life James Bond / Mission Impossible plot, with multiple stake-outs in exotic locales, disguised assassins, gorgeous female spies, and frogmen smuggling explosives ashore. Because actual people are involved, however, the consequences are sad and sobering, and the deaths tragic.
A
December 7, 2018
Wanted to read this for ages as the images of the 1972 Games left a mark on me as a young boy with the creepy hooded terrorist on the balcony especially staying in my mind. It only took me over a decade to finally do so.....plus ca change....well worth the ahem tardiness...engrossing and enthralling -- perhaps the same thing oh well what the heck -- and extremely moving account of the darkest moment in the Olympics history.....not many are spared from criticism and rightly so for the murders of the Israeli athletes...the Germans for their cack-handed efforts firstly at mediation then the attempted rescues, firstly in the Village called off when they realised their every move was going out livve on TV and then at the airport and the IOC whose appalling president Avery Brundage lived down to his already dreadful reputation with a callous disregard for the hostages. His successor the Irish peer Lord Killanin comes out best of the IOC for at least showing compassion and humanity. I learned new things too firstly the sick man who donned in a Games organisers uniform announced at the airport they had been rescued and were all safe and also that the Israelis largely successful, innovative and brutal attempts to avenge the murders went awry with the murder of a wholly innocent Moroccan man in Norway. The saving grace of such murderous mayhem, callousness and passing the buck is the dignity of the hostages families especially Ankie Spitzer, a remarkable lady. There is a message of hope at the end with Schlomit Romano the daughter of Yossef one of the murdered hostages wishing to meet the daugher of Jamal al Gashey, the one hostage taker who survived both the shootout and the subsequent revenge missions. Her good will extends only so far, though: "But for her father I'm not going to forgive...Never."
August 11, 2021
Tells the story of the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre of Israeli athletes and the counter reaction of the Israelis in the ensuing years. The book gives a nice, concise synopsis of the roots of Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The terror of the Olympic attack itself and the botched 'rescue' plan by the German (mainly Bavarian) police is well-told and a late chapter on the coverup is eye-opening. The Germans were so intent on not appearing Nazi-like that basic security measures like having police with guns (gasp!) were eschewed in favor of making it 'look' good. An early take on the effectiveness of defund the police! Despite the horror of the attack on the Israeli athletes, by the end your sympathy for Israel will have been nearly drained as they carry out their decades-long plan of revenge (Operation Wrath of God) which included killing numerous innocents, the ones they even admit to or cannot deny. For instance, the Mossad bomb murder of the so-called 'Red Prince' Salameh in Beirut in 1979 killed eight bystanders. Not one mention of a name or family. All is forgiven Israel apparently because it was justifiable revenge. Meanwhile, page after page is given to the mourning and sadness of the Israeli families. The book is heavily biased toward the Israeli viewpoint and detracted 1-star on that. Israel pretends to adhere to higher standards of justice than say the Arab world, but is it really true? This book will make you question that. It does make the point that this wound up being one of the most 'successful' terrorist attacks in history as it put the Palestinian question at front and center of world attention and by 2000 'Palestine' was recognized by more countries on earth than Israel. As of 2019 that number was 138 or 72 percent of the U.N., although more recognize Israel today than Palestine at 164.
July 29, 2025
This absorbing book is the essential companion to the Academy Award winning documentary (1999) "One Day in September" (directed by Kevin Macdonald). The subject of this book is the same as that documentary: the 1972 Munich massacre, in which Palestinian terrorists (from the group Black September) kidnap and hold hostage nine Israeli athletes and coaches during the 1972 Olympic games in Munich, Germany.
I have seen this documentary multiple times, but this is the first time I read about the subject more deeply. Simon's book answers many open questions one might have after watching the documentary. The book also extends the end titles from the movie, by providing a deep accounting from the aftermath of the hostage taking. It is powerful reading and I come away from the book in awe of Ankie Spitzer, and her righteous quest for justice and acknowledgement.
In the second chapter of the book, Reeve talks about the history of Black September and starts "Any chronicle of their story must go back several thousand years..." I knew this would be a serious book with an opening like that. Whenever I think about the conflict between Israel and Palestine, I am greatly humbled by its centuries-long history.
The book gave me more of an understanding of the ramifications of this event. Seeing all the connections laid out in writing gives me great pause, and elevates the movie even more. To be fair, the movie touches on these topics also, and it does have the Palestinian point of view, but the book is not subject to a strict run-time.
If you like the movie, add this to your reading list!
I have seen this documentary multiple times, but this is the first time I read about the subject more deeply. Simon's book answers many open questions one might have after watching the documentary. The book also extends the end titles from the movie, by providing a deep accounting from the aftermath of the hostage taking. It is powerful reading and I come away from the book in awe of Ankie Spitzer, and her righteous quest for justice and acknowledgement.
In the second chapter of the book, Reeve talks about the history of Black September and starts "Any chronicle of their story must go back several thousand years..." I knew this would be a serious book with an opening like that. Whenever I think about the conflict between Israel and Palestine, I am greatly humbled by its centuries-long history.
The book gave me more of an understanding of the ramifications of this event. Seeing all the connections laid out in writing gives me great pause, and elevates the movie even more. To be fair, the movie touches on these topics also, and it does have the Palestinian point of view, but the book is not subject to a strict run-time.
If you like the movie, add this to your reading list!
September 26, 2020
Extremely well researched, balanced and engaging. Also contains an excellent synopsis of the history of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict for the somewhat unintiated reader, as I was. That was appreciated and provided excellent context. As an 11 year old boy i was riveted to the televised drama that unfolded due to the attack at Munich in 1972. It really was a watershed moment in my life; it perhaps was the first time in my rather insulated experience as a boy in suburbia U.S.A. that I was shocked into the understanding that in the real, big world out there, horrible things occur and humanity is capable of evil. Something beautiful can end in horror. While reading of the culmination of the seige that unfolded at the airport, my heartrate increased. The effect of that day is still there. Its unfathomable to attempt to understand what it must have been like for those close to the tragedy and what they still cope with today. I found myself ruminating during the book about the senselessness of the entire conflict. So it was effective and hopeful that the writer ended the book with some uplifting thoughts from the families on the potential for peace and a better way. The book does lose some momentum about two thirds of the way into the text when detailing the endless terrorist and assassination events in the years after Munich. But then again the authors' point in that phase of the book may have been to illuminate the endlessness and futility of the violence...
May 29, 2021
I bought Simon Reeve's book about the PLO's kidnapping and murder of Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics of 1972 long before the fighting between the Israeli army and the PLO 6-21 May 2021. I well remember the terrorist attack; I was 26 years old at the time. At Washington State University in those days, there were those who saw the Black September group as freedom fighters and those who saw them as terrorists. Not much has changed in 49 years. It has been difficult to understand much of what happened at the Munich Olympics because of the German government's successful efforts to conceal as much information as they could ... which was as great deal. It was not until decades later that lawsuits pursued by the families of the Israeli dead brought thousands of suppressed documents to public scrutiny. The second half of the book describes Operation Wrath of God: the systematic killing by Israeli agents of many of those responsible for the Jewish deaths in Munich. While not a work of political morality, Reeve does raise the obvious questions of murder committed by the state and compares what Israel did to Black September with what the US did in the aftermath of 9/11. And the book ends exactly as it should: in agony for the needless deaths of civilians on both sides of this conflict and a with plea that governments eschew short-term solutions and work together toward the basis for a lasting peace.
September 23, 2023
Η ιστορία είναι λίγο πολύ γνωστή. Στις 5 Σεπτεμβρίου 1972 κατά την διάρκεια των Ολυμπιακών αγώνων στο Μόναχο της Δυτικής Γερμανίας, Παλαιστίνιοι τρομοκράτες της οργάνωσης "Μαύρος Σεπτέμβρης" εισέρχονται στο Ολυμπιακό χωριό και εισβάλλουν στο κτίριο που διέμεναν μέλη της ισραηλινής αντιπροσωπείας αθλητών. Σκοτώνουν 2 και κρατούν ομήρους 9.
Το βιβλίο αναφέρεται επίσης στα αίτια της διένεξης Ισραηλινών και Αράβων, έπειτα εστιάζει στα γεγονότα της ομηρίας και στην αποτυχημένη απόπειρα διάσωσης που έγινε στο αεροδρόμιο.
Στα επόμενα κεφάλαια καλύπτεται η απάντηση του Ισραήλ στους Άραβες με την Επιχείρηση “Οργή του Θεού”. Ανθρωποκυνηγητό και εκτελέσεις στους φυσικούς και ηθικούς αυτουργούς σε όλη την υφήλιο.
Και τέλος, μέρος του βιβλίου αφιερώνεται στους συγγενείς των θυμάτων και στην προσπάθεια να μάθουν τι ακριβώς συνέβη στους δικούς τους ανθρώπους. Απαντήσεις που έλαβαν από την Γερμανία έπειτα από 20 και 30 χρόνια!
_Ο χειρισμός της ομηρίας και η τραγικά ανεπαρκής απόπειρα διάσωσης των ομήρων από την Γερμανική αστυνομία διδάσκεται σε αντιτρομοκρατικές μονάδες και υπηρεσίες με τίτλο: “Πως δεν πρέπει να γίνει μια διάσωση”.
Το βιβλίο αναφέρεται επίσης στα αίτια της διένεξης Ισραηλινών και Αράβων, έπειτα εστιάζει στα γεγονότα της ομηρίας και στην αποτυχημένη απόπειρα διάσωσης που έγινε στο αεροδρόμιο.
Στα επόμενα κεφάλαια καλύπτεται η απάντηση του Ισραήλ στους Άραβες με την Επιχείρηση “Οργή του Θεού”. Ανθρωποκυνηγητό και εκτελέσεις στους φυσικούς και ηθικούς αυτουργούς σε όλη την υφήλιο.
Και τέλος, μέρος του βιβλίου αφιερώνεται στους συγγενείς των θυμάτων και στην προσπάθεια να μάθουν τι ακριβώς συνέβη στους δικούς τους ανθρώπους. Απαντήσεις που έλαβαν από την Γερμανία έπειτα από 20 και 30 χρόνια!
_Ο χειρισμός της ομηρίας και η τραγικά ανεπαρκής απόπειρα διάσωσης των ομήρων από την Γερμανική αστυνομία διδάσκεται σε αντιτρομοκρατικές μονάδες και υπηρεσίες με τίτλο: “Πως δεν πρέπει να γίνει μια διάσωση”.
November 20, 2021
This is, for the most part, a well written account of what happened at Munich and how the Israeli government responded. The author makes a persuasive case that the German officials mishandled the event and that they failed to allow Israel to provide support for the rescue mission. Later in the book it is clear that the Bavarian government covered up what happened before the terrorist attack and what happened at the airport.
I had forgotten that Germany quickly released the terrorists captured. It is clear how much the Olympic officials wished to get the event behind them so that they could continue with the games.
The strongest parts of the book are when the author talks about how family members of the hostages killed reacted and what they thought of the Wrath of God operation.
I had forgotten that Germany quickly released the terrorists captured. It is clear how much the Olympic officials wished to get the event behind them so that they could continue with the games.
The strongest parts of the book are when the author talks about how family members of the hostages killed reacted and what they thought of the Wrath of God operation.
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