Memorial of 1972 Munich Olympics massacre is no beer motif

Germany – The Munich brewer Hacker-Pschorr probably thought it a great marketing ploy to organise a quirky sightseeing tour, which would take punters to various Munich crime scenes, including the Olympic Centre, where in 1972 a Palestinian terrorist attack led to the murder of eleven Israeli athletes and a local policeman.

After protests called the ensuing video “undignified”, Hacker-Pschorr took it off the web on 19 June 2019.

The massacre shook Germany because the Munich Games marked the first return of the Olympics to a German city since the 1936 Games in Berlin. The West German invitation had been extended, in part at least, to offer the world a contrast to the horrifying spectacle of Nazi Berlin.

It was the Research and Information centre on Anti-Semitism (RIAS), which alerted media to the video on 18 June. Although it has since been taken down, write-ups of the sightseeing tour can still be found online.

Called “Spezltour” (Buddy Tour), these walks have been organised by Hacker-Pschorr for three years. In the past, well-known local figures took punters on walks around town, treating them to funny stories and plenty of free beer. A video chronicling these walks would be posted afterwards.

The first of this year’s Buddy Tours, scheduled for early June, was hosted by a retired homicide detective and a medical examiner. Again, boozy punters were accompanied by a video crew, whose film was posted by the brewer.

Themed walks to real crime scenes have become standard tourist fare in many cities world-wide. Opinions will be divided if it’s ok to seek such cheap thrills. But it is definitely a no-no for any self-respecting company to actually encourage unseemly behaviour, like drinking beer in front of a memorial.

As RIAS complained, the whole tour was not meant to commemorate the victims, but sell beer.

What I find scandalous about the whole affair is that there was no one higher up at the brewer, who rapped his groovy marketing types on the knuckles after one look at the script. Because whichever way you look at it, the whole PR stunt was tasteless, deeply insensitive and uncalled for.

Hacker-Pschorr is part of Paulaner Brewery Group, which is jointly owned by the Schörghuber family and Dutch brewer Heineken. It is among Germany’s largest brewery groups.