Honoring Those Who Died

In 1972 my 13-year-old world was centered on hair and makeup and fashion and boys.  (Hmmmmm … not much has changed in nearly 40 years, has it?)  I really wasn’t focused on world events and, particularly, what was happening across the pond at the time.  Fortunately, our National Park Service not only preserves the scenic areas of our country, but also shares the stories of its people.

Mark and I were road tripping to Cleveland for the weekend.  Armed with a list of 20+ antique stores in the area, we’d definitely be busy for two days.  But we can get “fantigued” after hours of serious shopping.  A diversion was in order since we discovered many of the shops didn’t open until noon on Sunday and, more importantly, exploring is not only about finding great bargains.  I hit the National Park Service website to see if the neighborhood had anything to offer and was pleased to discover I could score another stamp in my passport.

David Berger graduated from Shaker Heights (Ohio) High School, Tulane University, and received a law degree and an MBA from Columbia University.  He emigrated to Israel in 1970 and was among the first in that country to teach sports, including weightlifting, to the disabled.  David also continued to participate in weightlifting competitions and made the 1972 Israeli Olympic team.  As a dual citizen raised in the U.S. and representing Israel, he had no expectations of winning any medals; simply walking in the opening ceremonies in Munich made his Olympic dream come true—a dream which unfortunately ended in tragedy.

Shortly before dawn on September 5, 1972, a group of heavily-armed Arab men stormed the dormitory at Olympic Village where the Israeli delegation was sleeping.  A coach and an athlete were killed in the attack and another nine taken hostage by the terrorists who declared their intent to murder them unless Israel released Arab prisoners from its jails.  When the Israeli government refused to negotiate, the terrorists demanded that arrangements be made to fly them and the hostages to another country.  At a nearby airport, the rest of the Israeli athletes, as well as five of their attackers, died in a botched rescue attempt by German authorities.

The national memorial located on the grounds of the Mandel Jewish Community Center honors the memory of David Berger and ten other athletes.  Originally installed in Cleveland Heights in 1975, the sculpture was moved to Beachwood in the summer of 2006 when the Mayfield Jewish Community was demolished.  It is the only memorial in the United States commemorating the 1972 Olympic terrorism.

The black steel sculpture was constructed by Romanian-born David E. Davis.  It depicts the five Olympic rings broken in half, which symbolizes the interruption and cancellation of the Munich games by the tragic events; the 11 segments on which the rings rest represent each athlete whose life was taken.  One of the segments is slightly different from the rest to symbolize the unique events in David’s life that led him to the Israel Olympic Team and his death.  An upward motion in the broken rings suggests the peaceful intent of the Olympics, a search for understanding, and hope for the future.

I’m glad we had time to visit this site.  It commemorates a story worth hearing and a story worth sharing.