April 11, 1961 - the trial of Adolf Eichmann

55 years ago, on April 11, 1961, the trial of Adolf Eichmann began in Jerusalem. He was the head of the Jewish department at the Reich Main Security Office, "the murderer from behind the desk," responsible for the death of millions of Jews.

Eichmann's trial began on April 11, 1961 in Jerusalem and lasted until December 15, 1961. There are many interesting facts related to the process, which I will present below. The trial ended on December 15, 1961. Judge Landau read the sentence: "Sending each train carrying 1,000 human lives to Auschwitz or any other concentration camp meant that the accused had a direct involvement in killing a thousand people on purpose (...). Even if it turned out that in his actions the accused was guided by blind obedience, we would still argue that a man participating in such a huge crime for so many years must be punished with the highest known sentence. "

The appeal was analyzed from March 22 to 29, 1962. On May 29, 1962, it was rejected. On the same day, Eichmann turned to the President of Israel for clemency. Two days later he was informed about its rejection.

Eichmann was hanged just before midnight, May 31, 1962, in the prison in Ramla. Eichmann's body was burned and his ashes were scattered at sea, outside the territorial waters of Israel.

Here, I would like to present you the "murderer from behind the desk": EICHMANN – COORDINATOR OF THE FINAL SOLUTION

Interesting facts related to the process:

• During the trial, the building was guarded by the police and army, and the area around it was surrounded by a high fence.
• The indictment referred to Eichmann's responsibility for the crimes committed in the extermination camps in Auschwitz, Treblinka, Bełżec, Sobibór, Chełmno and Majdanek.
• While answering the allegations, Eichmann spoke in a convoluted manner, often difficult to understand.
• The allegations also included accusations of crimes against the non-Jewish population, including mass deportations of Poles, Roma and Slovenes, as well as direct responsibility for the deportation and death of hundreds of children from Lidice in the Czech Republic.
• Over 100 witnesses were heard, hundreds of documents presented, as well as statements by former collaborators of Eichmann, including Rudolf Hoess, commandant of KL Auschwitz.
• The sentence, 211 pages long, was read by three judges for 15 hours.
• In early 2011, the German press revealed that the West German intelligence knew Eichmann's whereabouts already eight years before his capture in 1960, but concealed the information.
• One of the three survivors of the Kulmhof camp was Mordechaj Podchlebnik, a witness in the trial of Arthur Greiser and Herman Gielow, and in 1961 in the trial of Adolf Eichmann.