A Man most Evil
In May 1960 Israel Prime Minister David Ben – Gurion, announced to a stunned Knesset that Adolf Eichmann had been captured and been brought to Israel to face trial. Eichmann has masterminded the systematic murder of 6 million Jews, including women and children during the Second World War in Nazi death camps. It was a very emotional moment for the citizens of Israel, especially for the Holocaust survivors.
Otto Adolf Eichmann was born in 1906 to a Calvinist Protestant family in Solingen, Germany. He attended the State Secondary School in Linz, Austria. It was the same school which Adolf Hitler had attended about 17 years before. He joined the Nazi party in 1932 and rose up in ranks when his superior officers noted his skills and efficiency. During the outbreak of the Second World War, he was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Gestapo. On 20, January 1942, Eichmann participated in the “Wannsee Conference” where all top officials of Nazi Germany gathered to find a “final solution of the Jewish question” under the dreaded high ranking officer- Rienhard Heydrich the director of the Reich Main Office.
May 1945 Germany surrendered and the war ended in Europe. Eichmann managed to escape from American custody in 1946. With the help of sympathetic Catholic priests, he succeeded in fleeing to Argentina via Genova Italy. There he changed his name to Ricardo Klement, found a job at the Mercedes – Benz Company in Bueno Ares.
Meanwhile, the state of Israel and Holocaust survivors were looking for justice. Their intention was to bring all Nazi war criminals to trial. In 1960 the Israeli intelligence service was tipped of Eichmann’s presence in Argentina. After much verification and reassurances, it was confirmed that it was Eichmann indeed. Plans were made to dispatch a special team to Argentina for his capture and return to Israel. Many books and movies have revealed the full story of this daring operation hence the writer will not get into the mission details. Eichmann was captured on May 11, 1960, by the Israeli team when he was returning home after work. On 20, May he was flown out of Argentina secretly
Argentina was furious and called for an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council in June 1960 in the wake of fruitless negotiations with Israel. At the council the Israeli representative Golda Meir (later prime minister of Israel) countered the accusation of the Argentinian authorities of violation of their sovereignty by arguing that the abductors of this fugitive were not Israeli agents, but private individuals and hence, this incident was only an “isolated violation of Argentinian Law”. Later Argentina and Israel issued a joint statement on August 3, admitting the violation of territorial integrity of Argentina, but agreeing to end the dispute.
Gideon Hausner the attorney general of Israel, signed a bill indictment against Eichmann on 15 accounts, including crimes against Jewish people and crimes against humanity. The trial began on April 11, 1961, and the prosecutors called witnesses to testify and presented hundreds of documents as proof. Israel and the rest of the world listened to the unspeakable horrors committed against humanity by Germany and its Nazi leaders.
Otto Adolf Eichmann was found guilty on December 12, 1961, and was sentenced to death by hanging. Eichmann petitioned Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, the second president of Israel (from 1952-1963), along with Eichmann’s wife Vera and brothers for clemency. Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion convened a special cabinet meeting to resolve the issue. The cabinet decided not to grant presidential clemency to Eichmann.
On May 31, 1962 just before midnight the sentence was carried out at Ayalon prison, Ramla, Israel. His execution was attended by a few officials, four journalists and a Canadian clergyman, his spiritual counsellor while he was in prison. After his body was cremated, the ashes were scattered in the Sea beyond Israel’s territorial waters.
