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Early Years
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Adolf Eichmann was born in the
town of Solingen, Germany. He was the first of five children to Adolf Karl Eichmann
and Maria nee Schefferling. Both of his parents were Protestants. His father
also was a very religious man and made him go to church every Sunday. His
father was an accountant. Eichmann didn’t like church all that much. When
Eichmann was 8, they moved Linz, Austria. When he was 10, his mother
died.
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He was very heart-broken over
this, and soon forgot about it. His childhood friend, Harry Selbar was
Jewish, but at this time, he didn’t know of the Nazis. When he was 16 years
old, he dropped out of high school to become an apprentice to his father’s
electric construction company. It’s weird that he dropped out of high school
in the same high school as Adolf Hitler did 20 years before! He soon
got bored of the apprentice program, and became a traveling salesman because
he liked to travel. During this traveling salesman job, he first heard Hitler
speak. He soon got bored of his job, so he joined the Nazis. |
The War
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Ernst Kaltenbrunner got Eichmann
into the SS, the Nazi Party’s military unit. He soon joined the SD, the SS’s
Security Service at the rank of a sergeant. The year 1935 came. Eichmann was
assigned to the Jewish Department of the SD. Later in that year, he married
Vera Liebl. They moved Prague and had four boys. He was given a military
commission; his rank was 2nd Lieutenant. Later, he was sent to
Vienna and got there on March 17, 1938. He soon was made head of the Central
Office for Jewish Emigration. |
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1941, Eichmann promoted to Lt.
Colonel of the SS. He took part in the plan called the ‘Final Solution’,
which was the extermination of Europe’s Jews. December 1939, he was
transferred to RSHA. He continued to take part of the ‘Final Solution’ for
the next 6 years. He was put with the task of creating death camps,
organizing a system of convoys, and creating gassing techniques. He began the
mass deportation of the Jews from Germany to Bohemia. In 1942, he was
considered a Jewish Specialist. The war ended and Eichmann escaped.
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The Capture and Trial
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All trace of Eichmann was gone in
May 1945. He remained in Europe until 1950 with no contact with his
family. He escaped into Argentina with some help, and 2 years later, he sent
for his family.
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Isser Harel got a call from
Walter Eytan in 1957 and he said that Eichmann must be found. Harel took the
responsibility of getting Eichmann. He started a group called the Mossad to
help him. The thirty members (of the Mossad) were people that had their
families killed by Eichmann. The Mossad devised a plan to get
Eichmann. In 1959, the Mossad found out that Eichmann was living in Buenos
Aires, and that he changed his name to Ricardo Klement. May 21, 1960, a
Mossad saw Eichmann get off a buss and go onto his house. The plan was put
into action on May 11th. |
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The Mossad put two cars by his
house and started to fake work on them. They waited for a while until, at
8:05 p.m., a bus pulled up in front of Eichmann’s house. Eichmann got out.
One of the Mossad (Gabi was his name) approached Eichmann and grabbed him!
Eichmann screamed. They put him in the first car and took him (secretly)
to a safe house. They questioned him and then put him in a room for a week,
before his trial. |
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At his trail, he was treated very
badly. He was put in a bulletproof glass box with two guards beside him, and
two guards outside of the box so no one could kill him. He was questioned over
and over again until the verdict was chosen. He was found guilty of all
counts, and sentenced to death. |
The Death
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His death was a brutal one.
Eichmann was hung on May 31st. His last words were of the
following: “I had to obey the rules of the
war and my flag. I am ready.” |
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Shane Heslet 7th Social Studies Rossville Jr. High Holocaust Project Spring 2003 |
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