Comments on: 40 Years After the Munich Massacre http://www.wendyparker.org/2012/09/40-years-after-the-munich-massacre/ Discoveries, rants and comfort-food cravings of a sports omnivore. Tue, 07 May 2013 12:21:04 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: Clarence Gaines http://www.wendyparker.org/2012/09/40-years-after-the-munich-massacre/#comment-10558 Clarence Gaines Wed, 05 Sep 2012 17:47:08 +0000 http://www.wendyparker.org/?p=4689#comment-10558 Thanks for spotlighting the massacre at the Munich Olympics and highlighting the video, "Tragedy of the Munich Games." I attended the Munich games with my best friend and my mother and father. I was 13 years old and the Munich Games are definitely a "touchstone memory for me." We stayed with a German family in Unterammergau, which is about 90km south of Munich. I've got so many fond memories of the Munich games, and your post may inspire me to write about them in more depth, as well as the other events (Watergate, ending of the Vietnam War, integrating my 9th grade class) that helped to shape me during the 1972-73 school year. It was truly a pivotal year in my development as a human being. My memory of the massacre in Munich is different than the typical American, because I was in Germany when things went down. Obviously, didn't have access to American TV and rarely watched German TV in the house that we were staying in. We were always on the go, often traveling all over Germany without my parents. I vividly remember waking up and hearing from my parents what had happened. The games were suspended for a few days and I looked for other things to do. I decided to go on my own to the German prison camp, Dachau. As a Black child from the segregated South, my world view of race was Black and White. Had very little understanding of the struggles and discrimination that other races or religions experienced. Was going into the 9th grade and had no clue about the Holocaust. That day, visiting Dachau, heightened my world view and not only sensitized me to the struggles of Jews, but to the plight of all human beings in the world. Pretty amazing that the IOC missed the opportunity to honor the lives of the fallen Israeli athletes during the recent London games. When you have a stage like the Olympics, it's irresponsible to not take the time to teach the world about the importance of tolerance and the sanctity of life. Thanks for spotlighting the massacre at the Munich Olympics and highlighting the video, “Tragedy of the Munich Games.” I attended the Munich games with my best friend and my mother and father. I was 13 years old and the Munich Games are definitely a “touchstone memory for me.” We stayed with a German family in Unterammergau, which is about 90km south of Munich. I’ve got so many fond memories of the Munich games, and your post may inspire me to write about them in more depth, as well as the other events (Watergate, ending of the Vietnam War, integrating my 9th grade class) that helped to shape me during the 1972-73 school year. It was truly a pivotal year in my development as a human being.

My memory of the massacre in Munich is different than the typical American, because I was in Germany when things went down. Obviously, didn’t have access to American TV and rarely watched German TV in the house that we were staying in. We were always on the go, often traveling all over Germany without my parents. I vividly remember waking up and hearing from my parents what had happened.

The games were suspended for a few days and I looked for other things to do. I decided to go on my own to the German prison camp, Dachau. As a Black child from the segregated South, my world view of race was Black and White. Had very little understanding of the struggles and discrimination that other races or religions experienced. Was going into the 9th grade and had no clue about the Holocaust. That day, visiting Dachau, heightened my world view and not only sensitized me to the struggles of Jews, but to the plight of all human beings in the world.

Pretty amazing that the IOC missed the opportunity to honor the lives of the fallen Israeli athletes during the recent London games. When you have a stage like the Olympics, it’s irresponsible to not take the time to teach the world about the importance of tolerance and the sanctity of life.

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