The Life & Capture of Adolf Eichmann

Gummy & Jean's Hysterical History

Otto Adolf Eichmann was a German-Austrian SS-Obersturmbannführer and one of the major organizers of the Holocaust—the "Final Solution." He was tasked with facilitating the logistics involved in the mass deportation of Jews to ghettos and extermination camps during World War II.

Eichmann joined both the Nazi Party and the SS in 1932. He returned to Germany in 1933, where he joined the Sicherheitsdienst (SD, "Security Service"). He was appointed head of the department responsible for Jewish affairs, particularly focused on emigration, which was encouraged through violence and economic pressure. Beginning in 1939, Eichmann and his staff arranged for Jews to be concentrated in ghettos in major cities with the expectation that they would be transported either farther east or overseas.

In June of 1941, the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union, creating a two front war. During this time, the Jewish policy changed from emigration to extermination. Eichmann and his staff became responsible for Jewish deportations to extermination camps.

After Germany's defeat in 1945, Eichmann was captured by US forces, but escaped and moved around Germany to avoid re-capture. He eventually moved to Argentina using false papers. Information collected by the Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency, confirmed his location in 1960. A team of Mossad agents captured (read: kidnapped) Eichmann and brought him to Israel to stand trial on 15 criminal charges, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes against the Jewish people. During the trial, he did not deny the Holocaust or his role in organizing it, but claimed that he was simply following orders. He was found guilty on all of the charges and was executed by hanging in June of 1962.