Press release: Presentation of the app at the air base in Fürstenfeldbruck

In September 2022 - on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Olympic attack - the district of Fürstenfeldbruck has published a digital place of remembrance. With a multimedia website and an augmented reality app, detailed information about the events of September 5, 1972, can be accessed at any time since then.

The digital place of remembrance focuses on the memory of the twelve victims and offers the opportunity to get a virtual overview of what happened at the site where the attack came to its tragic end.

While the website of the digital place of remembrance (https://www.erinnerungsort-fuerstenfeldbruck1972.de) looks at the police operation in Fürstenfeldbruck as well as at the 1972 Olympic Games in general and the aftermath of the events, the focus of the app ("Erinnerungsort72," available for download in the Google Play Store and App Store) is on the events around the old tower of the air base itself. Using a mobile device, each user sees current and historical footage of the old tower and surroundings and orients him- or herself by turning the phone or tablet. Seven stations provide information about what happened in a variety of media formats. The important feature of the app is that it works both directly on site and virtually location-independently, for example, from home or the classroom. However, the site is still located in the military security area and can therefore only be visited as part of organized approved tours.

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The district invited to an event at the air base on Friday, March 10, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. to introduce the app - in particular to a young audience. For the first time, this event offered the opportunity to experience the app of the digital place of remembrance directly on site, which makes it possible to convey the events even more impressively.

Dr. h.c. Charlotte Knobloch, the President of the Israeli Religious Community of Munich and Upper Bavaria, and Carmela Shamir, the Israeli Consul General, came to the event to see the latest developments of the project. Eleven students from the Graf-Rasso-Gymnasium in Fürstenfeldbruck were also invited. Under the guidance of their history teacher Wolfgang Seufert, they have already dealt intensively with the topic of the Olympic attack as part of the 2022 Year of Remembrance and held their own commemorative event at their school in November 2022. After the greetings and speeches by the political representatives, the students addressed their questions about the digital place of remembrance to District Administrator Thomas Karmasin in a panel discussion.

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Since its publication in September, more than 4,600 users from around 70 different countries have already visited the website, and the app has been downloaded more than 1,100 times in total. The aim is to make the digital place of remembrance better known and, above all, to bring it into schools and use it for historical-political educational work. Further events and activities with students are being planned.

The digital place of remembrance for the 1972 Olympic attack in Fürstenfeldbruck has been present on social networks since January 2023. On Facebook and Instagram, the content and functions of the website and app are presented under "erinnerungsort72", information is provided about the events of 5.9.1972, the 12 victims are commemorated and hatred and anti-Semitism are countered. The district is looking forward to more interested people following the channels.

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The project is supported by the Free State of Bavaria, represented by the Bavarian State Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs, the BMW Group, the International Olympic Committee, the German Olympic Sports Confederation and, since 2023, by Sparkasse Fürstenfeldbruck and Bayerische Sparkassenstiftung. Prof. Dr. Ulrich Reuter, Chairman of the Board of Bayerische Sparkassenstiftung, commented: "The tragic events of September 5 give rise to a great responsibility and obligation for all of us, which we as a society must also fulfill."

District Administrator Thomas Karmasin is grateful for the support and proud of what has been created: "I am pleased that we can experience the app live for the first time today in this round and would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to all the people who were involved in the creation of the app and who made its realization possible in the first place. The county of Fürstenfeldbruck is proud of this achievement."

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Source: LRA FFB