September 5
2022
The 2022 Luding Earthquake
On a calm September afternoon in 2022, Luding County in Sichuan Province was rocked by a powerful 6.7 magnitude earthquake. The ground trembled violently, buildings crumbled, and lives were upended in an instant. This earthquake, while not the first to strike this seismically active region, proved to be particularly devastating. With its epicenter deep beneath the rugged terrain, the quake unleashed destruction that would leave a lasting scar on the community. Read more
1977
Kidnapping and murder of Hanns Martin Schleyer
On September 5, 1977, in Cologne, West German industrialist Hanns Martin Schleyer was abducted by a Red Army Faction commando. The ambush left his driver and three police bodyguards dead. Weeks of hostage negotiations, a linked international hijacking of Lufthansa Flight 181 and the contested deaths of imprisoned RAF leaders culminated in Schleyer’s execution; his body was found on October 19, 1977. The episode became the defining climax of the "German Autumn," reshaping West German politics, security policy, and public memory. Read more
1972
The 1972 Munich Massacre
During the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, eight members of the Palestinian militant group Black September took eleven Israeli athletes hostage, leading to a tense, day-long standoff and a failed rescue attempt that ended in the deaths of all hostages, a police officer, and five of the terrorists. The world watched in horror as a hopeful celebration of peace was turned into a scene of tragedy, fundamentally transforming global security protocols and the Olympic movement itself. Read more
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