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The Eichmann Trial in Jerusalem was a significant event with regards to the dealing with the Shoah after the Second World War, as far is this is even possible. Eventually, the trial led to justice and one of the worst criminals of the Holocaust was sentenced to death.

 

Video

 

 

Overview

  • Date: 11 Apr – 15 Dec 1961
  • Location: Jerusalem, Israel
  • Event: Eichmann Trial in Jerusalem

 

Parties & Persons Involved

  • Moshe Landau (1912 – 2011), Judge
  • Benjamin Halevi (1910 – 1996), Judge
  • Yitzhak Raveh (1906 – 1989), Judge
  • Gideon Hausner (1915 – 1990), Attorney General
  • Robert Servatius (1894 –1983), Defence lawyer
  • Adolf Eichmann (19 Mar 1906 – 31 May 1962)

 

Background

  • Adolf Eichmann organises the mass deportations of Jews to ghettos & extinction camps during World War II
  • A large number of Nazi criminals can go into hiding & are never prosecuted
  • Eichmann is located in Argentina & brought to Israel by Mossad & Shin Bet

 

History

Before the Eichmann Trial

  • 22 May 1960: Mossad & Shin Bet bring Eichmann to Israel in a covert operation
  • 23 May 1960: Arrest warrant against Eichmann
  • May 1960 – Jan 1961: Avner Werner Less interrogates Eichmann
  • 12 Feb 1961: Attorney General Gideon Hausner brings a lawsuit against Eichmann
  • 11 Apr 1961: The trial begins before the Jerusalem District Court

 

The Trial in Jerusalem

Framework of the Trial

  • The trial is held in a converted theatre in Jerusalem
  • Eichmann is protected by bulletproof glass
  • Global media coverage by newspaper & film
  • Languages of the trial are Hebrew & German

 

Legal Basis

  • 01 Aug 1950: Nazi and Nazi Collaborators Law
  • Based on the Nuremberg or London Charter (1945)

 

Evidence

  • More than 1,500 documents, amongst other from Yad Vashem
  • More than 100 witnesses, mostly survivors of the Holocaust
  • Transcripts of Eichmann’s interrogation (approx. 3,000 pages)
  • Questioning of Eichmann

 

Indictment

  • Crimes against the Jewish people
  • Crimes against humanity
  • War crimes
  • Membership in a criminal organisation

 

Defence

  • Eichmann only followed orders
  • Prohibition of retrospective legislation regarding the 1950 Nazi and Nazi Collaborators Law
  • The abduction of Eichmann from Argentina was illegal
  • Eichmann’s crimes were acts of state & therefore not subject to normal judicial proceedings

 

Eichmann’s Behaviour

  • Eichmann initially evades giving clear answers, then admits already proven facts, but eventually rejects any responsibility stating he was just following orders
  • Eichmann appears to be the stereotypical bureaucrat & desk murderer

 

Sentencing & Execution of Adolf Eichmann

  • 14 Aug 1961: The trial adjourns for reaching a verdict
  • 15 – 17 Dec 1961: The court gives its judgement & passes the death penalty
  • 17 Dec 1961: Eichmann appeals
  • 29 May 1962: The Supreme Court confirms the verdict
  • 31 May 1962 (shortly before 24:00 hrs): Eichmann is executed by hanging
  • 01 Jun 1962: Eichmann’s body is cremated & the Israeli Navy scatters the ashes in the Mediterranean Sea

 

Consequences & Impact

  • 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
  • Global attention is drawn to the process & the Holocaust
  • Controversial discussion, esp. surrounding H. Arendt’s book “Eichmann in Jerusalem – A Report of the Banality of Evil”