• Photo of the top of the David Berger National Memorial

    David Berger

    National Memorial Ohio

Scholar and Athlete

Who Was David Berger?
David Mark Berger was born in Shaker Heights, Ohio. He attended Tulane University from 1962 to 1966 where he was a weightlifter and honor student. While at Tulane, he won the NCAA weightlifting title and earned a Bachelor's in Psychology degree. Continuing his educational pursuits, David earned a Master of Business Administration degree and a Doctor of Laws degree from Columbia University.

During his education endeavors he continued to train and compete in weightlifting events. His father, Benjamin, was once quoted as saying, "I used to tell him, 'You may not be the best weightlifter in the world, but you're certainly the smartest!'"

In the early 1970s David emigrated to Israel, where he met and become engaged to an Israeli student. Continuing his weightlifting competitions, he won a silver medal at the 1971 Asian Games, and made the 1972 Israeli Olympic team. In late August of that year, he flew to Munich with his teammates. On September 2, 1972, David competed, but was eliminated in an early round. He was killed during a hostage taking of Israeli athletes at the Olympic games in Munich.

Did You Know?

Image of US weightlifter David Berger.

As a dual citizen raised in the U.S. and representing Israel, David Berger had no expectations of winning medals at the 1972 Munich Olympic games. Simply walking in the opening ceremonies was good enough for him and made his Olympic dream come true.