House of City History in Heusenstamm commemorates the 1972 Olympics in Munich
To be at the Olympic Games once. This is not only a dream for athletes. Rudolf Schmidt lived it.
Heusenstamm – The Heusenstammer is part of the competitions in Munich in 1972. But not as an athlete. Schmidt is part of the organizing committee. The 78-year-old reports on the tasks he took on and what he experienced there at the exhibition “50 Years of the Olympics in Munich” in the House of City History.
At the Olympics in Munich, Heusenstammer Rudolf Schmidt was responsible for the youth camp
The showroom is well attended. Around 40 men and women have gathered to marvel at the documents, books and postcards that Rudolf Schmidt, who has lived in Schlossstadt for 40 years, has made available to the House of City History. And the donor is also present. In a lecture he explains his role in the organizing committee of the Munich Games. “I was responsible for the youth camp.”
Olympia in Munich: Heusenstammer Rudolf Schmidt organized excursions for young people
Schmidt, a student social worker, has been working on the various projects for two and a half years. With around 30 colleagues, the then 28-year-old was working on the correct arrangement of the youth camp at Kapuzinerhölz, a wooded area around four kilometers from the Olympic site. “Initially we had planned with 3,000 young people, but then we realized that the money wasn’t enough.” And so Schmidt finally welcomed 2,300 young people from all over the world to the site.
To ensure that the young people do not get bored outside of the games and that culture is not neglected either, Schmidt develops bus tours to the sights of the region. He summarizes the routes, most important facts about the excursion destinations, in a kind of travel guide. These are then translated into different languages. Schmidt’s work is so good that it also attracts attention in royal circles. “Once Queen Sylvia of Sweden came to me and also wanted one of the brochures.” He declined on the grounds that “while they are looking at everything, their people cordon off the area and we have to wait outside.”
Olympia in Munich: The assassination has changed the mood
Schmidt has fond memories of the games. Even if the assassination attempt on the reliable team destroyed much of what distinguished them before. “All the happy, light-heartedness was suddenly gone.” He himself was not on the premises at the time the hostages were taken. Like many others, he heard about it on the radio. “The organizers only said that everything went well.” Schmidt only found out the true extent of the tragedy later. “They’ve been covering up what really happened for almost 30 years.”
In the youth camp, however, the effects quickly become apparent. The immediate visitors fly home immediately. And young people from other nations are also leaving the camp – some of them without saying goodbye. “After the incident, the air was gone,” says Schmidt.
Olympia in Munich: Heusenstammer Rudolf Schmidt kept many memorabilia
Despite the incident, which “took away what had been a positive experience up until then”, the Munich games still have a special place in Schmidt’s life to this day. For 30 years he was a member of the National Olympic Committee (NOK) and the German Olympic Sports Confederation. And the competitions live on in countless books, postcards, souvenirs and documents, 50 years after they ended. “I am attached to these documents, they have been in my memory for 50 years.”
His social commitment has also remained. For example, Schmidt campaigned for adult education and co-founded the bicycle workshop of the Catholic driving community in Heusenstamm seven years ago. The 78-year-old is still active there.
The exhibition “50 years of Munich Olympics” in the House of City History is open to visitors on Sunday, July 31, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and on Wednesday, August 3, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m
By Joshua Bear