Open Archives Showcase 2: M1999/050:001, Donor The Susskind Family

Within our walls, the Museum holds a growing collection of artefacts relating to the Holocaust, Australian Jewish history, Judaism, and military history. These objects have been entrusted to us by the community and are vital in shaping our exhibitions, research and education programs. However, only a small fraction can be displayed at one time. Each object in our collection comes with a story. We invite you to discover more about the fascinating histories of our objects...

This Olympic torch was used in 1972 when Germany hosted their first Olympic Games since the notorious 1936 event in Berlin. The torch relay was first performed at those Olympics as part of the fanfare to glorify Hitler and his ideas of racial supremacy and global domination.

Hoping to present a new democratic and positive image, Germany named the 1972 Olympics the "Glückliche Spiele" (happy games). These hopes were shattered on September 5, when Palestinian terrorists stormed the Olympic village killing two Israeli competitors and taking nine hostages.

The terrorists demanded the release of 234 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel and two renowned German terrorists. After unsuccessful negotiations, they sought to take the hostages to Cairo. At the airport, German sharpshooters opened fire, killing three of the Palestinians. In the ensuing gun fight all of the hostages, a policeman and two more terrorists died. The three surviving terrorists were released a few weeks later in exchange for a hijacked Lufthansa jet.

The International Olympic Committee was criticized for its inadequate response at the time. In 2014 the Committee allocated funds toward a memorial to commemorate the victims of the Munich massacre at the Rio Olympics in 2016.