Anneliese Graes (November 5, 1930 – June 1, 1992) was a chief detective (1951–1991) from
Essen
Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and D ...
, Germany, who acted as mediator between German officials and Black September terrorists during the
1972 Munich Olympic Games
The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...
after eight Black September terrorists broke into the Israeli Olympic delegation building at 31
Connollystrasse, taking
eleven of the Israeli delegation hostage during the early hours of 5 September 1972.
Involvement in the Munich Massacre
Graes had volunteered to work as one of 2,000 Olympic security guards during the 1972 Munich Olympic Games.
Upon hearing of the hostage taking Graes rushed to 31 Connollystraße to volunteer as intermediary. According to
Simon Reeve, author of the book ''One Day in September'', Graes had a mature, easy manner which her superiors had hoped would put the terrorists at ease.
At 8:10am Graes made her way to 31 Connollystraße to replace Frau Lauterbach, a young policewoman who had already gone to 31 Connollystraße to establish contact with the terrorists.
Although Simon Reeve intimates that Graes volunteered to be an intermediary and was chosen by Manfred Schreiber for the task, it appears Graes went to the scene of her own volition and began to act as intermediary without any prior instruction from her superiors.
She would act as the intermediary between the
Black September
Black September ( ar, أيلول الأسود; ''Aylūl Al-Aswad''), also known as the Jordanian Civil War, was a conflict fought in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan between the Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF), under the leadership of King Hussein ...
leader
Luttif Afif
Luttif Afif ( ar, لطيف عفيف; 1937 or 1945 – 6 September 1972; alias "Issa"—Jesus in Arabic) was a Palestinian terrorist. He commanded the eight-member attack teamDavid Clay Large. ''Munich 1972: Tragedy, Terror, and Triumph at the O ...
and the German delegation until the terrorists and Israeli hostages left 31 Connollystraße via the underground car park by bus, and then to waiting helicopters which were supposed to transport them to
Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base.
It was clear from the outset that Afif was quite comfortable with Graes, both could be seen chatting regularly in front of 31 Connollystraße when Afif was not involved in negotiations with the German delegation. Afif told Graes about his life, most of which was corroborated later by Palestinian sources. Afif offered Graes cigarettes and even shared food with Graes; at one point both could be seen eating bananas and then tossing the skins through the front door of 31
Connollystraße before Afif picked them up.
Aftermath
Graes gave evidence to the official Bavarian pre-criminal investigation into the events of 5 September.
In 1974 Graes was awarded the
Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...
for her actions. She only rarely spoke about her involvement in the Munich crisis and refused all offers of money for her story regarding the events of that day.
Death
Graes died in
Bottrop, Germany, aged 62. She requested she be buried with her Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.
In popular media
''
21 Hours at Munich
''21 Hours at Munich'' is a 1976 American historical drama television film directed by William A. Graham and starring William Holden, Shirley Knight and Franco Nero. It is based on the 1975 non-fiction book ''The Blood of Israel'' by Serge Grouss ...
'', a 1976 feature film about the events in Munich
''München 72'', a 2012 German TV feature film
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graes, Anneliese
1930 births
1992 deaths
Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany