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    History and Headlines
    You are at:Home»Society»Crime»May 31, 1962: Adolf Eichmann Hanged in Israel
    Crime

    May 31, 1962: Adolf Eichmann Hanged in Israel

    Major DanBy Major DanMay 31, 2016Updated:April 1, 202028 Comments3 Mins Read
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    A Brief History

    On May 31, 1962, the nation of Israel hanged Nazi Holocaust organizer Adolf Eichmann, one of history’s most evil people, for war crimes.  Eichmann had been living in Buenos Aires, Argentina and living the good life as a Mercedes-Benz supervisor until he was kidnapped by Israeli secret agents.

    Digging Deeper

    During World War II Eichmann had joined the SD (Security Service) and worked as the head of “Jewish Affairs” coercing Jews into leaving Germany or facing relocation to Jewish “ghettos.”  In 1941, the German “solution” to the “Jewish problem” was to move Jews to extermination camps and work camps where they would be executed en masse or worked to death.  Eichmann became a key figure in the bureaucracy that made this system work. This program extended to other countries occupied by Germany and resulted in perhaps 6 million (the number is disputed) Jews murdered by the Nazi’s.

    As the SD was absorbed into the SS, all SS officers were wanted by allied authorities for possible war crimes trials.   Eichmann was among those rounded up by Americans, although he was using an alias at the time.  When it became apparent that his cover was blown, Eichmann escaped to Austria with a new false identity. With the help of a Catholic bishop Eichmann got yet another new identity and used the International Red Cross to move him to Argentina.

    In 1952, Eichmann moved his family to Argentina to live with him where he became a supervisor for Mercedes-Benz.  He made the blunder of giving an interview to a journalist and provided many personal documents with the idea that the information would be used for a biography about Eichmann.  Instead, the articles that appeared in Life magazine and Der Stern caught the attention of Israeli Nazi hunters.

    Eichmann was staked out and observed until the Israelis were sure of his identity, then he was kidnapped and taken back to Israel.  The kidnapping was conducted by the Shin Bet branch of the Israeli Mossad, their secret service.  Eichmann was drugged, dressed as a flight attendant, and flown to Israel on an El Al flight.

    Argentina was furious when news of the kidnapping went public, and anti-Semitic demonstrations were held.  Argentina even appealed to the United Nations as they claimed their sovereignty had been violated.  Many people around the world agreed, as did some nations, but to no avail.  Meanwhile, Israel put Eichmann on trial, convicted him, and hanged him on May 31, 1962, unrepentant to the end.

    The same team that kidnapped Eichmann also attempted to locate Dr. Mengele, believed to be living in Buenos Aires at that time, but Mengele had previously relocated and was not found until after he had died.  Fugitive Nazi’s are all elderly or dead now, and soon there will be none for the Nazi hunters to chase.  Until they are indeed all gone, rest assured there are people looking for them.

    Question for students (and subscribers): Was hanging a just punishment for Eichmann?  Please let us know in the comments section below this article.

    If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!

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    Historical Evidence

    For more information, please see…

    Arendt, Hannah and Amos Elon.  Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil (Penguin Classics).  Penguin Classics, 2006.

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    Major Dan
    Major Dan

      Major Dan is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Prior to his military service, he graduated from Cleveland State University, having majored in sociology. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement.

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      <span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="2443 http://www.crackedhistory.com/?p=2443">28 Comments

      1. Avatar
        DAVID WARDLE on April 13, 2015 9:10 am

        Sounds like… he got what he deserved! — DAVID WARDLE

        Reply
      2. Avatar
        Heather H on April 14, 2015 12:56 pm

        Appears that his ego got him captured

        Reply
      3. Avatar
        Samantha Easterling on April 17, 2015 1:03 pm

        He got what was coming to him

        Reply
      4. Avatar
        Natalie Sholtis on April 20, 2015 12:56 pm

        I agree with Heather H. His ego got to him! Shouldn’t have been so personal with that journalist. He deserved being captured, regardless.

        Reply
      5. Avatar
        Mike Rinicella on April 20, 2015 2:21 pm

        This is one way to get revenge for the people

        Reply
      6. Avatar
        Jake Woolf on April 22, 2015 8:31 pm

        Mossad; It’s Never an Accident.

        Reply
      7. Avatar
        Alex Guthrie on April 25, 2015 9:55 am

        If only they would’ve caught Mengele too! But it still is interesting how they managed to find him in Argentina.

        Reply
      8. Avatar
        w.y. on May 3, 2015 3:56 pm

        You can run but you can’t hide.

        Reply
      9. Avatar
        Davetee on June 1, 2015 3:10 am

        Can’t believe he was helps by a catholic bishop…what does that say about the catholic church

        Reply
      10. Avatar
        ryan C on March 14, 2016 11:17 am

        way to confident in something that doesn’t rely totally on confidence.

        Reply
      11. Avatar
        Sw on April 13, 2016 9:47 pm

        It is shocking that the Red Cross helped him escape after he was responsible for so many murders! I can’t imagine how hard it is for the Nazi Hunters to find them but I’m glad they are still at it!

        Reply
      12. Avatar
        kk on April 21, 2016 11:41 am

        That is crazy how many people he slaughtered. That is what he deserved was to be killed and nothing less than that for what he did. He is a sick man.

        Reply
      13. Avatar
        Kamarin R on May 6, 2016 2:08 pm

        It seems that this guy thought he had escaped receiving any punishment for the horrible things he did. Good to see that justice was eventually served.

        Reply
      14. Avatar
        Dakota A rinier on May 10, 2016 6:46 am

        Justice always somehow prevails

        Reply
      15. Avatar
        Matt Smail on May 11, 2016 8:47 am

        in this topic i am curious why he was held by the church… sick to me

        Reply
      16. Avatar
        Isaac Talley on May 11, 2016 2:08 pm

        Nazi Hunting sounds like a D list movie. I understand they need to pay for there crimes but after a long long long time it just becomes a glorified contest on who can find and execute the most war-criminals it does nothing for the people who were effected.

        Reply
      17. Avatar
        BV on May 12, 2016 12:35 am

        I think it’s funny that he got what he deserved. He probably thought that he was living the dream and getting away free until they kidnapped him.

        Reply
      18. Avatar
        Montel Lollis on November 29, 2016 11:28 am

        Bad things happen to bad people i really think karma is real , and as bad as i know people feel he got what he deserved i wish death on nobody.

        Reply
      19. Avatar
        Maxwell McCullough on November 30, 2016 12:40 pm

        When a person believes what he did was right even though everyone else sees it as horrible you know there is something wrong.

        Reply
      20. Avatar
        Nicholas Hillyer on November 30, 2016 6:30 pm

        Just shows how big of cowards they are. They could stay and kill so many but had to run away to foreign countries to avoid prosecution.

        Reply
      21. Avatar
        Courtney G on December 8, 2016 6:50 pm

        There must have been something seriously wrong with him for him to think it was okay what he did. Funny though that karma got him.

        Reply
      22. Avatar
        Jessica May on December 11, 2016 10:25 pm

        He actually believe what he did was right??

        Reply
      23. Avatar
        Drew N on December 16, 2016 9:11 am

        This was an interesting read! I never knew about this taking place.

        Reply
      24. Avatar
        Mackenzie H on February 17, 2017 10:21 pm

        I didn’t know Eichmann was kidnapped and then taken back to Israel.

        Reply
      25. Avatar
        Michael Tovissi on April 12, 2017 3:58 pm

        That’s good that Israel has their secret police to hunt down Nazis.

        Reply
      26. Avatar
        Payton Brown on April 25, 2017 1:33 pm

        Why would people try to defend this man? He deserves to answer for his crimes. As does anyone that took part in the Holocaust.

        Reply
      27. Avatar
        Amanda Miller on April 27, 2017 11:19 pm

        I didn’t know there were Nazi hunters it kind of makes me wonder about that old man I took care of at the nursing home, I don’t know much of his story just what was in his chart.

        Reply
      28. Avatar
        MIA on April 28, 2017 11:32 am

        I would never support this man! He sounds horrible.

        Reply

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