Adolf Eichmann

[[Image:OldEichmann.jpg|225px|thumb|Adolf Eichmann, Germany 1940

Eichmann analysis

In the forty years since Eichmann's death, historians have speculated on certain facts regarding his life. The most important question is how responsible Eichmann was for the implementation of the Holocaust. Most agree that Eichmann knew exactly what he was doing; however, some "Eichmann Defenders" (his son included) state that he was unfairly judged and that he was only doing his duty as a German soldier.

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A third - and highly controversial - analysis came from political theorist Hannah Arendt, a Jew who fled Germany before Hitler's rise, and who reported on Eichmann's trial for New Yorker magazine. In Eichmann in Jerusalem, a book formed by this reporting, Arendt concluded that, aside from a desire for improving his career, Eichmann showed no trace of anti-Semitism or psychological damage. She called him the embodiment of the "banality of evil," as he appeared at his trial to have an ordinary and common personality, displaying neither guilt nor hatred. She suggested that this most strikingly discredits the idea that the Nazi criminals were manifestly psychopathic and different from common people. (Many concluded from this and similar observations that even the most ordinary of people can commit horrendous crimes if placed in the right situation, and given the correct incentives, but Arendt disagreed with this interpretation.)

Related Topics:
Hannah Arendt - New Yorker - Eichmann in Jerusalem - Anti-Semitism - Psychological

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Eichmann's involvement with the SS Underground Group ODESSA is also a mystery, as there is evidence that Eichmann had contact with the group but did not actively participate in ODESSA activities. Rumours also abound as to whether or not Eichmann personally knew Josef Mengele and whether or not the two war criminals ever worked together in South America. Mossad was convinced that Eichmann was a contact for Mengele and had planned to conduct a dual-capture operation in 1961 had Eichmann revealed Mengele's whereabouts.

Related Topics:
ODESSA - Josef Mengele

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A footnote to Eichmann's SS career focuses on the point as to why he was never promoted to the rank of full SS-Colonel, known as Standartenführer. With Eichmann's record and responsibilities, he would have been a prime candidate for advancement, yet after 1941, his SS record contains no evidence that he was ever even recommended for another promotion. Many have speculated that Ernst Kaltenbrunner may have seen Eichmann as a dangerous man, rising through the SS ranks, and had curbed his SS career to prevent Eichmann from becoming too powerful.

Related Topics:
Standartenführer - Ernst Kaltenbrunner

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