Germany: President Steinmeier's honorable amends for the 1972 hostage taking

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (left) and his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog, in Berlin this Sunday, September 4, 2022. AFP - ADAM BERRY

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The German head of state, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, admitted on Sunday September 4 that it was "shameful" that Germany had taken 50 years to conclude an agreement to compensate the relatives of the Israeli victims of the bloody takeover. hostages of the Munich Olympic Games in 1972. The intervention of the German authorities had been criticized.

An agreement welcomed by the Israeli president, who is participating in the commemorations on Monday.

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It took five decades for the families of the Israeli victims to obtain compensation of up to 28 million euros thanks to an agreement with the German federal government.

This agreement will also make it possible to reopen the investigation: how could such an attack have occurred?

What about the police fiasco?

A commission of German and Israeli historians will have access to documents classified until now.

Already in 2012, former Israeli intelligence chief Zvi Zamir published a series of official documents.

For him, the German police “ 

did not even make a minimal effort to save human lives

 ”.

In mid-August, the families of the victims had threatened to boycott this year's commemorations, demanding a public apology for the errors committed as well as "

 just compensation

 ".

Berlin had then offered to pay, to the 23 direct relatives of the victims, 10 million euros, including some 4.5 million already paid in 1972 and 2002.

But with this agreement of 28 million euros, Germany believes that it "is 

fulfilling its historic obligation

 ".

There remain the apologies requested by the families, which could be made on Monday.

►Also listen: In Germany, the painful memory of the hostage-taking in Munich during the 1972 Olympics

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