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Andre and Ankie were married for just over a year before he was killed
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Forty-four years is a long time to
wait for anything, but for Ankie Spitzer it has taken four decades to
get the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to hold an official
memorial for her husband.
Andre Spitzer was one of the 11 Israelis killed at the 1972 Games in Munich. In
the early hours of 5 September, Palestinian militants from the Black
September group clambered over security fences at the Olympic Village,
made their way to the Israelis' quarters and took a group of them
hostage.
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Ankie Spitzer in the room where her husband, Andre, was held hostage
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It was an event that would change security at the Olympic Games forever. The
militants, who murdered two of the Israeli athletes, demanded the
release of more than 200 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
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The crisis played out live on television around the world
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It
ended with a botched rescue attempt by German police in which all nine
of the remaining hostages, and a policeman, were killed. "Nobody ever thought something so terrible would happen," says Ankie, sitting in her home, north of Tel Aviv.
Many of her memories still seem raw. "Just
a few hours after the murder I went into the room of my husband where
they were all held hostage. I cannot even describe to you the chaos when
I opened the door of the apartment."