The Munich massacre was a tragic terrorist attack that occurred during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany. On September 5, 1972, eight members of the Palestinian militant group Black September infiltrated the Olympic Village.

At 4:31 am local time, the terrorists scaled a two-meter chain-link fence and entered the building at Connollystraße 31, which housed the Israeli Olympic delegation.

The attack began when Yossef Gutfreund, an Israeli wrestling referee, heard suspicious noises at the door of Apartment 1. He attempted to block the intruders, allowing his roommate, weightlifting coach Tuvia Sokolovsky, to escape through a rear window. The terrorists then forced their way in, killing wrestling coach Moshe Weinberg and weightlifter Joseph Romano in the process.

The militants took nine Israeli team members hostage — in addition to Yossef Gutfreund, they took American-born weightlifter David Berger, weightlifter Ze'ev Friedman, wrestler Eliezer Halfin, wrestler Mark Slavin, track coach Amitzur Shapira, shooting coach Kehat Shorr, fencing coach Andre Spitzer, and weightlifting judge Yakov Springer. The Palestinians demanded the release of 328 Palestinians and non-Arab prisoners held in Israel, as well as the release of German Red Army Faction founder Ulrike Meinhof. Throughout the day, tense negotiations took place between the terrorists and German authorities.

At around 10:30 pm, the crisis reached its tragic climax at Fürstenfeldbruck airfield. German police attempted a rescue operation, which resulted in a gun battle. In the ensuing chaos, all nine Israeli hostages were killed, along with five of the eight terrorists and one German police officer.

The Munich massacre shocked the world and brought the Olympic Games to a halt. A memorial service was held at the Olympic Stadium, and competition was suspended for a day. The event had far-reaching consequences, leading to increased security measures at future Olympics and prompting Israel to launch a covert operation known as "Wrath of God" to track down and eliminate those responsible for the attack.

The tragedy remains a somber reminder of the impact of terrorism on international sports and continues to be a subject of historical analysis and commemoration.