Yakov Springer Yakov Springer Yakov Springer (1921 – 6 September 1972) was a wrestler and a weightlifting coach and judge, but is best known as one of the victims of the Munich massacre at the 1972 Summer Olympics. During the Holocaust, Springer took part in Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. The Polish-born Springer was murdered with 10 other men who were representing Israel in the Olympics in Munich. They were murdered by Palestinian terrorists, from the PLO Black September group. The Palestinians took the 11 Israelis as hostages and asked for the release of 236 Palestinian prisoners in Israel and Germany. After the hostages
Munich massacre lowered to honor murdered Israelis; their flags were restored to the tops of their flagpoles almost immediately. Willi Daume, president of the Munich organizing committee, initially sought to cancel the remainder of the Games, but in the afternoon Brundage and others who wished to continue the Games prevailed, stating that they could not let the incident halt the Games. Brundage stated "The Games must go on, and we must ... and we must continue our efforts to keep them clean, pure and honest." The decision was endorsed by the Israeli government and Israeli Olympic team chef de mission Shmuel Lalkin.