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Adolf Eichmann, one of the most evil criminals of the Third Reich, could go into hiding after the Second World War. He fled to Argentina and led a comfortable life. In 1960 Mossad and Shin Bet were able to capture Eichmann in Buenos Aires and bring him to Israel where he was then tried (also see: The Eichmann Trial in Jerusalem).
Video
Overview
- Date: 11 – 22 May 1960
- Location: Argentina
- Event: Capture of Adolf Eichmann in Argentina & his transfer to Israel by Mossad & Shin Bet
Parties & Persons Involved
- Mossad
- Shin Bet
- Isser Harel (1912 –2003), Mossad Director
- Esp. the following Mossad & Shin Bet agents:
- Rafi Eitan (1926 – )
- Peter Malkin (1927 – 2005)
- Zvi Aharoni (1921 – 2012)
- Adolf Eichmann (1906 – 1962)
Background
- A large number of Nazi war criminals can escape & go into hiding
- Many Nazi criminals escape to South America via the so-called Rat Line
- Argentina barely extradites Nazi war criminals
History
- 1939 – 1945: SS-Obersturmbannführer (Lieutenant Colonel) Eichmann organises the mass deportations of Jews to ghettos & extinction camps
- 1945 – 1950: Eichmann hides in the Lunenburg Heath under an assumed identity
- 1946: Eichmann’s involvement in the Nazi crimes becomes apparent during the Nuremberg Trials
- 14 Jul 1950: Via the “Rat Line” Eichmann reaches Argentina under the assumed identity of Ricardo Klement
- 1952: Eichmann’s family joins him in Argentina
- 1960: Eichmann & his family move into a house in Garibaldi Street, Buenos Aires
- 1956: Lothar Herrmann’s (emigrated from Germany in 1938) daughter meets Eichmann’s son
- 1956: Lothar Herrmann informs the attorney general of Hesse Fritz Bauer to have located Eichmann
- 1957: Fritz Bauer personally informs Mossad director Isser Harel about the location of Eichmann
- Feb 1960: Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal takes photographs of Eichmann’s brother who look very alike to enable Mossad to identify Eichmann
- Mar 1960: Shin Bet officer Zvi Aharoni confirms Eichmann’s identity during an observation operation
- April / May 1960: Isser Harel flies to Buenos Aires & orders a combined Mossad & Shin Bet team under Rafi Eitan to capture Eichmann
- 11 May 1960: Peter Malkin & 2 other Mossad agents abduct Eichmann on his way from the bus stop to his house in Garibaldi Street & bring him to a safe house
- 11 – 20 May 1960: Interrogation of Eichmann to confirm his identity
- 20 May 1960: The team drugs Eichmann, disguises him as a drunk El Al steward & flies him out to Israel
- 22 May 1960: Arrival in Israel
- 11 Apr 1961: Start of the Eichmann Trial in Jerusalem
Consequences & Impact
- Diplomatic dispute between Argentina & Israel because of the violation of Argentine sovereignty
- After negotiations the dispute is settled on 03 Aug 1960
- Anti-Semitic riots by right-wing groups in Argentine
- Eichmann Trial in Jerusalem (11 Apr – 15 Dec 1961):
- Justice, as far as possible with regards to the seriousness of the Nazi crimes & the suffering of the Jewish people
- Collective dealing with & understanding of the Shoah, as far as possible