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provide an accurate record of David's life and legacy. It should be noted, however, that articles available through the "Links and More" web page are reproduced unaltered as
they originally appeared.
David Mark Berger was born June 24, 1944 in Ohio, the firstborn of three, including a a brother and a sister. Throughout his young life, David exemplified ability,
determination, and self-confidence. He was a National Merit Scholar, a college graduate with three degrees, a 1965 and 1969 U.S. Maccabiah weightlifting competitor
(bronze and gold medals, respectively), the 1969 U.S. Junior Nationals Weightlifting (Middleweight Division) gold medalist, and an Israeli Olympic team member.
David Berger dreamed of participating in the Olympics soon after he began weightlifting training at age twelve. He trained in Cleveland, Ohio, which had the only
nearby weightlifting gym, meticulously recording each lift in a journal.
David graduated from
Tulane University (B.A. in
Psychology, 1966), and Columbia Law School (an MBA and
a Juris Doctorate, 1970). After graduating from
Columbia University, he made
aliyah to Israel, where he joined Maccabi Tel Aviv
and won the Lightheavy Division
in the Israeli National weightlifting
competition.
In
1971, he won a silver
medal representing Israel in the Asian Games weightlifting competition, and in 1972, earned a spot on the Israeli Olympic team. David was
scheduled to begin Israeli
military service in October 1972, but he was not an expatriate; he
was a dual Israeli-U.S. citizen.
David married after graduating from
Tulane University. His divorce was finalized before the 1972 Olympics. At that
time, David was not engaged to marry
anyone.
According to those who knew him, David had many options, but
had not said what he would do next. David was licensed
to practice law in the state of New York,
where he passed the bar
exam in 1970. In Israel, while training and preparing to compete in the
Olympics, he worked on improving his proficiency in Hebrew,
but
had not yet attained the fluency needed to practice law in Israel,
nor had he studied for the Israeli bar exam.
In late August, David flew to Munich with the
Israeli Olympic team. On September 2, 1972, he competed, but was
eliminated in an early round.
Winning a medal
was not David's goal; participating in the Olympic Games ideals of
peace and brotherhood he believed in were honor enough. David
Berger achieved his Olympic
dream.
Early on September 5,
1972, at about 4:30 AM,
terrorists broke into the Olympic Village at Munich, and took Israeli Olympic team
members hostage. David Berger
attempted to stop
the intruders, urging his teammates in Hebrew to jump the terrorists together, because they had nothing to lose. David was
one of the athletes
who died. He was 28 years old.
David
Berger in many ways embodied what the International Olympic Committee describes as the
'Olympic Spirit:' to build a peaceful and better world
which requires
mutual understanding with a spirit of a spirit of
friendship, solidarity and fair play.
Olympic Gold for Israel!
In 2004, Israeli Olympian Gal Fridman, a windsurfer, won
the first Olympic gold medal for
Israel. The national anthem played, Israelis waved flags, and Fridman
dedicated his medal to the eleven athletes murdered at the
1972 Olympics. Fridman said, "I'm sure they're watching us. We think about them
all the time. They're
always on our mind. When I get home, I
will go to the memorial place for them in Tel Aviv and show them the gold
medal."
"I want to bring them
the honor that is theirs" Fridman said. "I want to show it to them, to
show them they are with us, to show we have moved on and that we
are
winning."
"David would have been pleased," David's father, Dr. Berger, said. "He would have been happy to see an Israeli win.”
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