Operation Finale By Shermann Essay

After the allied victory of World War II in 1945, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States all agreed that the Nazis should be punished in a series of trials in Germany, known as the Nuremberg trials. Many Nazis were killed and found guilty within these trials. But not all of them. Infact, some got away. Adolf Eichmann, the “chief executioner,” organizer of the “Final Solution,” and one of the highest ranking and most brutal nazi officials in the party, was able to escape. The chase, capture, and trials of Adolf Eichmann, “Operation Finale,” will forever be known as one of the most famous, dangerous, and successful missions by Israel's Mossad. Karl Adolf Eichmann was born in Germany in 1906. He grew up in a pro-Nazi

troops. But not Eichmann. He escaped the prison camp in 1946 right before having to face the Nuremberg Trials. Eichmann fled all over Europe and the Middle East and was given lots of help by Catholic priests in Italy who were pro-Nazi. In 1950, he finally reached Buenos Aires, Argentina, which was a safe place for many escaped Nazis. He lived under the name of Ricardo Klement. Eichmann’s family joined him soon after, they lived a quiet life in a small neighborhood, and made his living by taking up lots of small jobs. But Eichmann was proud of his Nazi past and wasn’t ashamed to admit he was a Nazi. He socialized with other escaped Nazis in the area, and even sat down to be interviewed and complained that he “made a mistake” by not killing all of Europe’s Jews. The United States heard rumors of Eichmann living in Buenos Aires, but it wasn’t their job to capture him. A new country became interested in getting justice: Israel. Israel, the home of the Jews, wanted to arrest Eichmann, to rid the world of this terrorist once and for all. In 1957, a blind Jewish refugee named Lomar Herrmann, was the key to finding him. Herrmann discovered that Eichmann was in Argentina through his daughter Sylvia, who was dating one of Eichmann’s sons. Herrmann wrote to Germany his findings. A Jewish German judge named Fritz Bauer asked for more information. With Syvia’s help, Herrmann was

They realized that Eichmann’s daily routine was very predictable. They decided to capture him while he was walking home from work as he got off of the city bus. The perfect opportunity to do the plan was in May 1960, when Argentina was celebrating its revolution against Spain. So many tourists were entering the country to be at the celebration, so it was the perfect opportunity for the Mossad to sneak into the country. The team carefully put together the plan to capture Eichmann on May 11, 1960. The plan was almost ruined when Eichmann didn’t get off the bus at the time that he usually does. But he got off a later bus, and the team sprung into action. They took him to a “safe house” in Buenos Aires and they interrogated him for days. Argentina knew nothing of the operation. On May 20, after drugging Eichmann, the Mossad and Malkin dragged him out of Argentina, disguised him as an Israel airline worker, and when needed, they told people that he had suffered head injury in an accident. When the team and Eichmann arrived in Israel three days later, Prime Minister Ben-Gurion announced to the public that Eichmann was now under Israeli custody. When the team and Eichmann arrived in Israel three days later, Prime Minister Ben-Gurion announced to the public that Eichmann was now under Israeli custody. Once Argentina found out about the capture, the government demanded Eichmann’s return, but Israel argued that his past