Neo-Nazi Linked to Munich Olympics Massacre

The killings of 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972 have long been blamed on a Palestinian terrorist group—but Black September didn't act alone. The planner of the attacks was assisted by German Neo-Nazi Willi Pohl, 40-year-old German intelligence documents released by Der Spiegel reveal. When terrorist Abu Daud arrived in Munich, Pohl escorted him and helped him contact a document-counterfeiting operation. "I drove Abu Daud all over Germany," Pohl—who has since changed his name—tells Der Spiegel, as reported by the Independent. "He held meetings with Palestinians in various cities."

He says he didn't realize he was aiding in the Olympics massacre, though the files imply he may have helped obtain weapons. The same year, he tried to help Palestinian militants organize kidnappings throughout Germany as retaliation over Palestinians killed in the German police's botched rescue attempt, but he was arrested in October 1972; police discovered firearms, hand grenades, and a letter from Black September threatening a judge in the Munich case. As for Daud, despite police surveillance ahead of the attacks, officials never tried to arrest him, the report says. (More Munich stories.)