Adolf Eichmann Documents Released

The Fellowship  |  January 27, 2016

One of the main architects of the Holocaust, Adolf Eichmann was captured – while hiding in Argentina – by the Mossad in 1960. Taken back to Israel, the Nazi was tried for the crimes against humanity he committed during World War II and hanged. Today, on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Israel Hayom reports that the Israeli government is making public documents from Eichmann’s trial:

President Reuven Rivlin was scheduled to host a special gathering in his Jerusalem residence on Wednesday, marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 55th anniversary of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann’s trial. The president plans to make public previously unreleased documents connected to the trial, including Eichmann’s handwritten appeal for clemency.

In his petition, Eichmann argued the Israeli court overstated the role he played in the Nazi extermination mechanism…

“Here there is a need to draw a line between the leaders responsible and the people like me, forced to serve as mere instruments in the hands of the leaders. I was not one of the leaders responsible, and as such do not see myself guilty,” Eichmann wrote.

The letter was signed and dated: “Adolf Eichmann Jerusalem, May 29, 1962” — two days prior to his execution.

A note by President Ben-Zvi, also made public for the first time Wednesday, says he “found no justification to commute Adolf Eichmann’s sentence or pardon him.”

Wednesday’s ceremony at the President’s Residence will be one of several events marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day.