When you visit the David Berger National Memorial in Ohio, conjure up the pride and excitement that exists going into the season of the Olympics. I personally love how elite athletes, ignited by the opportunity to compete on a global stage can inspire both pride and energy around the games!
The Olympics are typically a time of national pride and friendly competition. There are, sometimes, political realities that have put pressure on athletes to deliver at super-human levels.
Also tragedies have historically surrounded the games when individuals disrupt an otherwise positive meeting place of people from the nations all around the world. The Olympic games do, after all, take place against a back drop of our daily lives. This means that the political and social hostilities that prevail at any given time can be a factor.
David Berger
When you visit the David Berger National Memorial, you get to take some time to remember Ohio-born athlete, David Berger. During the 1972 Olympic games in Munich, Germany, he and 10 other Olympic athletes representing Israel were massacred during a horrific terrorist attack. The Munich games were cancelled as a result of this tragedy in the Olympic village. The entire world felt the sadness left in the wake of the attack.
The National Park Service administers the David Berger National Memorial in Beachwood, Ohio (outside of Cleveland) to remember the fallen.
When you visit, you have a few moments to reflect on the power of the light of unity that can outshine the darkness of ignorance.
...reflect on the power of the light of unity that can outshine the darkness of ignorance. Click To TweetVisiting the David Berger National Memorial
Jason and I visited the site in 2014 (an image of our stamp cramp memory is below). The Mandel Jewish Community Center of Cleveland (26001 South Woodland Rd, Beachwood, OH 44122) is the home of the memorial. This site is an affiliated area in the National Park Service system, and is administered by Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
The symbol of the Olympics, five interlocked rings, linked together in succession, are the topic of the structure that serves as the memorial. The memorial is marked by a sculpture depicting five broken Olympic rings. The broken appearance of the rings is a jarring reminder at how our otherwise unified attempts to collaborate as a world community can be broken. Hopefully too, they can be reassembled.
The National Memorial is located outside and is uncovered. That being said, there is no restriction on your ability to visit the site.
To get a stamp for your National Park Passport, go inside of the Community Center to the membership desk. The desk is manned by (very friendly) Community Center staff that will share the stamp with you.
For hours and additional information, check out the National Park Service website by clicking here. Also, check out this great article on the National Parks Traveler site which refers to the site as one of America’s Smallest National Parks.
Conclusion
If you are in the Cleveland area, or perhaps when visiting Cuyahoga Valley National Park, take a moment to remember the events of the 1972 Munich Olympic games at the David Berger National Memorial. If you enjoy visiting National Park sites, take a look at some of the other destinations that we have written about that will take you to them.
