Germany opens memorial to Israelis killed at 1972 Olympics

Visitors-look-at-information-displays-at-the-newly-unveiled-memorial-commemorating-the-eleven-Israeli-athletes,-who-were-killed-in-a-terrorist-attack-during-the-1972-Olympic-Games-in-Munich,-Germany,-Wednesday,-Sept.-6,-2017.-(Sven-Hoppe/dpa-via-AP)

Visitors look at information displays at the newly unveiled memorial commemorating the eleven Israeli athletes, who were killed in a terrorist attack during the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017. (Sven Hoppe/dpa via AP)

BERLIN – The presidents of Germany and Israel on Wednesday inaugurated a memorial to 11 Israeli athletes and coaches and a West German police officer killed 45 years ago during an attack by a Palestinian militant group at the Munich Olympics.

Presidents Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Reuven Rivlin were joined at the new memorial in the city’s Olympic Park by relatives of the victims.

"We’ve come here today to close a circle, a circle that can never really be closed," Rivlin told a sombre crowd.

He said the 1972 Munich Olympics, dubbed "the cheerful games" as the first in the country since the Nazis hosted the 1936 games in Berlin, "turned into an Olympiad of blood."

On Sept. 5, 1972, eight members of Palestinian group Black September climbed over the unguarded fence of the Olympic village, burst into the building where the Israeli team was staying and took the athletes hostage.

Five athletes, six coaches and a West German policeman were killed at the village or during a botched rescue attempt. The Palestinian attackers demanded the release of prisoners held by Israel and two left-wing extremists in West German jails.

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