The Olympic Games were suspended for a whole day and a memorial service by 80,000 spectators and 3,000 athletes was held. The Olympic Flag and most national flags flew at half-mast, except for the Arab nations who insisted on their flags flying at full-mast. The Israeli team decided to leave Munich the next day.
Families of some victims have asked the International Olympic Committee to establish a permanent memorial, but their request has been denied. The attack was widely condemned worldwide, and led to retaliatory assassinations and operations such as Wrath of God and Spring of Youth that would continue into the next decade.
The bodies of the five Palestinians were delivered to Libya and buried with full military honours. The fate of the three surviving kidnappers released by the Germans is still in dispute. For three decades now, all has been quiet. Now, with Spielberg's film Munich about to hit screens worldwide, that night in 1972 is set to make headlines all over again.
In the picture: The Olympic Flag at half-mast at the Munich Olympic Stadium.