Adolf Eichmann, German high official who was hanged by the State of Israel for his part in the Holocaust, the Nazi extermination of Jews during World War II. Eitan, speaking on the Uvda investigative news program on Israel’s Channel 2, described the task of capturing Eichmann in Argentina, operationally speaking, as “one of the … Remember.org helps teachers and students find the best resources on the Internet, and connect them through a collaborative learning structure developed since 1994. I must bear what fate imposes on me. America Needs a Just and Equitable Immigration Policy: If Not Now, When? On page xviii she says: "But because Eichmann was aware that a lot of other people might see things differently, he carefully avoided using the name Adolf Eichmann, even making his wife call him by his first forename, Otto, which was also his grandfather's name." I am utterly convinced that I must suffer here for others. "Keeping silent was more than an operational necessity," Eitan said. He escaped from an Allied prison camp after World War II and fled to Argentina, where he assumed a new name and identity. Retrieved February 28, 2018, from remember.org Remember.org shares art, discussion, photos, poems, and facts to preserve powerful memories, Remember.org - The Holocaust History - A People's and Survivors' History. The extraordinary Israeli stealth operation has been dramatized in books, films, and TV programs. And on May 23, 1960, Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion announced that Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann had been captured and would stand trial in Israel. Presiding Judge: Adolf Eichmann, you have heard your Counsel’s statement on the penalty. Speaking of the movie, let’s head back to the movie’s timeline now to find out how they identify Eichmann’s location. Three respected German-speaking Israeli judges presided at the trial, and Eichmann admitted to most of the charges regarding his leadership and participation in the monstrous effort that sent millions of Jews to their deaths. It was the first televised trial in history. The senior interrogator moved to Germany, the deputy commander was murdered by terrorists. These two had every reason to make such anadmission of guilt: Frank, as the person who gave the orders, admitted his guilt for the orders which he gave, and balked at delegating to inferiors. Israel’s intelligence agency, Mossad tracked Eichmann down and captured him. Send in … What did Hitler achieve?”, It is difficult to imagine anyone not moved by the scenes of children seeking asylum, the path that we now follow / is the Exodus our ancestors never chose / flooding with pain they died not to swallow / the past spills into the river and flows. Adolf Hitler did not have children. What they must know is that they will be held accountable. Jerusalem, Israel- Adolf Eichmann, close-ups in Teggart Fortress prior to his removal to Jerusalem Court House. adolf eichmann speaks at his trial april 18th 1961 - YouTube On May 16, 1960, I saw Adolf Eichmann where he was being held, and we had a conversation. An excellent administrator, he kept scrupulous records that left an extensive paper trial of evidence against him. Oddly enough, some of the press coverage also reproduced the same untrue descriptions in an extremely exaggerated fashion over fifteen years in a most suggestive manner. At the time she wrote her book on the Eichmann trial, Arendt herself was a Zionist, but this did not prevent her from speaking the truth and at a high personal cost. Over a hundred Holocaust survivors came one by one to the witness box. From my experience I know that the possibility, which was alleged only after the War, of opposing orders is a self-protective fairy tale. Eichmann was captured by the Mossad in Argentina on 11 May 1960 and subsequently found guilty of wa… With me are 6 million accusers. An individual could secretly slip away. He confirmed here in Court that I did no treject him, but simply stated to him that I had to obtain my superiors’decision, that I myself could not take a decision. Adolf Eichmann is seen standing in his bullet proof glass box as the charges against him are read during judical proceedings in the Beit Ha'Am building in Jerusalem, April 12, 1961. My position is different. The prosecution called over 100 witnesses to testify, many of whom were survivors of Nazi concentration camps. It must be assumed that everyone in the Ministry of the Interior was thus made aware of what was going on. I believe the Eichmann trial answered both questions in the affirmative. Nor did I resist; this is shown by the police record which isover 3,500 pages long. The Mossad team moved Eichmann to a safe house where they held him for days without speaking. We now know Argentine dictator Juan Peron and his security police knew of Eichmann’s presence in the country, but they did not arrest him. Höss was the one who actually carried out the mass killings. My mother’s answer to hate is love. When Nazi Adolf Eichmann stood trial for war crimes 50 years ago, it helped to unify the young state of Israel by allowing Jewish people to talk openly about the Holocaust. Nor did anyone behave in this fashion. Rabbi A. James Rudin (he/him) is the former head of the American Jewish Committee’s Department of Interreligious Affairs and author of seven books, most recently, Pillar of Fire: A Biography of Stephen S. Wise. With me are 6 million accusers. Eichmann rose through the SS ranks to become lieutenant colonel and one of Hitler's top deputies. May I therefore ask that consideration be given to the fact that I obeyed, and not whom I obeyed. Their walk is unstudied; their sober and intense attention, visibly stiffening under the impact of grief as they listen to the tales of suffering, is natural; their impatience with the prosecutors attempt to drag out the hearings is spontaneous and refreshing; their attitude toward th… The witnesses’ statements here in the Court made my limbs go numb once again, just as they went numb when once, acting on orders, I had to look at the atrocities. Nobody came to me and remonstrated with me because of my official activities. And I would now ask the Jewish People on a personal level for forgiveness, and I would admit that I am overwhelmed by shame when I think about the evil committed against the Jews andthe acts that were perpetrated against them. Under the circumstances then prevailing such an attitude was not possible. This is the reason why l am here. This is the cause of the false inference. The reason for this lies in the fact that the National Socialists of the time and others have spread untruths about me. In this connection the witnesses have told a great falsehood. Following the war Eichmann lived in Germany under a false name before fleeing to Argentina, where he … On Yom HaShoah, Hear the Message of the Saved Remnant. Adolf Eichmann was an efficient bureaucrat, a “desk murderer” who took pride in his horrific work. Share in WhatsApp. Founded April 25, 1995 as a "Cybrary of the Holocaust". Nor could the persecution be carried out other tha nby a government. Ben-Gurion was especially proud that it was the Jewish state – not West Germany, the United States, or any other country – that was finally bringing Eichmann to justice. We’re in Buenos Aires, Argentina in the year 1960. Share in Facebook. The Israeli Police Unit That Built the Case Against Adolf Eichmann, and Was Forgotten . From a particular moment on, however, I was prevented by the State from living according to this principle. I am not the monster that I am made out to be. I understand the demand for atonement for the crimes which were perpetrated against the Jews. His wife and three children also came to Argentina. On 15 December 1961, Israel sentenced senior Nazi officer Adolf Eichmann to death for his role in orchestrating the Final Solution and the destruction of European Jewry. But the subordinates are now also victims. I am the victim of an error of judgment. Dr. Lösener, the ministerial director who was referred to in the proceedings, was the expert in charge of Jewish affairs in the Reich Ministry of the Interior. The Court believes that my current attitude is a result of being ontrial and is a fabrication. When the trial concluded, the German Jewish political philosopher, Hannah Arendt, published a controversial book in which she described Eichmann as simply an example of the “banality of evil.” Arendt also accused European Jewish leaders of complicity in the near destruction of European Jewry. “The Truth of the Capture of Adolf Eichmann” shows how his image has morphed from diabolical Nazi to the charming fellow portrayed by Ben Kingsley in the Hollywood film Operation Finale (2018). They hit it off and before long we see the two having dinner together with Sylvia’s father, Lothar. I shall try to clarify these errors before the next legal instance. The new film “Operation Finale” about Adolf Eichmann’s dramatic 1961 capture is technically masterful. The defendant was placed in a bulletproof glass booth to protect him from a possible court room assassination. In the entire post-War period I have been tormented and incensed that all the guilt has been shifted from my superiors and others onto me. It is a major error to believe that I belonged to the fanatics of the persecution of the Jews. It was my misfortune to become entangled in these atrocities. Adolf Eichmann went to the gallows with great dignity. I was asked by the judges whether I wished to make an admission of guilt, like the Commandant of Auschwitz, Höss, and the Governor General of Poland, Frank. But I was held fast in those dark duties. The film on her life is definitely worth a watch. I did try to leave my position, to leave for the front, for honest battle. Do you wish to add anything concerning thepenalty which the Court should impose on you for the crimes of which you have been found guilty? If I had received the order to carry out these killings, I would not have escaped by using a trumped up pretext; during my interrogation I already stated: Since because of the compulsion exerted by an order there was no way out, I would have put a bullet through my brain in order to solve the conflict between conscience andduty. “Operation Finale: The Capture & Trial of Adolf Eichmann is an extraordinary exhibition. ... Three respected German-speaking Israeli judges presided at the trial, and Eichmann admitted to most of the charges regarding his leadership and participation in the monstrous effort that sent millions of Jews to their deaths. However, in 1960, Israeli Mossad intelligence agents captured the Nazi escape and secreted him to Israel, where he was tried publicly for war crimes, including genocide and crimes against humanity. Adolf Eichmann inspired Hannah Arendt’s famous phrase ‘the banality of evil’.A career civil servant in Nazi Germany, he was put in charge of administering the ‘Final Solution’ and organised the seizure of Jews from all over Europe and their transportation to the concentration camps to be killed. In this introspective examination I have to ignore my sense of guiltlessness in the legal sense. In April 1962, at age 56, he was hanged, his body cremated, and the ashes scattered in the Mediterranean Sea to prevent his burial place from becoming a Nazi shrine. The Holocaust History – A People's and Survivor History – Remember.org, Adolf Eichmann’s Final Plea: “In His Own Words”, Holocaust Picture Book – The Story of Granny Girl as a Child, Anne Frank: The Biography | 1998 Holocaust Book, Holocaust history and stories from Holocaust Photos, Survivors, Liberators, Books and Art, The following is a series of concentration camp photos taken by Josh C, Joseph Weismann – Remembering with After the Roundup, After the Roundup by Joseph Weismann – Part 1 of Chapter 3, Liberation of Auschwitz 75 years later – a poem, Forever Alert German Child Survivors in Action Before 1945 and Beyond by Philipp Sonntag, Holocaust Curriculum for Middle School and High School 7-12 (Part 2). I had to yield to the inversion of values which was prescribed by the State. Malkin, who was responsible for kidnapping Eichmann and bringing him to trial in Israel spoke last night as the concluding lecturer for … The Eichmann Trial 60 Years Later: What Have We Learned? On April 11, 1961, Eichmann’s trial began in Jerusalem. The Eichmann trial had taken place in Jerusalem in the spring and summer of 1961. Documentary evidence combined with the testimony of more than 100 Holocaust survivors convinced the judges of Eichmann’s guilt. Presiding Judge: We shall announce the sentence on Friday,the day after tomorrow, at 9 o’clock. Government Press Office. Adolf Eichmann was a Nazi and one of the main organizers of the Holocaust during World War II. His wife and three children also come to Argentina. On April 11, 1961, Eichmann’s trial began in Jerusalem. But these misdeeds did not happen according tomy wishes. It was the first televised trial in history. On May 23, Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion announced to the world that Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann has been captured and would stand trial in Israel. I cannot recognize the verdict of guilty. But no one opposed my superiors. Adolf Eichmann was an efficient bureaucrat, a “desk murderer” who took pride in his horrific work. Accused: I have heard the Court’s severe verdict of guilty. I have already said that the top echelons, to which I didnot belong, gave the orders, and they rightly, in my opinion, deserved punishment for the atrocities which were perpetrated on the victims on their orders. Accused: I have heard the Court’s severe verdict of guilty. Or was he a fervent “true believer” in the Nazi cause acting of his own free will? Joseph Goebbels and his family died in Hitler’s bunker. He organizes the transport of many European Jews to the concentration camps. For 15 years, Eichmann’s whereabouts remained elusive, and although he was called the major architect of the ”Final Solution” (the bland Nazi term for the mass murder of the Jewish people), he lived openly with his family near Buenos Aires and worked in a local Mercedes-Benz factory. Accessed 28 Feb. 2018. He was tasked by SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich with facilitating and managing the logistics involved in the mass deportation of Jews to ghettos and extermination camps in Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe during World War II. Photo from the National Photo Collection of Israel, Photography dept. Eichmann's attorney speaking / Eichmann listening / Prosecutor speaking / Judges listening April 1961 MONTAGE Trial of Adolf Eichmann / Jerusalem, Israel : Stock Footage Video {{textForToggleButton('mr_00027320')}} That is the form that the courage of one’s convictions takes in the case of a prominent person. He has died. But the contradictions which exist were caused by the fact that,at the beginning of my interrogation by the police, naturally I could not remember details with precision. When the war was over, Eichmann changed his name and pretended to be someone else. But what of the families of Hermann Göring, Heinrich Himmler and Adolf Eichmann, to name a few? This obedience was not easy. When Nazi Adolf Eichmann stood trial for war crimes 50 years ago, it helped to unify the young state of Israel by allowing Jewish people to talk openly about the Holocaust. Nobody knows about Adolf Eichmann for many years. Tense, critical, dogmatic and poor at delegating authority, Adolf Eichmann was not the kind of person many people would wish to have as their boss. A whole list of items was given which appear toconfirm this. Adolf Eichmann was the mastermind behind the Holocaust and gatekeeper of the Third Reich who sent six million Jews to their deaths; After the … The Mossad team moved Eichmann to a safe house where they held him for days without speaking. Buenos Aires: This is the bungalow in suburban Buenos Aires from which the wife of Adolf Eichmann and her two children were allegedly spirited away by a group of German-speaking persons. I asked him, inter alia, whether he was sincerely prepared to make good on what he told me on a prior occasion, that he has accepted his fate and is ready to do everything to clarify certain facts about a certain period, for the benefit of history. These two contrasting events represented a microcosm of modern Jewish history. Irving told the court today he had revised his opinion after seeing the personal files of Adolf Eichmann. I thank my Counsel, who has insisted on my rights. In the report he wrote in 1950, Lösener expresses views about me, according to which I am supposed to have been a primary figure in the persecution of the Jews. 15-12-1961. I did not persecute Jews with avidity and passion. Obedience is commended as a virtue. It coincided with the young Jewish state’s bat/bar mitzvah year of national independence. Communication . At that time obedience was demanded, just as in the future it will also be demanded of the subordinate. Edited by Michael Declan Dunn, 25 Apr. My life’s principle,which I was taught very early on, was to desire and to strive to achieve ethical values. © Copyright 1995-2020 Remember.org. But I never… I accuse the leaders of abusing my obedience. Their personal stories testified to the world the radical evil of Nazism. This cannot be ignored. Eichmann was convicted on 15 counts, including crimes against humanity and crimes against the Jewish people. Eichmann was the mastermind behind the Holocaust and gatekeeper of the Third Reich who sent six million Jews to their deaths. Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion insisted on open and fair legal proceedings that would not only prove Eichmann’s guilt, but would also detail the origin and method of the brutal German campaign against Jews, Roma people, LGBTQ+ people, and other perceived political enemies of the Nazi regime. Adolf Eichmann is seen standing in his bullet proof glass box as the charges against him are read during judical proceedings in the Beit Ha'Am building in Jerusalem, April 12, 1961. In his opening speech at the trial Attorney General Gideon Hausner said: “When I stand before you here, Judges of Israel, to lead the prosecution of Adolf Eichmann, I am not standing alone. She was denounced by many she had known and a few very close personal friends in Israel and New York broke off all relations. What I said was the first unrestrained attempt to provide assistance in shedding light on things. Even the witness Pastor Grüber does not claim this. (Ed.). When the war was over, Eichmann decided to run away to Argentina, and he started a new life there. Six decades later the question remains: Was Adolf Eichmann merely the efficient administrative bureaucrat whose main task was to make certain the trains arrived on time to Auschwitz, Treblinka, Mauthausen, Buchenwald, Bergen-Belsen, and other death camps whose names will live in infamy? Write CSS OR LESS and hit save. Eichmann’s defense that he was a mere cog in the machinery does not exonerate him. Share in Twitter. The guilt for the mass murder is solely that of the political leaders. Otto Adolf Eichmann (19 March 1906 – 1 June 1962) was a German Nazi SS-Obersturmbannführer (lieutenant colonel) and one of the major organizers of the Holocaust. Sixty years ago on Sunday, the trial of Adolf Eichmann, a key architect of the Nazi’s Final Solution, opened in Jerusalem. No bad person wins in the end. It’s here that a young girl named Sylvia Hermann meets a young boy named Klaus Eichmann. Adolf Eichmann was one of the leading organizers of the Holocaust. Statistically speaking, it might very well be true that someone would have been killed in such-and-such a place. When World War II is finished, Eichmann runs away to Argentina. Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann paces in the yard at Ramle Prison, central Israel, ten days before the start of his trial, 1st April 1961. For the world, peace not war. An obersturmbannführer, or lieutenant colonel, in the dreaded Nazi SS, Eichmann was the chief logistical officer in charge of the mass murder of more than six million Jews during the Shoah (the Hebrew term for the Holocaust). However, he claimed he was only a cog in a large bureaucratic machine, powerless to resist orders from his superiors. n 11 April 1961 the Israeli Government put the Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann on trial in Jerusalem. I am one of such victims. This can quite obviously only be explained by the fact that I was considered to be the person who was responsible for everything. Eichmann, on the other hand, understood neither Hebrew nor Yiddish. Emory University Professor Deborah Lipstadt, a leading scholar of the Holocaust, has refuted Arendt’s claim of Jewish guilt: “The leaders were not collaborators...they had no cards to play. Adolf Eichmann is a Nazi. It was too much, what I had experienced inrecent years. I was assaulted in Buenos Aires, tied to a bed for a week and thendrugged by injections in my arms and brought to the airport in Buenos Aires;from there I was flown out of Argentina. CTRL + SPACE for auto-complete. German-Austrian SS leader and war criminal, Adolf Eichmann in his SS-Obersturmbannführer uniform, circa 1942. Please check your inbox for our emails, and to manage your subscription. But in the light of the reason in gof the Judgment this would probably only be interpreted as hypocrisy. Eichmann rose through the SS ranks to become lieutenant colonel and one of Hitler's top deputies. It was the first televised trial in history. That is what the government did. Adolf Hitler did not have children. Eichmann was convicted on 15 counts, including crimes against humanity and crimes against the Jewish people. Eichmann was convicted on all 15 counts against him. Remember.org shares art, discussion, photos, poems, and facts to preserve powerful memories. Eichmann's attorney speaking / Eichmann listening / Prosecutor speaking / Judges listening April 1961 MONTAGE Trial of Adolf Eichmann / Jerusalem, Israel : Stock Footage Video {{textForToggleButton('mr_00027320')}} The Court’s putting together of statements and documents initially makes a very convincing impression, but it is a deceptive one. He figured out how to transport hundreds of thousands of European Jews to the gas chambers in the most effective way.. Eichmann prosecutor: Eyewitness testimony from within the gas chambers Because of the extraordinary circumstances, the survivor was an otherwise impossible-to … Otto Adolf Eichmann was a German-Austrian SS-Obersturmbannführer and one of the major organizers of the Holocaust—the "Final Solution to the Jewish Question" in Nazi terminology. Zvika’s Yiddish—that was the closest he came to speaking German—was good enough to give Eichmann simple orders and to allow him to use the toilet. It was not my wish to slay people. It engages your intellect at the start and tears your heart out by the end.” -Cleveland Jewish News “A Holocaust […] Adolf Eichmann was one of the most pivotal actors in the implementation of the “Final Solution.” Charged with managing and facilitating the mass deportation of Jews to ghettos and killing centers in the German-occupied East, he was among the major organizers of the Holocaust. He starts a new life there. The paintings presented to the court during the 1961 trial of SS-Obersturmbannführer Adolf Eichmann, and their role in convicting the Nazi war … That is a consideration with hindsight. But these are simply emotional outbursts, without any indication of facts in which these speculations are rooted. The story of Bureau 06 of the Israel Police, which undertook the monumental task of interrogating Adolf Eichmann and collecting evidence against him . And again, anyone who has to give orders and has to obey orders knows what one can demand of people. He organized the mass deportation of Jews to ghettos and extermination camps in World War II. He had asked for a bottle of red wine and had drunk half of it. After sixteen or twenty years have lapsed,I cannot be reproached with such mistakes, nor should my willingness to providea ssistance be considered as a subterfuge and a lie. The 16-week Eichmann trial was one of the first televised trials, educating people around the world about the vast machinery of mass murder devised and implemented by the Nazi regime. Eichmann prosecutor: Eyewitness testimony from within the gas chambers Because of the extraordinary circumstances, the survivor was an otherwise … The trial was established by the Israeli pros - ecution as not only a trial of Eichmann, but also a bearing witness to the Holocaust itself. Once again I would stress that I am guilty of having been obedient,having subordinated myself to my official duties and the obligations of war service and my oath of allegiance and my oath of office, and in addition, once the war started, there was also martial law. Joseph Goebbels and his family died in Hitler’s bunker. On April 11, 1961, Eichmann’s trial began in Jerusalem. Nobody knew about Adolf Eichmann for years. In his written statement of justification, which has appeared only recently, he admitted that he knew of the atrocities and that he also informed his superiors accordingly. I had to switch from the unity of ethics to one of multiple morals. Presiding Judge: Adolf Eichmann, you have heard your Counsel’s statement on the penalty. The senior interrogator moved to Germany, the deputy commander was murdered by terrorists. He organized the transport of many European Jews to the gas chambers. Eichmann, too, has, in defending himself, abandoned his humanity. It is said that I could and should have refused to be obedient. As a result, he was not among the top Nazi war criminals that the United States, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and France placed on trial during the famous Nuremberg war crimes tribunal in 1945. Former Israeli Mossad agent Peter Malkin speaks last night about his 1980 capture of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann. This can quite obviously only be explained by the fact that I was considered to be the person who was responsible for everything.”. Free. I see myself disappointed in my hopes for justice. But what of the families of Hermann Göring, Heinrich Himmler and Adolf Eichmann, to name a few? I never carried out killings, as Höss did. I did not in fact make any statements which could have shown my fanaticism, and no blood guilt lies on me. I had to engage in introspective examination in areas which concern my inner self alone. I was assaulted in Buenos Aires, tied to a bed for a week and then drugged by injections in my arms and brought to the airport in Buenos Aires;from there I was flown out of Argentina. I see myself disappointed in my hopes for justice. He served as a U.S. Air Force chaplain in Japan and Korea. He decided to run away to Argentina, and he started a new life there. When I asked her what she wishes for herself and for the world, she said, “For myself good health, so I can be good to others.