September 5, 1972 Terrorists took eleven Israeli athletes hostage at the Munich Olympics, shattering Germany’s “Happy Games” and the political sanctuary at the heart of the Olympic movement. The “Munich Massacre” ended tragically with the death of all eleven Israelis and a German policeman, and quickly became a historical turning point for the Olympics, terrorism, and for a world audience tuned into the first international broadcast of the games. Governments reacted while the families of the victims tirelessly sought answers. Still, all these years later one task remained incomplete: the creation of a memorial sufficient enough to recognize the courage of the fallen athletes.
Global Sports Development Producers, Dr. Steven Ungerleider and David Ulich, have partnered with Director Stephen Crisman and Executive Producer Michael Cascio to capture the story of the Munich Memorial, and to create an unflinching, elegant, and timely examination of contemporary remembrance. Memorials honor the fallen, but they also demand the past remain present. The documentary will revisit Munich’s history and bring it into a contemporary moment through intimate interviews and access to those involved, revealing shocking details the public has never before heard.
Ultimately, Munich ’72 and Beyond is a very human story. It is an empowering story which suggests that memory is a critical, contemporary action capable of far more hope than grief.
remembering the victims
Historical moments are often the completion of a generation, of political upheaval, exile, or reflection – a gradual understanding of the current reach of past events. In 2014, history was made when the German States Ministry for Education, Science and Culture, with the support of the International Olympic Committee and The Foundation for Global Sports Development, initiated the Munich Memorial Project, in tribute to the fallen Israeli Olympic Team.
Opened in September 2017, this memorial will commit significant focus to the biographies of each victim, capable of shouldering their legacy – through ongoing remembrance.