The turning point in the decades-long dispute over compensation payments after the 1972 Olympics attack: the federal government is now promising further payments to the families of the victims. "An offer of further recognition services to the survivors of the victims of the attack" is planned, said a spokesman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior and confirmed corresponding media reports. According to him, "trustful talks are currently being held with the representatives of the victims' families".
The "serious consequences for the survivors of the victims in material and material terms" should be reassessed. The ministry announced "renewed financial contributions from the federal government, the Free State of Bavaria and the state capital Munich".
According to the victims' families, the German proposal provides for a total payment of ten million euros for all survivors. However, earlier payments from the years 1972 and 2002 totaling around four and a half million euros should be taken into account. According to a report by the German editorial network (RND), the survivors reject it. "The sum that we were offered is insulting," spokeswoman for the victims' families, Ankie Spitzer, said. "We are upset and disappointed."
Spitzer said this does not meet international standards in similar cases. "We never wanted to talk publicly about money, but now we are forced to do it." If the offer were to remain, the relatives would not come to the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the attack in Munich. Spitzer herself has already canceled her participation.
According to current plans, Israel's President Yitzchak Herzog is to travel to Germany with the families. According to the RND, government talks between Germany and Israel will now look for a solution to the compensation issue by August 15. Legally, the bereaved had already failed more than 20 years ago with their demand for higher benefits.
According to the RND, the new German ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, presented the new German offer to the victims' families last Friday at the embassy in Tel Aviv. Accordingly, according to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the offer includes a comprehensive historical review and an opening of the archives “as well as an offer of further recognition services to the surviving relatives of the victims of the attack”.
September 5 marks the 50th anniversary of the assassination attempt by Palestinian terrorists on the Israeli team at the Olympic Games in Munich. "The 50th anniversary commemoration should be an occasion for a clear political classification of the events of 1972," said the ministry spokesman.
Bavaria's Anti-Semitism Commissioner Ludwig Spaenle (CSU) accused the Federal Republic of state failure after Spitzer's rejection. 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 - and canceled the entire commemoration event that should have taken place in Munich on Tuesday. Spaenle had previously sent a letter to Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) on this matter - but according to his own statements without any result.
Eleven Israeli athletes and coaches and a German policeman were killed in the attack by a Palestinian terrorist command. Since then, there has been a struggle for compensation. In the opinion of the victims' families, the money that has already flowed is not appropriate.
According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, payments from Germany to the relatives of the victims amounting to around 4.19 million marks (around 2 million euros) had already been made immediately after the assassination. The Ministry announced in 2001 that around 3.2 million marks were humanitarian payments by the Federal Republic. The remaining amount was made up of donations from the German Red Cross (DRK) and services provided by the National Olympic Committee. The total amount went to the National Olympic Committee to be passed on to the bereaved. In 2002 they received three million euros as a humanitarian gesture in view of the special relationship with Israel, as the Federal Government, the Free State of Bavaria and the City of Munich explained at the time.
In 1994, the survivors had also sued for damages of around 40 million marks (around 20.45 million euros) with reference to massive errors in the police operation, but had failed. The Munich I Regional Court dismissed the claims in October 1995 due to the statute of limitations, which was confirmed by the Higher Regional Court (OLG) in January 2000. The plaintiffs then withdrew their appeal to the Federal Court of Justice in February 2001.
"On the occasion of the upcoming anniversary and still open questions of historical processing and classification, the Federal Government has reassessed these events and the handling of them in the past few weeks," said the Federal Ministry of the Interior. In addition to the payments, a "commission of German and Israeli historians to comprehensively review the events" is also to be set up.
