JANUARY – DECEMBER 2022
Commemoration Project

Twelve Months — Twelve Names
50 Years Olympic Massacre Munich

50 years after the Munich Summer Olympics, the Munich Massacre of September 5–6, 1972 is to be commemorated throughout 2022. Every month is dedicated to one victim. A variety of different actions in public spaces is planned, ranging from installations lasting the entire month to activities on one specific day. This commemoration project has been conceived and coordinated by the Jewish Museum Munich in conjunction with the Munich Documentation Centre for the History of National Socialism and the Consulate General of the State of Israel.

It will be implemented in cooperation with the Amerikahaus Munich, the Landkreis Fürstenfeldbruck, the Deutsches Theater, the Police College —Hochschule für den öffentlichen Dienst in Bayern — Fachbereich Polizei, and the Munich Police Headquarters, as well as other cultural and educational institutions and interested parties.

In January Amerikahaus commemorates David Berger, who grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. He emigrated to Israel in 1970 and was a member of the 1972 Israeli Olympic team as weightlifter. Amerikahaus dedicates a light and sound installation to David Berger, which starts January 13^th.

In February, the Police College — Hochschule für den öffentlichen Dienst in Bayern — Fachbereich Polizei and the Munich Police Headquarters remember the Munich policeman Anton Fliegerbauer who was shot on the airfield in Fürstenfeldbruck during the failed attempt to rescue the Israeli hostages. A façade projection will illuminate the Munich Police Headquarters in Ettstrasse; in Fürstenfeldbruck a memorial event will be organized. The Police College will also offer a lecture on the Munich Massacre to its students.

In March, the Bauerhofmuseum Jexhof, a farm museum in the Fürstenfeldbruck district, will dedicate an outdoor exhibition to weightlifter Ze'ev Friedman; in April, the Deutsches Theater — where the Israeli team attended a performace of the musical “Fiddler on the roof” on the evening before the massacre — will commemorate the wrestling referee, Yossef Gutfreund.

In this way the victims of the 1972 Munich Massacre will be commemorated throughout the whole year of 2022. In addition, memorial ceremonies in September will honour them.

The Jewish Museum Munich is also accompanying the commemoration project on its blog and its social media channels under the hashtag #MunichMassacre72.

Please refer to the program (in German) below for further information on the commemoration project events throughout 2022.

Leaflet on the commemoration project

You can find details of the monthly campaigns in our calendar.

To the calendar

LMU Oral History Podcast: Perspectives on the 1972 Olympics (in German)