by Neal Bascomb
Using Klein’s information: Y. Klein, author interview; M. Tabor interview, IMAE; Aharoni and Dietl, pp. 156–60.
“Stop insulting me”: Aharoni and Dietl, p. 152.
When he had met: Harel, pp. 194–98; Z. Aharoni interview, IMAE.
“The sight of”: Harel, p. 184.
“I know what”: Malkin, Eichmann in My Hands, p. 236.
By May 17: A. Shalom, author interview; Y. Gat, author interview; Harel, pp. 194–98.
A few tasks: M. Tabor interview, IMAE; Aharoni and Dietl, pp. 157–58.
“To even be”: Malkin, Eichmann in My Hands, p. 223.
Chapter 14
On a clear: Eban, pp. 306–13; Kurzman, p. 424.
Every effort at secrecy: Harel, pp. 221–26; S. Alony, author interview; D. Alon, author interview; “Eichmann File,” Tribunales Federales de Comodoro Py, Buenos Aires.
“Announcing the departure”: Reynolds, p. 9.
At exactly: S. Shaul, author interview.
That night: “Interview with Klaus Eichmann”; Anonymous Tacuara members, author interview; S. Sassen, author interview; A. Levavi, author interview.
“Don’t do anything stupid”: “Interview with Klaus Eichmann.”
“Let me ask you this”: Malkin, Eichmann in My Hands, p. 218.
“You do realize”: Ibid.
Eichmann showed no emotion: Ibid., p. 220.
The prisoner drained his glass: P. Malkin interview, Steven Spielberg Jewish Film Archive; Harel, pp. 208–9; Y. Gat, author interview; Y. Medad interview, Massuah Institute; Aharoni and Dietl, pp. 152–53. The signing of the statement by Eichmann is rife with conflicting stories. In Aharoni’s memoir, he stated that he was the one who prompted Eichmann to sign, an assertion that has been supported by Avraham Shalom and Yaakov Gat. Meanwhile, Malkin, backed by Isser Harel’s account, stated that he secured the signature. Given that Harel had access to all of the postoperation accounts, I chose to present the Malkin version, although I accept the possibility that it was a more collaborative process. In fact, this is how Rafi Eitan remembers the signing unfolding.
“I, the undersigned”: ISA, 2150/4-hz, Letter from Michael Comay, Israeli UN representative, to President of UN Security Council, June 21, 1960.
“What date should”: Hausner, p. 275.
“What the hell”: Malkin, Eichmann in My Hands, p. 232; Y. Medad interview, Massuah Institute.
Shmuel Wedeles pointed: Collective testimony from El Al flight crew, author interview.
Ten minutes later: B. Tirosh, author interview; S. Shaul, author interview; D. Alon, author interview.
Shortly after the plane’s: Harel, pp. 230–31.
He gathered: A. Shalom, author interview; D. Alon, author interview.
Chapter 15
At Maoz, Shalom Dani: Harel, pp. 243–44.
Moshe Tabor spent: M. Tabor interview, IMAE; R. Eitan, author interview.
Avraham Shalom was also: A. Shalom, author interview.
At the safe house: Y. Gat, author interview; Malkin, Eichmann in My Hands, pp. 240–41.
“It isn’t necessary”: Malkin, Eichmann in My Hands, pp. 241–43; Aharoni and Dietl, p. 163; A. Shalom, author interview; Y. Gat, author interview; R. Eitan, author interview.
“We’re advancing”: S. Shabtai, author interview; D. Alon, author interview; D. Sasson, author interview.
Aharoni took a long: Aharoni and Dietl, p. 164; Y. Gat, author interview.
In the parking lot: Harel, pp. 250–51.
“Be absolutely silent”: Y. Gat, author interview.
“Form a circle”: D. Alon, author interview.
“Pretend to sleep”: D. Alon, author interview; S. Shabtai, author interview; D. Sasson, author interview.
In the terminal restaurant: Harel, pp. 254–55.
Harel left his: A. Shalom, author interview.
“You surprise me”: Y. Klein, author interview.
As midnight approached: Aharoni and Dietl, p. 165.
As Harel boarded: Harel, p. 255.
“El Al is ready”: S. Shaul, author interview; B. Tirosh, author interview; O. Kabiri, author interview.
Chapter 16
Yosef Klein paced: Y. Klein, author interview.
“What is the problem”: S. Shaul, author interview.
Once they had crossed: S. Shabtai, author interview.
“You’ve been accorded”: Harel, p. 260.
Zvi Tohar: O. Kabiri, author interview; S. Shaul, author interview; D. Alon, author interview.
Hour after hour: S. Shaul, author interview; Harel, pp. 260–66.
The morning after: Y. Klein, author interview.
The final task: A. Shalom, author interview; R. Eitan, author interview.
In the Britannia: D. Sasson, author interview; D. Alon, author interview; O. Kabiri, author interview; S. Shaul, author interview; Y. Gat, author interview.
Isser Harel congratulated: Harel, pp. 268–69.
Elian injected Eichmann: Y. Gat, author interview.
The rest of the stopover: A. Shalom, author interview.
They had already: S. Shaul, author interview.
The plane flew up: Ibid.; D. Alon, author interview.
When the plane: Harel, p. 269.
Chapter 17
At 6:55 A.M.: Aharoni and Dietl, p. 116.
There was no celebration: S. Shabtai, author interview.
The captain also: S. Shaul, author interview.
“The monster is”: B. Tirosh, author interview.
Tabor and Gat escorted: Y. Gat, author interview; Reynolds, pp. 10–11.
“I brought you”: Harel, p. 271; Bar-Zohar, Ben Gurion, pp. 1374–77.
A few hours later: ISA, 3039/1-a, Hofstetter Memo; Harel, p. 274.
“How many people”: R. Eitan, author interview.
“I am Adolf Eichmann”: Yablonka, p. 31. Curiously, Halevi issued the warrant under the International Treaty for the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (under the UN charter), which applied only to crimes committed after 1949. The correct law would have been Israel’s Nazi and Nazi Collaborators Law (1950).
In a restaurant: AdsD, Nachlass Fritz Bauer, Box 1, Letter from Haim Cohen to Dr. Fritz Bauer, May 22, 1960; Harel, pp. 274–75.
“I have to inform”: “The Beast in Chains,” Time, June 6, 1960; Robinson, p. 105.
“When they had”: Robinson, p. 106.
On May 25: A. Shalom, author interview.
Shalom discovered that: Ibid.; Y. Gat, author interview.
“You were in”: M. Tabor interview, IMAE.
“Look, didn’t you”: Malkin, Eichmann in My Hands, p. 250.
“I’m not naive”: Aharoni and Dietl, p. 167.
Chapter 18
Outside Haifa: Von Lang, Eichmann Interrogated, pp. xix–xx; S. Nagar interview, IMAE.
In Israel, the shock: Yablonka, p. 36.
“The Jewish state”: Cesarani, p. 239.
As for the half: Yablonka, pp. 36–37.
“Israeli agents”: Time, June 1, 1960.
“Jewish volunteers”: ISA, 2150/4-hz, Letter from the Permanent Representative of Israel to the President of the Security Council, June 21, 1960.
Unable to strike: Rein, pp. 206–7; Haim.
By the fall: “Eichmann File,” Tribunales Federales de Comodoro Py, Buenos Aires.
In the valley: Musmanno, pp. 11–13; Arendt, p. 3.
“Adolf Eichmann, rise”: Guri, p. 2.
“First count”: The Trial of Adolf Eichmann, pp. 3–10.
“When I stand”: Ibid., p. 62.
Once Hausner finished: Cesarani, pp. 272–74.
Given his clipped: Mulisch, p. 127.
He was unmoved: Cesarani, pp. 272, 282–305. The Israeli court allowed only a small portion of the Sassen documents to be entered into evidence — just those pages that Eichmann had handwritten or to which he had added comments while editing his memoirs in Argentina.
“For the dispatch”: The Tria
l of Adolf Eichmann, p. 2218.
Eichmann stood absolutely still: Guri, p. 299.
“I hope, very much”: Malkin, Eichmann in My Hands, p. 173.
“Long live Germany”: Hull, p. 159; Arye Wallenstein, “Eichmann Dies on the Gallows,” Reuters, June 1, 1962.
The two guards hit: Hull, pp. 160–69; M. Gilead interview, IMAE; Hausner, p. 446.
Epilogue
David Ben-Gurion achieved: Yablonka, pp. 250–51.
In the rest: Cesarani, pp. 324–57.
Now a professor: Ricardo Eichmann, letter to author, December 2006.
Of the three: Aharoni and Dietl, pp. 176-77.
In the weeks after: NA, RG 263, Nazis/West Germany/Post WWII, Current Intelligence Weekly Summary, July 7, 1960; Cesarani, p. 335.
Simon Wiesenthal won: “The Eichmann Chase”; Pick, pp. 151–327.
“She can’t talk”: Malkin, Eichmann in My Hands, p. 258; P. Malkin interview, Steven Spielberg Jewish Film Archive.
Front cover, top: © Roger Viollet/The Image Works
Front cover, knife: Sergii Denysov/iStockphoto, Galina Ermolaeva/iStockphoto, Gabor Kecskemeti/iStockphoto
List of Identifying Marks: Mossad Archives, Photograph by Elad Sarig/Courtesy Beit Hatfutsot, The Museum of the Jewish People
Eichmann’s House, title page: Estate of Zvi Aharoni, Courtesy Wilhelm Dietl Collection
Eichmann: AP Images
Munkács ghetto: Ghetto Fighters House Museum/Courtesy United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Photo Archives
Cattle Car: Yad Vashem
Arrival at Auschwitz: Yad Vashem
Adolf Eichmann with Nazi Brass: © Roger Viollet/The Image Works
Eichmann’s Letter: Popperfoto/Getty Images
Laborers in a Mine: Yad Vashem
Simon Wiesenthal: Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images
Manus Diamant: Massuah Institute for Holocaust Studies, Kibbutz Tel Itzhak, Israel
Vera Eichmann: Yad Vashem
Lothar Hermann: Yad Vashem
Fritz Bauer: Robert Lackenbach/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Sylvia Hermann: Yad Vashem
Lothar Hermann Letters: Mossad Archives, Photograph by Elad Sarig/Courtesy Beit Hatfutsot, The Museum of the Jewish People
Isser Harel: Moshe Milner/State of Israel, Government Press Office photo collection
Zvi Aharoni: Estate of Zvi Aharoni, Courtesy Wilhelm Dietl Collection
Desecrated Synagogue in Cologne: Yad Vashem
Eichmann’s House: Estate of Zvi Aharoni, Courtesy Wilhelm Dietl Collection
Adolf Eichmann:Yad Vashem
Aharoni’s Truck: Estate of Zvi Aharoni, Courtesy Wilhelm Dietl Collection
Surveillance Photograph of Eichmann: Estate of Zvi Aharoni, Courtesy Wilhelm Dietl Collection
Eichmann’s Red Cross Passport: © Natacha Pisarenko/AP Photo
Eichmann in Argentina: Yad Vashem
Rafi Eitan, Avraham Shalom, Shalom Dani: Mossad and Shin Bet Archives/Courtesy Beit Hatfutsot, The Museum of the Jewish People
Moshe Tabor, Yaakov Gat, Peter Malkin, Yaakov Medad: Mossad and Shin Bet Archives/Courtesy Beit Hatfutsot, The Museum of the Jewish People
Captain Zvi Tohar: El Al Heritage Archive, Courtesy Marvin G. Goldman Collection
David Ben-Gurion: Bettmann/Corbis
Yosef Klein: El Al Heritage Archive, Courtesy Marvin G. Goldman Collection
Surveyors’ Map of Garibaldi Street: Mossad Archives, Photograph by Elad Sarig/Courtesy Beit Hatfutsot, The Museum of the Jewish People
Kit for Making False License Plates: Mossad Archives, Photograph by Elad Sarig/Courtesy Beit Hatfutsot, The Museum of the Jewish People
Dr. Yonah Elian: Courtesy Beit Hatfutsot, The Museum of the Jewish People
Eichmann’s Mercedes-Benz ID Card: Eddie Gerald/Demotix/Corbis
False License Plate: Mossad Archives, Photograph by Elad Sarig/Courtesy Beit Hatfutsot, The Museum of the Jewish People
List of Identifying Marks: Mossad Archives, Photograph by Elad Sarig/Courtesy Beit Hatfutsot, The Museum of the Jewish People
Eichmann in Goggles: Estate of Zvi Aharoni, Courtesy Wilhelm Dietl Collection
Neo-Nazi Rally: Yad Vashem
Fake Passport: Mossad Archives, Photograph by Elad Sarig/ Courtesy Beit Hatfutsot, The Museum of the Jewish People
Bristol Britannia: Peter R. Keating photo, Collections of John Wegg and Marvin G. Goldman
Eichmann’s Long Arm: Peter Z. Malkin, from The Argentina Journal, published by Victor Weiss, VWFPublishing.com
Hypodermic Needle: © Dan Balilty/AP Photo
Fake Air Crew ID Card: Mossad Archives, Photograph by Elad Sarig/Courtesy Beit Hatfutsot, The Museum of the Jewish People
Navigator’s Logbook: Courtesy Marvin G. Goldman collection
Map of Journey: Jim McMahon, based on a map prepared by Shaul Shaul
Detention Warrant: Israel State Archives
Survivor with Tattoo and Newspaper: Paul Schutzer/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images
Eichmann at his Trial: Israel Government Press Office
Zeev Zichroni Testifies: Israel Government Press Office
The Verdict Is Read: Corbis
Listening to the Trial: Corbis
My Sister Fruma: Peter Z. Malkin, from The Argentina Journal, published by Victor Weiss, VWFPublishing.com
The terms that appear in the print index of this book are listed below with the printed-page numbers. To find their locations in the text of this digital version, please use the “search” function of your ereader. Please note that some terms may not be searchable.
A
Aerolíneas Argentinas, 111, 116–117, 167, 172
Aharoni, Zvi (capture operation agent), 47, 47 (picture), 54, 137
in capture operation, 47, 82, 83, 86–90, 92–94, 98–99, 117–118, 121–122, 129–134
identification of Eichmann by, 66, 67 (picture), 68, 73–74
interrogation of Eichmann by, 135–144, 151, 160–162, 197
meeting with Bauer in Israel, 46–48
surveillance of Eichmann 54–63, 63–66, 64–65 (picture), 69–74, 70 (picture), 73 (picture), 94–95, 98–99, 106–110
See also capture operation; capture operation agents
Allies, 5, 10–11, 19, 26, 75, 76
anti-Semitism, 27–29, 50–53, 52–53 (picture), 75–76, 146–147, 147 (picture), 197, 213–214
Argentina
anti-Semitism in, 27–29, 75–76, 146–147, 147 (picture), 197, 213–214
German community in, 28–30, 40, 43, 62, 75, 78–79, 145–146, 196
reaction to Eichmann’s capture in, 196–198
WWII and relations with Germany, 30, 75–76
See also Buenos Aires; Ezeiza Airport
B
Bauer, Fritz (Nazi hunter), 31, 31 (picture), 46–48, 213–214
communication with Hermann, 30–31, 33, 35 (pictures)
descriptions of Eichmann, 43, 44
Harel on claims about Eichmann and, 39–40, 41, 46–48, 49
reaction to Eichmann’s capture, 190
Ben-Gurion, David (first Prime Minister of Israel), 48–49; 100 (picture), 210
on capture of Eichmann 48–50, 51, 68–69, 99–100, 140, 154, 188–189, 190–195
education as goal of Eichmann trial, 212–213
on Israel’s creation, 37
Brazil, 97, 156, 162–165, 175, 180
Bristol Britannia 4X-AGD. See El Al Bristol Britannia flights
C
camps. See concentration camps
capture operation, 1–2, 86–90, 104–106, 115–120, 121–123, 128–134
authorization of, 68–69, 86–87, 99–100
cars used for, 1–2, 72, 101, 112, 115, 121, 123–126, 128, 132, 139
confirming Eichmann’s identity after, 135–136, 136 (picture)
contingency plans for, 133, 142, 149
transporting Eichmann to Israel, 167
goals of, 68–69
; risks of, 68–69, 87, 90, 99–100, 118–120, 152
surveillance of Eichmann 63–66, 64–65 (picture), 69–74, 73 (picture), 94–95, 98–99, 114
transporting Eichmann to Israel, 96–97, 103–104, 117, 149–150, 165–168, 170–176, 180, 184–185, 188
capture operation agents
arrival in Buenos Aires, 91–94, 104, 106
choosing and selecting, 82–83
disgust of Eichmann by, 139, 144, 148, 149, 151–153, 157–161
forged documents for, 82, 84 (picture), 111–113, 133
individual responsibilities of, 117–118
leaving Argentina after capture, 170, 181, 192, 193
mood and activities during Eichmann’s captivity, 151–153
pictures of, 84–85
sayanim used by, 54–63, 72–73, 140
on silence and secrecy of mission, 193–195
Cohen, Haim, 46–50, 86–87, 144
Cologne, Germany, 50–52, 52 (picture), 190
Communism and Communists, 13, 28
concentration camps
Auschwitz concentration camp, 9–10, 10 (picture), 14 (picture), 16–19, 103, 166, 199, 205
Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, 112
Dachau concentration camp, 29, 166
Eichmann charged with crimes in, 199
forced labor camps, 17 (picture)
Gleiwitz concentration camp, 19
Mauthausen concentration camp, 3, 21, 22
as part of Hitler’s Final Solution, 5
See also Auschwitz concentration camp; Holocaust survivors
Coronel Suárez, Argentina, 30, 31, 41–42
D
Dani, Shalom (capture operation agent), 82, 84 (picture), 112
forged documents made by, 93, 111–113, 152–153, 153 (picture), 167
See also capture operation, capture operation agents
Diamant, Manus (Nazi hunter), 23–26, 24 (picture), 31
disguises 122, 165, 168–169
E
Eban, Abba, 154
Eichmann, Adolf Karl (Eichmann’s father), 23, 199
Eichmann, Dieter “Dito” (Eichmann’s son), 20, 25–26
anti-Semitism of, 146–147, 156–157, 197, 213
after father’s capture, 145–147, 156–157, 197
knowledge of Eichmann as father, 79
surveillance of 57–61, 70, 72
Eichmann, Horst (Eichmann’s son), 20, 79
Eichmann, Klaus “Nick” (Eichmann’s son), 20, 25–26, 79, 213
