David Berger | |
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דיוויד מארק ברגר | |
 David Berger in 1970 | |
| Born | (1944-05-24)May 24, 1944 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | September 6, 1972(1972-09-06) (aged 28) |
| Cause of death | Terrorist attack |
| Resting place | Mayfield CemeteryCleveland Heights, Ohio |
| Monuments | David Berger National Memorial,Beachwood, Ohio |
| Citizenship | United States (birth), Israel (naturalized)[citation needed] |
| Alma mater | Tulane University (BA) Columbia University (MBA,JD) |
| Occupation(s) | Lawyer, Weightlifter |
| Parents |
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David Mark Berger (Hebrew:דיוויד מארק ברגר; May 24, 1944 – September 6, 1972) was an American and IsraeliOlympic weightlifter, and one of the 11 Israeli Olympians taken hostage and killed by thePalestinian groupBlack September during theMunich massacre at the1972 Summer Olympics. Born and raised in the United States, Berger was a lawyer by education and had emigrated to Israel after taking part in the1969 Maccabiah Games, where he won a gold medal.
David Mark Berger was born inCleveland, Ohio, on May 24, 1944. His mother was Dorothy Berger, (née Davidson), and his father was Benjamin Berger, who was a well known physician. A high school honors student as well as an athlete, Berger graduated fromShaker Heights High School in 1962. He attendedTulane University in New Orleans from 1962 to 1966 where he was an honors student. While studying at Tulane, he continued weightlifting training at theNew Orleans Athletic Club. As a junior at Tulane, he won theNCAA weightlifting title in the 148-pound class. Berger earned abachelor's degree in psychology from Tulane in 1966. He went on to enroll in a combined MBA-JD program atColumbia University in New York, from which he graduated in 1969. While working toward his degrees, Berger continued to devote time to weightlifting, training at the McBurneyYMCA inMidtown Manhattan. During his time in New York, Berger competed in the middleweight division. In 1968, competing as a middleweight, he finished fourth in the U.S. Olympic trials. His father, Benjamin, was once quoted as saying, "I used to tell him ‘You may not be the best weightlifter in the world, but you’re certainly the smartest!’"
After winning a gold medal in the middleweight weight-lifting contest in the1969 Maccabiah Games,[1] Bergeremigrated to Israel, intending to open a law office inTel Aviv after completing hiscompulsory military service. Berger continued competing in weightlifting, but moved up in body weight to the lightheavy class. He won asilver medal at the1971 Asian Weightlifting Championships, and achieved a long time dream when he was chosen to represent Israel as a member of the1972 Israeli Olympic team. In late August of that year, Berger flew toMunich with his teammates. On September 2, 1972, Berger competed, but was eliminated in an early round.
Early on the morning of September 5, 1972,Palestinian terrorists took Berger and his five roommateshostage, after having earlier broken into theOlympic Village and seized six officials in another apartment as well as wounding wrestling coachMoshe Weinberg in the face. While the athletes were being moved to the first apartment, Weinberg grappled with the intruders, allowing flyweight wrestlerGad Tsobari to escape but resulting in Weinberg’s death by gunfire. As the remaining hostages and terrorists entered the officials’ apartment, weightlifterYossef Romano also attempted to overpower the intruders. Romano was cut nearly in half by automatic fire (his corpse was left all day at the feet of the hostages, who were tied to beds), and Berger was shot in his left shoulder, a wound seen by German officials later in the day. It is believed that Berger, being physically one of the largest of the hostages, was also beaten in order to intimidate the other hostages.
After all-day negotiations, the terrorists and their tied-up hostages were transferred from the Olympic Village via helicopter toFürstenfeldbruck airbase outside ofMunich, where the terrorists believed they would be flown to a friendly Arab nation. Instead, the German border guards and Munich police attempted to ambush the terrorists and free the hostages. After a two-hour gunfight, one of the terrorists turned on the helicopter in which Berger was sitting and sprayed it with machine-gun fire. The other three hostages in the helicopter were killed instantly, but somehow Berger only received two non-lethal wounds in his legs. However, the terrorist then detonated ahand grenade inside the helicopter, causing a huge explosion and fire. An autopsy found that Berger had died ofsmoke inhalation. The five hostages in the other helicopter were all shot to death by another terrorist.
While the 10 other Israeli Olympians were flown to and buried in Israel, David Berger's body was returned to the United States on an Air Force jet personally ordered by PresidentRichard Nixon. Berger is buried atMayfield Cemetery inCleveland Heights, Ohio[2]
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