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Germany yet to apologize for failures that led to the murder of 11 Israeli athletes in September 1972 Ofer Aderet A visitor looking at the portraits of the Israeli athletes murdered at the 1972 Munich Olympics, at the newly inaugurated Memorial Center, September 6, 2017. CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP
The new memorial to the 11 Israeli athletes murdered at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, inaugurated on Wednesday, makes no mention whatsoever of the omissions, failures and ultimate responsibility of Germany for the disaster. Germany is thus missing another historic opportunity to take responsibility for its part in the weaknesses in security, defense and intelligence that enabled the massacre.
On the 45th anniversary of the massacre, the memorial was inaugurated in Munich's Olympic Park. Those present included Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier, along with Horst Seehofer, prime minister of the German state of Bavaria, along with representatives of the athletes' families.
The Munich 1972 Massacre Memorial's construction was financed by the Bavarian government, the city of Munich, the German government and the International Olympic Committee, among others.
The memorial, carved into a hill, focuses on the personal lives of the 11 Israelis and the German policeman who were murdered. The purpose is both to show respect for their memories and to show the faces behind the names. There is also a short explanation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - but, glaringly, no critical...