Adolf Eichmann

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Adolf Eichmann

I will leap laughing to my grave, because the feeling that I have five million people on my conscience is for me a source of extraordinary satisfaction

-Adolf Eichmann

On May 29, 1962, Adolf Eichmann was convicted and sentenced to death for crimes against humanity, the Jewish people, and crimes during a time of war. Shortly after midnight on May 31, 1962, Adolf Eichmann was taken to the gallows at Ramle. All efforts made to reconcile him with religion failed. “The closer Eichmann came to execution, the more defiant he became in rejecting Christianity.” (Hausner 446) He also rejected the offer of the black hood, saying, “I don’t need that.” He began his last words with the statement that he was a Gottglaubiger, a man who believed in God but was no Christian and did not believe in the afterlife. He continued by saying, “Gentlemen, after a short while, we shall meet again. Such is the fate of all men. Long live Germany, long live Argentina, and long live Austria! I shall not forget them.” (Papadatos 232) Then as the trapdoor was sprung and Eichmann’s lifeless body swung from the gallows, a time in world history that few will soon forget, had finally come to an end. Yet, one will realize that although the holocaust was ultimately Hitler’s vision, it was in fact, the creation of Adolf Eichmann.

Adolf Eichmann was born on March 19, 1906 near Cologne, Germany, into a middle class Protestant family. His family moved to Austria early in Eichmann’s life, following the death of his mother. He spent his childhood in Linz, Austria, which also is the hometown of Adolf Hitler. As a child, Eichmann was teased about his looks and dark complexion, and was given a nickname by his cla...

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...antic a scale that it is beyond human understanding. (Shirer 1073)” Shortly after midnight on May 31,1962, Adolf Eichmann was hung outside Ramle. With his death, a time in world history that few will soon forget, had finally come to an end, and one will realize that although the holocaust was ultimately Hitler’s vision, it was in fact, the creation of Adolf Eichmann.

Bibliography:

Works Cited

Harel, Isser. The House on Garlbaldi Street. New York: The Viking Press. 1975.

Hausner, Gideon. Justice in Jerusalem. New York: Harper & Row. 1966.

Liverpool, Lord Russell of. The Trial of Adolf Eichmann. New York: Alfred A Knopf. 1963.

Papadatos, Peter. The Eichmann Trial. New York: Frederick A. Praeger Inc. 1964.

Shirer, William L. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. New York: MJF Books. 1959.

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