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After Balenciaga, Adidas’ head now appears to be on the chopping block. The world-renowned athletic apparel and footwear giant finds itself in the eye of the storm following the release of their latest ad campaign with Bella Hadid as the face. What is she modelling? SL72. What is it? A ‘celebration’ of the 1972 Munich Olympics’ 52nd anniversary via a reimagined, revival of their “coveted classic” shoe silhouette.
What seems to be the problem? Black September’s Munich massacre.
What happened at the 1972 Olympics?
Absolutely anything else that the 1972 edition of the Olympics was witness to, stands sorely overshadowed to date by the ghastly Munich massacre. On September 5, 8 members from the Palestinian militant organisation Black September, took 11 Israelis hostage after breaking into the Olympic village. The hostages included athletes, coaches and officials of Israeli origin.
2 of the hostages were massacred almost instantly post some resistance, giving way to a nearly 18 hour-long standoff. The meticulously planned nature of the massacre was evident owing to the fact that towards the latter half of the standoff, the Black September militants in tow with the remaining 9 hostages managed to board a helicopter at the military airport of Furstenfeldbruck. An ambush was attempted by the German authorities followed by a failed rescue attempt, which led to 4 of the hostages being shot and reduced to ashes when one of the Black September militants detonated a grenade inside the helicopter. The remaining 5 hostages too lost their lives at gun point shortly after.
On the terrorist end, 5 of the 8 Black September militants died mid-mission. The remaining 3 were arrested, but soon let go of by the West German government in exchange of the hijacked Lufthansa Flight 615. For context, the flight was being used to transfer the 3 militants but was also hijacked. The decision was taken keeping in mind the well-being of the remaining passengers and crew on the flight. 2 of the 3 militants were eventually tracked down and assassinated by Israel’s national intelligence agency, Mossad. The sole survivor of the original 8, is still alive to date, reportedly living in an African country with his wife and 2 children.
The Olympic games, obviously brought to a halt owing to the standoff and all that ensued, was eventually resumed with a slight delay, at the behest of the then-International Olympic Committee president, Avery Brundage, because “the Games must go on”.
Adidas’ ‘Nazi roots’ aren’t helping
If you weren’t already up to speed with this detail, Adidas does in fact have ‘Nazi roots’. Adidas was founded in August 1949 in post-World War II Germany, by Adolf Dassler, a cobbler, inventor and businessman. Dassler was also a member of the Nazi party. While this big-little detail did not quite stop Adidas’ steady and undeniable ascent to worldwide domination, the Nazi connect only adds another uncomfortable layer to the issue at hand.
If you’re wondering how exactly this Nazi angle actually fits into the Israel-Palestine-Bella Hadid fiasco, the answer is quite straightforward. While the horrifying legacy of the Germans and the Jews is a separate history lesson than the Israel-Palestine conflict currently underway, both have antisemitism as a core theme.
Where has Adidas gone wrong?
To further simplify everything that is going on, Bella, owing to her partially Palestinian lineage, has very vocally been advocating for the freedom of Palestine. This directly flies in the face of the mainstream support coming Israel’s way. While everyone is of course entitled to their opinion and their own understanding of this complicated and painful chapter in history, still evolving to-date given the never-ending violence, Adidas has messed up big time. Why? They chose to commemorate the 1972 Olympics, an edition hallmarked by the helpless massacre of Israelis on German territory — with a globally famous part-Palestinian model and part-time activist as the face — against a backdrop of red. It couldn’t possibly be worse than this.
Why has Bella Hadid become a polarising public figure?
To make Bella’s stance clearer, she herself comes from a line of Palestinian refugees, who were victims of 1948’s Nabka, the violent ethnic cleansing of over 750,000 Palestinians at the hands of organised Zionist paramilitary forces.
Bella’s vociferous pro-Palestine stance has both, found its allies as well as painted a flaming hot target on her back for those in favour of Israel. While Bella has always been pro-Palestine and has also managed to build a significantly successful career despite it, her political stance in the face of the still raging Israel-Palestine conflict, will, for better or for worse, naturally have a bearing on her professional footprint.
Adidas has now apologised in an official statement to The Washington Times. Spokesperson Stefan Pursche said, “We are conscious that connections have been made to tragic historical events — though these are completely unintentional — and we apologize for any upset or distress caused. We believe in sport as a unifying force around the world and will continue our efforts to champion diversity and equality in everything we do”.
Do you think this was a big slip by Adidas, or a part of intentional propaganda?
