‘The darkest day in Olympic history’: Half a century later, the Munich massacre still casts a long shadow

For decades, the IOC steadfastly refused requests from relatives of the slain Israeli Olympians to formally commemorate their loved ones at each opening ceremony. This despite the Munich massacre also constituting an attack on the core values represented by the Olympics.

Ten years ago, Canada became the first country to officially call on the IOC to hold a minute of silence at the Games in memory of the murdered Israeli athletes. Last summer, at the Tokyo Games, in a long-overdue move, the IOC finally honoured the Munich victims at the opening ceremony. Despite requests for the minute of silence to become a permanent part of the opening ceremony of every Games, the IOC has yet to show it recognizes the importance of such a gesture.

Later this month, in a possible sign of greater sensitivity from the IOC, for the first time its president will attend Israel’s official annual memorial ceremony for the fallen sportsmen

Germany, long criticized for not taking responsibility for its failed security measures that allowed the attack, its botched handling of the hostage situation and its subsequent coverup, is holding a special commemorative ceremony today in Munich to mark 50 years since the tragedy. Last week, it was reported that in connection with the ceremony and as part of a just-signed agreement with relatives of the victims which includes increased compensation, Germany’s president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, would become the first German official to issue an apology for the country’s security lapses that facilitated the bloody assault on the Israeli team.

Sadly, Palestinian officials are expressing anything but contrition for one of the most notorious acts of terrorism perpetrated for their cause. Last month, at a press conference in Berlin, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas seemed caught off guard when a German journalist asked him if, for the 50th anniversary of the Munich attack, he planned to offer an apology.

Evading the reporter’s question, Abbas, whose Fatah party was affiliated with the Black September terrorists behind the attack, instead went on an anti-Israel tirade, accusing Jerusalem of having committed “50 Holocausts” against Palestinians. He was speaking at the end of a state visit to Germany, standing next to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during their joint news conference.

While Scholz didn’t initially respond to Abbas’s vile comparison, he strongly condemned it the next morning. “I’m disgusted by the outrageous remarks,” Scholz tweeted. “For us Germans in particular, any relativization of the singularity of the Holocaust is intolerable and unacceptable.”

Germany has long insisted the word “Holocaust” should be used only in reference to the Nazi genocidal murder of six million Jews by Nazi Germany and its collaborators.

For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid — himself the son of a Holocaust survivor — slammed Abba’s inflammatory claim, calling it “not only a moral disgrace, but a monstrous lie.”

Such was the international fallout from Abbas’s statement, his office tried to mitigate the damage, issuing a statement saying the Holocaust is “the most heinous crime in modern history.” This, as several senior Palestinian officials continued to publicly defended Abbas’s abhorrent “50 Holocausts” accusation against Israel.

As we’ve witnessed so many times before, we must come to terms with the truth and consequences of the past, especially the darkest moments. When it comes to the Munich massacre, 50 years later that process is well underway — but clearly far from complete.