Several cities competed to host the 1996 Olympic Games: Athens, Belgrade, Manchester, Melbourne, Toronto and Atlanta. Athens, of course, was the favorite - the 100th anniversary of the first Olympics was planned and they wanted to hold it in Greece. But members of the Atlanta bid committee were able to convince the IOC of the city's excellent and highest readiness for Summer Games. As a result, on September 18, 1990, at the 96th session of the IOC, Atlanta was announced as the capital of the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Mascot of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta

They decided to generate it on a computer. As a result, the creature came out strange: barefoot without a nose or mouth. The designers tried to give Izzy a more attractive look: a large mouth, a low tail olympic rings, funny boots and white gloves. Then we added sparkling star eyes. The creature's name Izzy is short for Whatisit? (“What is this?”). He is considered one of the worst Olympic mascots.

Opening of the 1996 Olympics

The ceremony took place on July 19, 1996 at the Olympic Stadium in Atlanta. The broadcast was carried out by 170 television companies, and about 3.5 billion viewers watched it. The main themes of the performance were the history of Atlanta and the American South, as well as the 100th anniversary of the Olympic movement.

10,700 athletes from 197 participating countries took part in the parade. Russian Flag The ceremony was carried out by wrestler Alexander Karelin, who later won his third Olympic medal in Atlanta. gold medal.

After a speech by IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch and Games Organizing Committee President Billy Payne, US President Bill Clinton declared the 1996 Olympics open. Was raised olympic flag and the Fire was lit, the torch was brought by swimmer Janet Evans and boxer Evander Holyfield, and lit former boxer Mohammed Ali.

The culmination was the song “The Power of Dreams” performed by famous singer Celine Dion, followed by colorful fireworks.

Russia at the 1996 Olympics

The Russian team competed as a separate country for the first time at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta. According to the results of the medal standings at the 1996 Olympics, the Russian team won second place after the US team. The Russians received 63 medals: 26 gold, 21 silver and 16 bronze.

Most of the winners were among swimmers, wrestlers, fencers and track and field athletes. Swimmer Alexander Popov was able to win 4 medals: 2 gold and 2 silver, and became a four-time Olympic champion.

Criticism of the organization of the 1996 Olympics

Athletes, journalists and officials were very dissatisfied with the organization of the Games. Lots of problems from outside traffic, numerous failures in the operation of information systems, unpreparedness of volunteers, too much commercialization of the Olympics in Atlanta.

But the most serious incident was the explosion in Olympic Park On the night of July 27, during which 2 people died during mass celebrations, 111 people were injured of varying severity. After many assurances from the organizers of increased security measures, the 1996 Summer Olympics decided to continue.

The criminal was detained only a year later after several more terrorist attacks and was given four life sentences with no right to parole.

Closing of the 1996 Summer Olympics

At the ceremony, Juan Antonio Samaranch, IOC President, first and last time did not say the phrase “These Games were the best in history.”

The closing ceremony took place at the Olympic Stadium on August 4 and was attended by more than 85 thousand people. Many American musicians took part in it. At the ceremony, the last awards of the Summer Olympics were presented to the winners in the men's marathon.

The final parade showed Olympic unity - all athletes marched together without division by country.

In his speech, Juan Antonio Samaranch called for remembering the victims of the Atlanta park explosion and the Israeli athletes who died in Munich 1972.

The Olympic flag was lowered and the banner was presented to the mayor of Sydney, the capital of the next Games. It all ended with a magnificent fireworks display.

Doping scandal at the 1996 Games

On July 28, IOC representatives announced that the tests Russian athletes: swimmer Andrei Korneev, cyclist Rita Razmaite and wrestler Zafar Guliyev tested positive for the banned drug bromantane.

Then bromantane was found: in swimmer Nina Zhivanevskaya on July 30, in runner Marina Trandenkova on August 1. All caught athletes were disqualified and their medals were taken away. But after arbitration court in Lausanne, when they found out that the drug was banned during the Games, but was not blacklisted, the athletes’ results were restored and the medals were returned.

03:05	Curling. Mixed couples. Preliminary round. China - Switzerland	qualification
03:05	Curling. Mixed couples. Preliminary round. Canada - Norway	qualification
03:05	Curling. Mixed couples. Preliminary round. South Korea- Finland	qualification
03:05	Curling. Mixed couples. Preliminary round. USA - Russia	qualification
14:05	Curling. Mixed couples. Preliminary round. USA - Canada	qualification
14:05	Curling. Mixed couples. Preliminary round. South Korea - China	qualification
14:05	Curling. Mixed couples. Preliminary round. Finland - Switzerland	qualification
14:05	Curling. Mixed couples. Preliminary round. Russia - Norway	qualification

02:35	Curling. Mixed couples. Preliminary round. Russia - Finland	qualification
02:35	Curling. Mixed couples. Preliminary round. South Korea - Norway	qualification
02:35	Curling. Mixed couples. Preliminary round. China - Canada	qualification
02:35	Curling. Mixed couples. Preliminary round. USA - Switzerland	qualification
07:35	Curling. Mixed couples. Preliminary round. Canada - Finland	qualification
07:35	Curling. Mixed couples. Preliminary round. USA - South Korea	qualification
07:35	Curling. Mixed couples. Preliminary round. Switzerland - Norway	qualification
07:35	Curling. Mixed couples. Preliminary round. China - Russia	qualification

03:05	Curling. Mixed couples. Preliminary round. China - USA	qualification
03:05	Curling. Mixed couples. Preliminary round. Norway - Finland	qualification
03:05	Curling. Mixed couples. Preliminary round. Canada - Switzerland	qualification
03:05	Curling. Mixed couples. Preliminary round. South Korea - Russia	qualification
14:05	Curling. Mixed couples. Preliminary round. Switzerland - South Korea	qualification
14:05	Curling. Mixed couples. Preliminary round. Russia - Canada	qualification
14:05	Curling. Mixed couples. Preliminary round. Finland - China	qualification
14:05	Curling. Mixed couples. Preliminary round. Norway - USA	qualification

03:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. Canada - Italy	qualification
03:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. South Korea - USA	qualification
03:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. Switzerland - UK	qualification
03:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. Denmark - Sweden	qualification
08:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. Denmark - Sweden	qualification
08:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. Switzerland - China	qualification
08:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. Japan - USA	qualification
08:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. Russia - UK	qualification
14:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. Norway - Japan	qualification
14:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. Switzerland - Italy	qualification
14:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. Canada - UK	qualification
14:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. South Korea - Sweden	qualification

03:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. Canada - South Korea	qualification
03:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. UK - USA	qualification
03:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. Denmark - Japan	qualification
03:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. China - Russia	qualification
08:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. Norway - Canada	qualification
08:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. USA - Italy	qualification
08:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. Denmark - Switzerland	qualification
08:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. UK - Japan	qualification
14:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. South Korea - Japan	qualification
14:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. China - UK	qualification
14:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. Canada - Sweden	qualification
14:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. USA - Switzerland	qualification

03:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. Italy - Denmark	qualification
03:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. Sweden - USA	qualification
03:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. Norway - South Korea	qualification
08:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. Sweden - Russia	qualification
08:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. Denmark - Canada	qualification
08:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. South Korea - Switzerland	qualification
14:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. Denmark - USA	qualification
14:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. Sweden - UK	qualification
14:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. Japan - Switzerland	qualification
14:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. Canada - South Korea	qualification

03:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. Switzerland - Sweden	qualification
03:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. Denmark - UK	qualification
03:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. Japan - China	qualification
03:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. Russia - USA	qualification
08:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. Canada - Sweden	qualification
08:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. South Korea - UK	qualification
08:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. Switzerland - Norway	qualification
08:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. Japan - Italy	qualification
14:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. Russia - Japan	qualification
14:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. South Korea - UK	qualification
14:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. USA - Canada	qualification
14:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. China - Denmark	qualification

03:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. Norway - Denmark	qualification
03:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. USA - Japan	qualification
03:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. Switzerland - Canada	qualification
08:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. Canada - Switzerland	qualification
08:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. China - South Korea	qualification
08:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. UK - Sweden	qualification
14:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. USA - Norway	qualification
14:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. Denmark - South Korea	qualification
14:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. Italy - UK	qualification
14:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. Sweden - Japan	qualification

03:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. USA - Denmark	qualification
03:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. Russia - Switzerland	qualification
03:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. Sweden - South Korea	qualification
03:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. Japan - Canada	qualification
08:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. USA - Canada	qualification
08:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. Italy - South Korea	qualification
08:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. Sweden - Switzerland	qualification
08:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. UK - Denmark	qualification
14:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. Japan - Sweden	qualification
14:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. Denmark - Russia	qualification
14:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. China - USA	qualification
14:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. UK - Switzerland	qualification

03:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. UK - Norway	qualification
03:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. Italy - Sweden	qualification
03:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. Japan - Canada	qualification
03:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. South Korea - Switzerland	qualification
08:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. Canada - China	qualification
08:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. USA - South Korea	qualification
08:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. UK - Japan	qualification
14:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. Norway - Italy	qualification
14:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. Japan - Denmark	qualification
14:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. Switzerland - USA	qualification

03:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. South Korea - Russia	qualification
03:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. Sweden - China	qualification
03:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. Canada - UK	qualification
03:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. Switzerland - Denmark	qualification
08:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. South Korea - Japan	qualification
08:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. Denmark - Canada	qualification
08:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. UK - USA	qualification
08:05	Curling. Men. Preliminary round. Sweden - Norway	qualification
14:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. South Korea - Denmark	qualification
14:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. Sweden - USA	qualification
14:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. Russia - Canada	qualification
14:05	Curling. Women. Preliminary round. Switzerland - Japan	qualification

14:00	Skating. Women. Team race. Semi-finals	semi-final
14:22	Skating. Men. Team race. Semi-finals	semi-final
14:54	Skating. Women. Team race. Consolation finals	consolation playoffs
15:13	Skating. Men. Team race. Consolation finals	consolation playoffs
15:52	Skating. Women. Team race. Small final	for 3rd place
15:58	Skating. Women. Team race. Final	final
16:11	Skating. Men. Team race. Small final	for 3rd place
16:17	Skating. Men. Team race. Final	final

05:00	Snowboard. Men. Big air	final
06:00	Snowboard. Women. Parallel giant slalom. 1/8 finals	1/8 finals
06:15	Snowboard. Men. Parallel giant slalom. 1/8 finals	1/8 finals
06:30	Snowboard. Women. Parallel giant slalom. Quarterfinals	1/4 finals
06:38	Snowboard. Men. Parallel giant slalom. Quarterfinals	1/4 finals
06:48	Snowboard. Women. Parallel giant slalom. Semi-finals	semi-final
06:52	Snowboard. Men. Parallel giant slalom. Semi-finals	semi-final
08:28	Snowboard. Women. Parallel giant slalom. Small final	for 3rd place
08:30	Snowboard. Women. Parallel giant slalom. Final	final
08:34	Snowboard. Men. Parallel giant slalom. Small final	for 3rd place
08:37	Snowboard. Men. Parallel giant slalom. Final	final

3

09:35	Curling. Men. Final. Sweden - USA	final
14:05	Curling. Women. Small final. Japan - UK	2	5	10
12	Russia	2	6	9	17
13	Czech Republic	2	2	3	7
14	Belarus	2	1	0	3
15	China	1	6	2	9
16	Slovakia	1	2	0	3
17	Finland	1	1	4	6
18	United Kingdom	1	0	4	5
19	Poland	1	0	1	2
20	Hungary	1	0	0	1
21	Ukraine	1	0	0	1
22	Australia	0	2	1	3
23	Slovenia	0	1	1	2
24	Belgium	0	1	0	1
25	Spain	0	0	2	2
26	New Zealand	0	0	2	2
27	Kazakhstan	0	0	1	1
28	Latvia	0	0	1	1
29	Liechtenstein	0	0	1	1

7,134 athletes from 121 countries took part in the 1972 Summer Olympics. For the first time, Albania, Upper Volta, Gabon, Dahomey, North Korea, Lesotho, Malawi, Saudi Arabia, Swaziland, Somalia, and Togo sent their athletes. Sets of awards were raffled off in 23 sports. For the first time during the olympic games The official mascot of the event was presented, it was the multi-colored dachshund Waldi.

At the end of the competition, the leaders in the medal standings were athletes from the USSR, who won 50 gold, 27 silver and 22 bronze medals. It is interesting that Soviet athletes were given the task of winning at least 50 gold medals in honor of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Olympians coped with the task. The US team took second place, its athletes received 33 gold, 31 silver and 30 bronze medals. Third place went to the GDR with 20 gold, 23 silver and 23 bronze medals.

The track and field competitions were very intense. Soviet sprinter Valery Borzov managed to win two gold medals at once, breaking the undivided monopoly of the Americans. For domestic athletes these were the first gold medals in the sprint. Viktor Saneev won his second gold medal in the triple jump. The champion in the high jump was Leningrad student Yuri Tarmak, who cleared a height of 223 cm. Olga Korbut performed brilliantly, winning three medals at once highest quality and one silver.

A sensational result was shown in Munich Cuban boxers, trained Soviet coach Andrey Chervonenko, they won three gold medals. Boxers from the USSR were just a little behind them with two gold medals. All but one of the gold medals went to Soviet rowers in kayaking and canoeing. In free and classical wrestling wrestlers from the USSR won 9 gold medals.

There were also some sporting sensations - in particular, the American swimmer Mark Spitz achieved unprecedented success, winning seven gold medals and setting seven world records.

Unfortunately, Munich was overshadowed by the tragedy of the capture of Israeli team athletes on September 5 by Palestinian terrorists. A very unprofessional attempt by the police to free the hostages resulted in the death of eleven athletes and one policeman. It was this tragedy that prompted the world's intelligence agencies to create special groups on combating terrorism.

It was decided to continue the Olympics. One of the reasons for this decision was the desire to show that the efforts of terrorists cannot break the spirit of athletes, and the Olympic Games are above any political differences.

Tip 2: Where were the 1972 Summer Olympics held?

The Twentieth Summer Olympic Games in 1972 were held in Munich from 26 August to 10 September. Arrived in Germany record number athletes and national teams. For the first time, representatives from Albania, Saudi Arabia, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Somalia and a number of other countries took part in the Olympic competitions. Unfortunately, the 1972 Olympics was remembered not only sporting achievements.

Before the start of the Olympics, a metro was built in Munich for the first time, the city center was completely reconstructed, and the road system was re-created. New complex sports facilities consisted of an Olympic village for 10 thousand inhabitants, an Olympic stadium for 80 thousand seats, a sports palace, large swimming pool, cycling track for 13 thousand seats and others gyms and sites. A new one was built especially for the Games olympic stadium(Olympiastadion), whose unusual roof design resembled a spider's web.

Most of the Olympic venues in Munich were equipped with modern means of urgent information for that time (electronic computers, scoreboards, measuring instruments using a laser beam, duplicating equipment for printing press bulletins, etc.) The capabilities of television were widely used, thanks to which the Olympic Games were able to see more than a billion people on all continents.

September 5, 1972 was an unprecedented tragedy in the history of sports. Terrorists of the Palestinian organization managed to enter one of the pavilions of the Olympic village at 4:30 am. They took several members of the Israeli delegation hostage, 11 of whom were subsequently killed, including a German policeman. This incident shocked the whole world, but it was decided to continue the games.

Soviet athletes were faced with a difficult task; they had to win 50 gold medals by the 50th anniversary of the USSR, surpassing the United States. They completed it, winning exactly 50 awards of the highest standard, the Olympians from the United States received 33 medals. In total, USSR participants received 99 medals at the 1972 Summer Olympics, including 27 silver and 22 bronze.

The Soviet Union men's basketball team won gold medals for the first time, defeating the United States in a tense match. Two gold medals went to Soviet boxers: Vyacheslav Lemeshev from Moscow and Boris Kuznetsov from Astrakhan. Freestyle wrestlers received five gold medals. Soviet gymnasts showed themselves at a very high level, winning several gold medals in various competitions. All gold medals in canoeing and kayaking for both women and men went to Soviet rowers. The competitions of the XX Summer Olympic Games showed high level preparation of all participants. During these events, 94 Olympic and 46 world records were set.

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• Faster! Higher! Stronger! From the history of the Summer Olympic Games

The first Olympic Games in post-war Germany took place 27 years after the end of World War II. The XX century was held in Munich in 1972 summer olympics with the motto "Happy Games" and a shining blue sun in the logo. Unfortunately, the mournful color of terrorism from the Palestinian “Black September” was also added to the games’ palette.

The venue for the Summer Olympic Games with the anniversary - twentieth - serial number was determined in 1966 in Rome. After this, a large-scale preparation program for the sports festival was launched in Munich. Dozens of sports facilities with the latest equipment were built, including a stadium with 80 thousand seats, a cycling track, a swimming pool, a sports complex, etc. In addition sports facilities An “Olympic village” arose for 15 thousand athletes, and for the XX Olympics, a metro even appeared in the city.

The opening ceremony of the games, which was attended by almost 7,200 Olympians from 121 countries, took place on August 26, 1972. The very next day the first two Olympic champions became known, and a total of 195 sets of awards were awarded at these games. The undisputed hero of the Olympics was the American Mark Spitz - the swimmer competed at the start line seven times and won a gold medal each time. Moreover, all swims ended with a new world record. In total, 46 world records and 94 Olympic records were broken in Munich. Athletes from the Soviet Union also took part in this. Thus, Lyudmila Bragina improved the world record three times in the 1.5-kilometer distance among runners. Another runner, Valery Borzov, managed to win two gold and one silver medal. In general, before Soviet team The party and government set the task of winning 50 gold medals by the 50th anniversary of the USSR and surpassing the Americans in the medal standings. The Olympians were able to solve the task, rising to the highest step of the podium exactly 50 times, and supplemented this number with another 49 awards of other denominations. The Americans received only five fewer awards, but were significantly behind in the number of gold medals (17 fewer).

On the 11th day of the Olympics, the largest terrorist attack in the history of the games occurred. Five Palestinian terrorists from the Black September organization infiltrated the Olympic village and took nine members of the Israeli delegation hostage, killing two athletes. The terrorists demanded that they be taken with the hostages to the airport and provided with a helicopter, which the German authorities complied with. At the airport, an attempt was made to free the hostages, which failed - the terrorists killed the hostages, and only three of them survived. Olympic competitions were stopped that day, but then the IOC decided to continue the games.

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Tip 4: What happened at the 1972 Munich Olympics

The 1972 Summer Olympics were held in the German city of Munich, the capital of the federal state of Bavaria, in the south of Germany. In the six years that have passed since this city was chosen as the site of the Olympics, the organizers of the games have done a tremendous job.

Enormous amounts of money were invested in the improvement of Munich, building a metro, many new hotels, and reconstructing the central part of the city. A huge Olympic stadium with 80 thousand seats with an original roof resembling a spider's web was erected, as well as a number of other sports facilities where the participants of the games were to compete. Moreover, all these facilities were equipped with the most modern at that time technical devices.

The opening ceremony of the Olympics took place on August 26. 7,170 athletes took part in the competition, competing for 195 sets of medals. The USSR team performed brilliantly, winning the most gold medals - 50. The US team, which took second place, had 33.

Unfortunately this one is wonderful sports festival was overshadowed by tragedy. At dawn on September 5, Palestinian terrorists infiltrated Olympic Village, killed two members of the Israeli sports delegation and took nine more hostage. The terrorists demanded the release of several hundred prisoners, and a little later they made an additional demand - to provide them with a plane to Cairo, as well as the opportunity to freely get to the airfield along with the hostages. As a result of the hastily planned and insufficiently professional rescue operation, all nine hostages, five terrorists and one policeman were killed. Three terrorists were captured alive.

Members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) were faced with a very serious question: how to respond to this blatant incident, whether to continue the games or end them? In addition, many athletes, including the surviving members of the Israeli team, announced their departure from Munich. After a difficult discussion and a one-day break, the IOC decided to continue the Olympics. The competition ended on September 10.

This tragedy led to a sharp increase in security measures at subsequent Olympics, especially in the Olympic villages. Also, special anti-terrorism units have been created in many countries.

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Tip 5: How the terrorist attack at the Munich Olympics ended

The 1972 Summer Olympics, held in Munich, were overshadowed by a tragic event - a terrorist attack organized by the radical Palestinian group Black September. As a result, on September 5, 11 members of the Israeli delegation - athletes, coaches and judges - were taken hostage. During the operation to free the hostages, carried out by German intelligence services, all of them, as well as 5 terrorists, died. But the terrorist attack at the Olympic Games in Munich did not end there.

Israel, for which the incident became a national tragedy, was not satisfied with the results of the investigation into the terrorist attack. The surviving terrorists and those involved in organizing the terrorist attack were detained by the German police, but under the threat of new terrorist attacks that the Palestinians promised to carry out, the detainees were released as a result of the exchange. The bodies of the five dead Palestinians, at the insistence of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, were handed over to Palestine, where they were named national heroes and buried with great pomp.

Of course, this state of affairs did not suit Israel at all, since those responsible for the death of the athletes were not punished either according to state or international laws. The question of adequate response measures, or, more simply put, of revenge, arose at the highest state level.

Operation Wrath of God began, carried out by the Israeli intelligence service Mossad. Its goal was the physical elimination of all participants in the terrorist attack and those involved in it. There were 17 of them. It didn't take long for the terrorists to be punished - already in October 1972, one of the organizers of the terrorist attack was shot dead. 9 months after the tragedy, 13 people were already marked with crosses on the Mossad list.

Two more Palestinians involved in the killing of the athletes died later. The remaining two from the Mossad list escaped punishment, one of them died in 2010, the second, the only survivor, is hiding in one of the African countries.

On London Olympics 2012 marks the 40th anniversary of the events in Munich. Members of the IOC, athletes and residents of London honored the memory of the victims of the terrorist attack on July 23. After the ceremony at the Truce Wall, symbolizing the peacekeeping idea of ​​the Olympic Games, a minute of silence was held. More than 100 people took part in this event, including IOC Chairman Jacques Rogge, the head of the London Olympics Organizing Committee, Lord Coe, and the mayor of the city, B. Johnson.

On September 5, 1972, armed Palestinian terrorists from the Black September group freely entered the Olympic site and took 11 Israeli athletes hostage. This happened at 4:10 am. Munich was completely unprepared for such a development of events: unarmed security, a decorative fence around the Olympic Village. Radical extremists demanded the release of 232 members of the Palestine Liberation Organization, two German terrorists and 16 prisoners in Western European prisons from Israeli prisons.

Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir refused to negotiate with terrorists. Israeli intelligence services offered their assistance in freeing the hostages, but the Germans did not accept it. As a result, all 11 athletes were killed. Five militants and one German policeman, Anton Fliegerbauer, were also killed. No matter how cynical, the death of the policeman turned out to be useful for the perception of what happened: both peoples suffered at the hands of extremists, and it was possible to express participation and sympathy to Israel without feelings of guilt. The names of the dead Israelis: David Berger, Yosef Romano, Moshe Weinberg, Eliezer Halfin, Zeev Friedman, Mark Slavin, Andrei Shpitser, Kehat Shor, Amitsur Shapiro, Yaakov Springer.

The German authorities responded negatively to Israel's request to interrupt the Olympic Games. They motivated this decision by the fact that “retreat” would mean the victory of world terrorism, submission to it. So, sports were continued the next day. Soviet Union In the end, he took 50 gold medals, the USA - 33. It is interesting to note that every fifth “gold” American team owned by Jew Mark Spitz.

The German police's security efforts are considered one of the most disastrous operations in the history of intelligence services. Is this a coincidence? Authoritative German edition Der Spiegel ("Mirror") publishes some documents relating to events of forty years ago. These documents indicate that German intelligence services were warned twice about the impending terrorist attack. However, they underestimated the importance of the information received and were sure that the Black September group was poorly prepared and would not be able to “turn around” in a city crowded with guests, so they left things to chance.

At the same time, it became known that German neo-Nazis assisted Black September. Wolfgang Abramovsky and Willy Pohl, members of the National Socialist Resistance Group for Greater Germany, worked closely with terrorists. Perhaps these were echoes of National Socialism that allegedly “fell” 27 years ago. By the way, the Bavarian capital Munich is geographically adjacent to the notorious Dachau concentration camp. Coincidence?

For the next 40 years, Germany has been trying to hide the traces of its mistakes. Meanwhile, the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad is launching an operation called “Wrath of God.” “Israel will use all the strength and ability that our people have to catch the terrorists wherever they are,” Golda Meir said in the Knesset. A list of priority tasks was compiled with the goal of neutralizing and eliminating not only Black September, but also the entire terrorist network in Europe. How long will extremists “rape” public peace?

The summer of 2012 marks the Olympic Games in London. Enormous security measures have been taken here. The Olympic village is surrounded by 18 kilometers of electric fences, protected by 13.5 thousand soldiers, many canine units, anti-aircraft guns and fighters are trained. On the one hand, such pragmatism is justified, on the other hand, the holiday of “Peace and Friendship” turns into tense anticipation. Will the true atmosphere of the Olympics have to become a thing of the past? It is important to understand that extremism can only be defeated by the united efforts of the entire world community.

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