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The incredible details of the cat-and-mouse game between war criminal Adolf Eichmann and those who spent years chasing him seem like they could be ripped from the pages of a Hollywood script. The decades-long hunt for Eichmann is among the most infamous fugitive pursuits in history.
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Adolf Eichmann was one of the chief architects of the Holocaust
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When World War II was over, he went on the run and remained a fugitive until 1960
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when Israeli agents seized him in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Eichmann's subsequent trial provided a much-needed catharsis for Holocaust survivors
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World War II veterans, and war-weary citizens alike. So, today we're going to take a look at the true story behind the hunt for Adolf Eichmann
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Adolf Eichmann was a ruthless Nazi bureaucrat and dedicated anti-Semite who coordinated the
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transport of people to concentration camps during World War II. After German forces were defeated
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Eichmann wound up in an American detention camp in Germany, where he masqueraded as a low-level
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German soldier named Otto Ekman. He spent a few months in the POW camp as Ekman before slipping
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out and fleeing to an isolated farmhouse. While other Holocaust organizers were tried for human
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rights violations and war crimes in Nuremberg, Eichmann hid out and plotted his next moves
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Few people outside the Nazi party knew what he actually looked like, which made it possible for
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him to venture into northern Germany's British occupation zone. There, he assumed yet another
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identity, Otto Henninger. He remained on German soil for a few years, evading detection by creating
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a series of false documents that led authorities to believe he'd fled to the Middle East. While
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Eichmann was in northern Germany. A man in Prague filed a police report claiming he'd seen Eichmann shot to death
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A judge almost signed Eichmann's death notice, but reversed his decision when he learned the witness was Karl Liebel
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a brother-in-law of Eichmann's wife, Vera. It was actually Jewish Holocaust survivor Simon Wiesenthal who aided in foiling Eichmann's plan
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Wiesenthal, who'd endured stints in the Ostbahn and Mauthausen camps, signed up to help Allied forces gather war crime evidence for trials
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He knew war criminals often evaded prosecution by pretending to be slain under questionable circumstances
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when in reality they'd fled to other countries and assumed new identities. After conducting his own investigation, he was able to prove the true identity of the witness who claimed that Eichmann was deceased
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Hoping the revelation about Karl Liebel would be the key to ensnaring Eichmann
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Wiesenthal eventually got word that Eichmann was still in Germany. He worked with the Hungarian government to request the United States retrieve Eichmann from Germany and extradite him to Hungary, where he could stand trial
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But the Americans sat on the request for four years, ultimately denying it in 1951 because no definite address or details about Eichmann's crimes were provided
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Meanwhile, Eichmann traveled all over post-war Europe, using fake identities to get around
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He traversed an established escape route for SS members like him, one maintained by loyalists
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that included border guards, non-profit organizations, religious leaders, and government officials. In 1950, under the name Ricardo Clement, Eichmann traveled from Genoa, Italy, to a new home in
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Buenos Aires, Argentina. Aided by the Red Cross, high-ranking Vatican officials, and an SS officer
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turned human smuggler named Horst Carlos Fulgner, Eichmann earned Argentine leader Juan Per blessing to resettle in his country In 1952 Eichmann wife Vera and his three sons were granted a travel visa that allowed them to join
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Eichmann in Buenos Aires. Once reunited, Vera and Adolf had another son born on Argentine soil
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in 1955. Eichmann thrived in Argentina, whose government proved sympathetic to those exiled
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He held a succession of labor jobs, from juice farmer to mechanic to laundry worker
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His family even owned a rabbit farm. Although he lived as Ricardo Clement on paper
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Eichmann wasn't shy about speaking out. The fact that Buenos Aires harbored a large number of
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international fugitives meant Eichmann was able to surround himself with like-minded people who
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had no intention of sharing his location with those hunting him. The German government was
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definitely aware of Eichmann's new life in Argentina, as Eichmann's wife used proper legal
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channels to reconnect with her husband in Buenos Aires. Why the Germans didn't act on this sooner is a great mystery
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In 1958, the American CIA was made aware by West Germans that Eichmann was living in South America
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However, they too refused to get involved because America was too caught up in the Cold War
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with the Soviet Union to put any resources toward this matter. In 1989, Simon Wiesenthal claimed
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he had informed the Israeli government of Eichmann's life in Buenos Aires in 1954
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But Mossad, Israel's national intelligence agency, countered Weisenthal's claims by saying Weisenthal's information at the time placed Eichmann in Saudi Arabia or Japan, not Argentina
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Lothar Herrmann spent most of 1935 and 1936 in the Dachau concentration camp
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where he was regularly beaten and starved. He managed to get out of Germany in 1938
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and relocated to Argentina as a war refugee. After he fled his home, Hermann lost his sight due to the physical torture he suffered in Dachau
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Disguised as non-Jewish Germans, Hermann started a new life with his wife and daughter Sylvia
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in the Olivos area of Buenos Aires. In the late 1950s, Sylvia started dating a young man named Klaus Eichmann
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who lived just a few doors away. Klaus expressed anti-Semitic views and said he regretted that Nazis weren't able to exterminate all Jewish people
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He also bragged about his father serving in the war. The Hermanns later moved outside Buenos Aires to Coronel Suarez
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Around this time in 1957, details of a prominent Gestapo officer's criminal trial in Frankfurt
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Germany, were picked up by newspapers around the world. Lothar Hermann read these accounts, and when Eichmann's name popped up during the proceedings
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Hermann grew suspicious of the boy who dated his daughter. He reached out by letter to Judge Fritz Bauer, who was overseeing the trial in Frankfurt
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Hermann wrote he believed Adolf Eichmann was his neighbor in Olivos and the father of Sylvia's
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former boyfriend. Bauer wrote back to Lothar Hermann, giving him a general description of
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Eichmann, but said he needed more details, like an exact address, in order to go forward with
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pursuing him. Hermann and Sylvia flew back to Buenos Aires, where Sylvia knocked on the door
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of the house she remembered as Claus's. A middle man answered and Sylvia asked him if he was Herr Eichmann The man didn say yes but he did admit to being Klaus father The Hermanns believed they had their man
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When Bauer got confirmation that Eichmann was in Buenos Aires, he sent a covert message to Mossad in Israel instead of notifying the German government
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He wanted to make sure Eichmann would be caught off guard. In early 1958, Mossad sent agent Joel Gorin to Buenos Aires
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Gorin concluded there was no way Eichmann, a wanted Nazi war criminal
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lived in a middle-class neighborhood like Olivos. Hoping to convince Mossad to re-evaluate their decision
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Bauer revealed Lothar Hermann's identity to them. Mossad's leader, Isser Harrell, sent another agent to Argentina
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to meet with Hermann and Coronel Suarez. The agent, Ephraim Hofstetter, gave Hermann $130 and a task
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obtain a copy of Eichmann's Argentine ID. Hermann reported back that Eichmann may be using the alias
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Francisco Schmidt, who was listed as the owner of the house occupied by Eichmann at the time
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Mossad agents concluded Schmidt was not Eichmann and began to distance themselves from
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Hermann's claims again. Bauer, frustrated by Mossad's attitude toward Hermann, intervened. He visited Israel, where information from a new source indicated Eichmann was living in the home
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mentioned by Hermann. Instead of owning the home, Eichmann was a tenant using the name Ricardo
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Clement. Bauer did not hold back his frustration with Mossad, reportedly yelling at them
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any second-class policeman would be able to follow such a lead. Just go ask the nearest butcher or greengrocer and you will learn all there is to know about Clement
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On March 1st, 1960, Mossad agent Zvi Aroni arrived in Buenos Aires. On March 3rd
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He traveled to Olivos by car, where he drove up to the two-story home that Lothar Harman believed was the Eichmann residence
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A local student contracted by Mossad knocked on the door, but no one answered
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They soon found out the occupants had moved out just a few weeks earlier
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They did more snooping, discovering one of the sons who'd lived in the house worked at an auto repair shop down the street
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After trailing the boy for some days, they were led to an isolated, newly built home on the outskirts of town
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Aharoni felt he was getting closer as he knew the boy's name was Dieter, the same name as Eichmann's
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third son. It all came together when Aharoni discovered the house Dieter kept returning to
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was registered under the name of Veronica Katerina Liebel de Eichmann, or Vera Eichmann
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There was no doubt in Aharoni's mind that Ricardo Clement was Adolf Eichmann. Aharoni clandestinely
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shot a few photos of the older Eichmann from a distance to show his bosses back in Israel
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and they agreed with him. Lothar Herman was finally vindicated. Rafi Eitan was an agent who served in both Mossad and Shin Bet, Israel's internal security system
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Eitan gathered a large team of both Mossad and Shin Bet agents who converged in Argentina in
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early May 1960. They covertly scoped out Eichmann's new house and connected streets
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gathering intel and preparing to make their move. Mossad had no intention of working with
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the Argentine government to apprehend Eichmann. Knowing they harbored Eichmann for so long Eitan instead hatched a plan to kidnap Eichmann and secretly smuggle him out of the country They used Mossad agent Peter Malkin as a strongman to take Eichmann down when
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the moment came. Malkin later confessed, never before in my career had I been even a little
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frightened. Now, I was terrified of failure. Meanwhile, Mossad used Argentina's 150th independence
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anniversary as a pretext to send a special plane from Israel to Argentina. The Argentine government
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believed Israel wanted to send representatives to attend the festivities. In reality, they planned
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to use the plane to carry Eichmann far away. By May 1960, Eichmann was working at a local
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Mercedes-Benz factory, using public buses to get to and from his job. Well-versed in Eichmann's
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daily routine, two cars full of Mossad and Shin Bet agents headed toward his bus stop ahead of
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Eichmann's usual arrival time at 7.40 p.m. It was May 11th. When the bus pulled up, Eichmann was
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nowhere to be found. By 8 p.m., there was still no sign of him. Five minutes later, Eichmann was
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spotted traversing the unpaved barren road that led toward his home. Un momentito, senor
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Agent Peter Malkin said before grabbing Eichmann. With Zvai Aroni driving, the crew managed to get
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the stunned Eichmann to a safe house. Once Eichmann became aware of the situation, it didn't take
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long for him to break, and he quickly admitted his true identity. Eichmann and the Israeli agents
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tasked with capturing him remained in the safe house until it was time for them to board a plane
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out of Argentina. In order to ensure Eichmann wouldn't ruin the operation, Mossad hired an
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Israeli anesthesiologist to administer a sedative to Eichmann before the flight. Instead of knocking
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him out, Eichmann was given just enough to make him woozy. Eichmann, forced to don an airline
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uniform, was then disguised as a sick crew member. Agents managed to get him on board the plane
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without the Argentine government's awareness, and the plane took off without issue. While other Nazi
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war criminals were tried in German courts, the Israelis wanted to try Eichmann themselves
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This was viewed as a controversial decision at the time and was exacerbated by Argentina's claims
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its sovereignty was infringed, and its laws against abduction were flouted. The uproar was
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short-lived, however, considering what Eichmann was responsible for and what he bragged about doing
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while in Argentina. Hundreds of journalists descended upon Israel in 1961 for Eichmann's
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trial. The trial was broadcast on television, and much of the world watched with bated breath
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Over 100 Jewish Holocaust survivors provided testimony about their horrendous experiences. Eichmann presented himself as a consummate bureaucrat who completed the tasks designated
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to him out of a sense of duty. He also tried to make the case he didn't directly order any murders
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or deaths. Instead of a monstrous butcher, Eichmann looked and acted like a meek pencil pusher
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This later prompted political theorist and Jewish-German refugee Hannah Arendt to coin the
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term the bity of evil. Eichmann's guilty verdict was no surprise to anyone. Yet Israeli
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courts set a new precedent for themselves by condemning him to death. Israel's prime minister
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at the time, David Ben-Gurion, was opposed to the death penalty, but he made an exception for Eichmann
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whose life ended by hanging on May 31, 1962
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