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American Morning

Munich Massacre

Aired September 05, 2002 - 09:46   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Thirty years to the day today, the darkest day in the history of the Olympic Games, September 5, 1972 in Munich. Arab terrorists murdered 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team in what became known as the Munich Massacre. And now there's a new documentary three decades later recalling the tragedy in devastating detail. It's work of the Olympic filmmaker, so well known and such good work by Bud Greenspan. I talked to him a couple of days ago about the project and where it stands now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: It has been 30 years since Munich in 1972. When you look back about that series of events that took place, is there one moment, one indelible moment, that sticks out in your mind the most.

BUD GREENSPAN, OLYMPIC FILMMAKER: Yes, the most indelible moment was a happy one, it seems, because when the situation was taking place in the village, in building 31 when the hostages were taken by the terrorists, outside the Olympic village, the people were playing ping- pong. They were having -- walking, jogging, as if nothing ever happened. So the contradiction was the one most apparent to me.

HEMMER: What does that say? Does that say that people did not fully realize the extent of the incident in the early moments of it?

GREENSPAN: There was very little information given to anybody. We were all getting rumors and rumors to the effect that everybody was going to be saved. The worst one came many hours later after the hostages were taken to the airfield, about to be released. But they were all released. Newspapers, early morning newspapers in Europe, had hostages all released, and the terrorists were all dead. And we cheered and the press acted like it was New Year's Eve. And then suddenly, half the people that were in the press that night at 11:15 went to bed happy as heck and woke up with sadness. That's when the memorial took place, when 80,000 people, came to the Olympic Stadium, and about to make a speech because we didn't know whether the Games were going to be continued, and finally, came out with these famous words, "The Games must go on."

And the reasons are very interesting, because I talked to a lot of Israelis at the time and they were one of the first ones to say, it has to go on. You can't give in to terrorists.

HEMMER: So you agree, because a lot of other people had a bit of a disagreement.

GREENSPAN: I must confess, Bill, it took me a couple of hours to agree with the decision. I was ready to go home. I was in tears because I had witnessed a young kid from Hong Kong calling up his mother on a pay telephone and said, mom, dad I'm coming home, I can't take it any more, and he broke down right in my arms. It was one of these contradictions all day long, happiness and sadness, because we didn't know anything about what was going to happen.

HEMMER: You have had 30 years, three decades, to put this in some sort of context. Where does it stack up, where does it fit when you look at this international terrorist event that played out, honestly on television, because we were all watching it on ABC Sports?

GREENSPAN: The main reason I did the show is to tell people that it wasn't the Olympic Games that caused the terrorist reaction. It could have happened at the queen's coronation or inauguration of a president. When you get groups looking for free publicity around the world -- don't forget, 250 nations were the recipient of this television coverage of the games, and the message was gotten across, the Palestinians need a homeland, and where else can you reach three billion people for nothing? So it was really a public relations measure on the part of the Palestinians.

HEMMER: I will tell you the image I remember, and I think many people probably will probably agree with me on this, but that masked gunman standing outside, I think at one time holding a gun perhaps on an outside deck. You know that image well.

GREENSPAN: Oh, very well. And that's been on the front pages of every magazine ever, and he was one of the ones that was killed in the ensuing battle of the airfield outside of Munich, when 3:00 in the morning that news came in, everyone is gone, and that was a shuddering after the situation when that first came over. We were all in tears. I saw hard-boiled reporters and columnists just wiped out.

HEMMER: What a time. Thanks.

GREENSPAN: Thank for having me, Bill. See you soon.

HEMMER: Good luck, Bud Greenspan. We certainly will. Travel safe.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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