Beachwood in Cuyahoga County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

David Berger Memorial

— The David Berger National Memorial —

Photographed By Don Morfe, June 28, 2010

1. David Berger Memorial Marker

Inscription. A monument in the memory of David Berger stands as both a reminder of violence, and a hope that man will one day overcome violence. The Olympic emblem of five inter-locking rings has been broken to symbolize the stopping of the ’72 games, but there is an upward motion in the broken rings to suggest the peaceful intent of the Olympics. A search for understanding and hope for the future, the ten semicircles rest on eleven steel segments representing the eleven who died at Munich. One of the segments is slightly different from the rest to symbolize the unique events in David’s life that led him to the Israeli Olympic team and to his death.

The monument, commissioned by the friends of David Berger, is the work of David E. Davis. Designated as a Landmark by the city of Cleveland Heights, October 28, 1979.

On March 5, 1980, by Public Law 96-199, the Congress of the United States recognized the significance of this memorial in preserving the memory of the eleven Israeli athletes who were assassinated at the Olympic Games in Munich, Germany in 1972 by authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to designate it as the David Berger National Memorial.

Topics. This historical marker and memorial is listed in these topic lists: Disasters • Sports. A significant historical month for this entry is March 1843.

Location. 41° 28.506′

Paid Advertisement

Click on the ad for more information.
Please report objectionable advertising to the Editor.

Click or scan to see
this page online

N, 81° 29.634′ W. Marker is in Beachwood, Ohio, in Cuyahoga County. Marker is on South Woodland Road. The marker is on the grounds of the Mandel Jewish Community Center of Cleveland. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 26001 South Woodland Road, Beachwood OH 44122, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Florence E. Allen (approx. 1.1 miles away); Raw Jackson (approx. 1.8 miles away); Saint Angela Merici (approx. 2.1 miles away); Ursuline College (approx. 2.1 miles away); John Carroll University (approx. 2.2 miles away); East Family (approx. 3 miles away); Hiram House (approx. 3.2 miles away); William E. Telling / William E. Telling Mansion (approx. 3.3 miles away).

Regarding David Berger Memorial. From the Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog:

David Berger, an Israeli-born American, was a weight lifter from Shaker Heights, Ohio who was murdered with ten others in a terrorist attack on the Israeli Olympic team during the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich. The sculpture was commissioned by a group of eight friends of the Berger family.

The ten broken rings symbolize the break in the Olympic Games on September 6, 1972 when terrorists from the Black September movement of the Palestine Liberation Organization held eleven members
Photographed By Don Morfe, June 28, 2010

2. David Berger Memorial Marker
of the Israeli team hostage. The upward motion of the broken rings symbolizes the peaceful ideals of the Olympic Games. The eleven separate slabs that the rings rest on represent the eleven athletes and coaches killed in the terrorist attack. One of the slabs is shaped differently from the others because it represents David Berger, the only American to die in the terrorist attack.

The sculpture is owned by the Mayfield Jewish Community Center, Cleveland Heights, Ohio.

Also see . . . David Mark Berger - Wikipedia. (Submitted on December 11, 2012, by Bill Pfingsten of Bel Air, Maryland.)

Photographed By Don Morfe, June 28, 2010

3. David Berger Memorial Marker

Photographed By Don Morfe, June 28, 2010

4. David Berger Memorial Marker

1975 sculpture by David E. Davis is 14 feet high and 11 feet in diameter on a 5 inch base.

Photographed By Don Morfe, June 28, 2010

5. David Berger Memorial Marker

Photographed By Don Morfe, June 28, 2010

6. David Berger Memorial Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on September 14, 2020. It was originally submitted on December 8, 2012, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. This page has been viewed 882 times since then and 37 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on December 8, 2012, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.