Munich (dpa / lby) – Bavaria’s anti-Semitism commissioner Ludwig Spaenle (CSU) has accused the Federal Republic of state failure in dealing with compensation payments after the 1972 Olympic attack. Germany must accept its historical responsibility and adequately compensate the relatives of the murdered terror victims and the survivors. “Everything else is pushed away and kept quiet,” he told the German Press Agency in Munich on Monday. The victims and their families cannot be treated as before. “This is a path that is shameful for the Federal Republic of Germany.”
The spokeswoman for the victims’ families, Ankie Spitzer, had previously canceled her participation in a memorial event on Tuesday evening in Munich. Spaenle then canceled the entire appointment. Spaenle, who invited to the commemoration, said that Spitzer justified this step with the still unresolved issue of appropriate compensation for survivors and the victims’ families.
On September 5, 1972, eleven members of the Israeli team were murdered in a terrorist attack by Palestinians on the summer games, and a Munich policeman also died. Germany then paid 3.2 million marks (around 1.64 million euros) to Israel. In 2002, the families of the victims received three million euros as a humanitarian gesture, as the federal government, the Free State of Bavaria and the city of Munich explained at the time. The families had previously received around half a million euros in donations. A lawsuit for damages of around 40 million marks (around 20.45 million euros) with reference to massive errors in the police operation failed.