Flags at half staff for the victims of the 1972 attacks
Hours earlier, the remaining survivors of the attack, as well as relatives of the victims, had attended a small ceremony at the building in the Olympic Village where the hostage taking had begun and two of the Israeli athletes were killed. Afterwards, the ceremony moved to Fliegerhorst Fürstenfeldbruck, which is the military airbase west of the city of Munich, where the remaining hostages and one West German police officer all lost their lives.
On multiple occasions during the ceremony on 5 September, mention was made of how appropriate it was to finally be able to have that moment of silence for the victims. The list of dignitaries in attendance is too long to list here, but Bavarian Minister President Horst Seehofer was present and assured the public that the victims would not be forgotten. He went on to say, "The memory of the fifth of September 1972 will not fade over time...the voices of the victims will never be dampened."
Later in the ceremony, Munich Mayor Christian Ude addressed the issue by reiterating that many mistakes had been made back then in the desire to present the German nation in the best possible light as a friendly and modern country. One of the most vocal family members of the victims is Ankie Spitzer, whose husband Andre died in the attacks.
Because she had become associated with the desire to have that moment of silence at the London Games, it was appropriate that she spoke not only during the ceremony but at the press conference afterwards. "Can you imagine how difficult it is for us," she asked, "To return to this place?" Hopefully, the respect that was shown in the ceremony will help the people whose lives were forever changed by the events that took place forty years ago this week.