History of Munich German defenders there offered only light resistance, on 30 April 1945. After American occupation in 1945, Munich was completely rebuilt following a meticulous and - by comparison to other war-ravaged German cities - rather conservative plan which preserved its pre-war street grid. In 1957 Munich's population passed the 1 million mark. In 1958 Munich hosted the Chess Olympiad. Munich was the site of the 1972 Summer Olympics, during which Israeli athletes were assassinated by Palestinian terrorists (see Munich massacre), when terrorist gunmen from the Palestinian "Black September" group took hostage members of the Israeli Olympic team. A rescue attempt by
British Honduras at the 1972 Summer Olympics competition later that year at the 1968 Summer Olympics and except for the boycotted 1980 Summer Olympics has appeared in every Summer Olympiad since. This made Munich the second appearance for the then British territory, which would not become independent from the United Kingdom until 1981. The 1972 Summer Olympics were held from 26 August to 11 September 1976; a total of 7,134 athletes, representing 121 National Olympic Committees took part in the Games. The British Honduran delegation to Munich consisted of one shooter, Owen Phillips. Gilmore Hinkson, a Belezian sports official, was selected as the flag-bearer for the opening