Judgment in the Trial of Adolf Eichmann 

[Part 25]

236. In this same matter, we shall cite one more episode, described by Justice Musmanno, who heard an account of it from General Koller, of Hitler's entourage.  We see no ground to doubt these words of Koller, and were given no reason why Koller should wish to place unjustified blame upon the Accused.  This is what happened (Session 39, Vol. II, p. 723-724): In his last days, Hitler ordered the execution of imprisoned Allied airmen.  Koller tried to circumvent this order and turned to Kaltenbrunner, because the order was that the airmen be handed over to the SD.  Kaltenbrunner granted his request, but then he met with a difficulty because of the attitude of the Accused, who demanded that the Jews from amongst the airmen be executed according to Hitler's order, and he refused to budge from this position.  Koller rescued these Jews by mixing them with thousands of other prisoners in the prisoners of war camps, so that it was difficult to identify them. 

237. When carrying out the Final Solution, the Accused resorted to the psychological warfare tactics of misleading and confusing the enemy.  In this connection, we shall here add only one of many illustrations.  At his first meeting with the heads of Hungarian Jewry on 31 March 1944, the Accused gives certain instructions concerning the administration of Jewish institutions, etc.  Then he addresses the scared Jews in these glib words: 

"He emphasized that these instructions would be enforced only for the duration of the War.  Later the Jews would be free and could do as they pleased. 

"Everything happening to the Jews was only for the duration of the War.  When the War was over, the Germans would once again be as pleasant (gemuetlich) as before...  "He emphasizes that he appreciates frankness and that we, too, must be outspoken with him.  He will also be frank with us." 

This description, from the book by Munczi Ernoe, was confirmed by the Accused himself (Session 103, Vol. III, p. xxxx6; see also the declaration by Dr. Ernoe Petoe - T/1157, p. 3). 

This, then, is the frank language used by the Accused, whilst the order for the deportation of Hungarian Jewry to Auschwitz is already in his pocket.  Such a measure of viciousness can only be shown by a man who does his criminal job wholeheartedly and with all his being. 

238. To conclude this chapter, in which we are concerned with the Accused's attitude to his work, we shall mention further utterances by him on various occasions, which reveal his feelings: 

(a) In answer to a question by the Attorney General during cross-examination about an excerpt from the Sassen Document, wherein the pace of deportation from various countries is discussed, he stated as follows: 

"I speak of all countries.  The same thing happened to us in Slovakia and in France, although there things began in a very hopeful manner (sehr hoffnungsvoll).  The same thing happened to us in Holland where, at first, the transports rolled, until one could say that it was marvellous (es war eine Pracht).  Only later were difficulties heaped upon difficulties." (T/1432 (21)) 

And this is the Accused's reaction to this quotation and to what was said there further on: 

"I cannot say that these things are correct word for word.  Many words have no meaning at all... But I must say that these are substantially correct.  I cannot say otherwise."  (Session 104, Vol. IV, p. xxxx12)

 Thus, "substantially" this attitude of complete identification with his work is correct - his joy in deporting Jews to their death.  This is not the way in which a person who did this horrible work with any inner compunction, or even indifference, would have spoken. 

(b) While under arrest in Israel, he wrote in his memoirs what he had told Mueller, his superior, at the time: 

"I was considering the subject of `victory.'  I said that I believed that in this way we must lose the War, since by what right were the Jews killed, whilst hundreds of thousands of German scoundrels, criminal and political, were not killed.  Such wrongdoing will necessarily avenge itself." (T/44, p. 108) 

Therefore, his proposal when speaking to Mueller was to resort to the trusted remedy of the Gestapo: "To put 100,000 Germans against the wall."  (Session 95, Vol. IV, pp. xxxx29Þ30) 

We quote these words here, only to point out the Accused's trend of thought in regard to the extermination of the Jews.  He had no inner reservations about the act itself, but only regrets that, together with the Jews, 100,000 Germans were not also exterminated, whose only crime was their opposition to the Nazi regime.  The failure to kill these Germans, he believed, would avenge itself. 

(c) And finally, the Accused's words at the end of the War, that he is ready to "jump into the pit."  In this matter, the exact wording must be decided upon first, because there is a serious difference of opinion about it. 

In his Statement to Superintendent Less, the Accused describes the matter in the following way: 

During the last days of the War, the men of his Section were depressed.  In order to improve their morale, he told them that he was looking forward joyfully to the last battle over Berlin, because what he had in mind was, "if death does not find me, I at least will seek death," and here he quotes his own words: 

"Millions of German women, children and old people lost their lives in this way, this I said to the men and to the soldiers.  For five years millions of the enemy attacked Germany.  Millions of enemies were also annihilated, and according to my estimate, the War also cost five million Jews.  Now all this is over, the Reich is lost.  And should the end come now, I said, I shall also jump into the pit." (T/37, p. 308) 

And in his evidence before us, in answer to his Counsel (Session 88, Vol. IV,  p. xxxx8), his version is: 

"I told my officers: The end has come, it is all over.  The collapse is imminent...therefore, if this is the end of the Reich, then I shall gladly jump into the pit, knowing that in that same pit there are five million enemies of the state." 

He states categorically that, when mentioning at the time "the enemies of the state," he did not have the Jews in mind, but "the enemy knocking at the gates of the state - the Russians and the fleets of Allied bombers, because they were the enemies of the state."

This is also how he explains his words in his remarks on the article in Life magazine (T/51, passage 1). 

239. In our opinion, this explanation is nothing but a lie.  The Accused explicitly mentioned to Superintendent Less, and then again in his evidence in Court (Session 105, Vol. IV, pp. xxxx19-22), the five million Jews killed, according to his estimate, in one breath with his readiness to "jump into the pit."  It was not explained to us on what ground the Accused could have estimated at that time the number of victims of the Allies as exactly five million.  It stands to reason, that the Accused spoke at the time about the front on which he was active and where his listeners were active, i.e., the battlefront against the Jews.  This was likely to raise their spirits.  And we know that the Jews were considered enemies of the Reich, in the language of the Nazi propagandists, which the Accused adopted in its entirety. 

This was not the only occasion on which the Accused voiced such sentiments.  The witness Grell, who in the year 1944 was in charge of Jewish affairs at the German Embassy in Budapest, and who, in this capacity, was in continuous contact with the Accused, says in his evidence in this case (pp. 7-8): 

"At the end of autumn of 1944, Eichmann once told me that the enemy powers regarded him as war criminal No. 1, and that he had on his conscience some six million people.  In this connection, he did not speak of enemies of the Reich.  I interpreted this statement made by Eichmann as `the more enemies, the greater the honour.'  I remembered these words only when the American prosecution brought them up before me.  As far as I was concerned, this statement was part of his effort to stress his status or his personality." 

According to the affidavit by Dr. Wilhelm Hoettl (T/157), which served as evidence at Nuremberg, the Accused spoke to him in Budapest at the end of August 1944 and told him as well that, 

"He knows that the United Nations regard him as one of the main war criminals, because millions of Jewish lives are on his conscience." 

And when Hoettl asked the Accused what was the exact number, the latter revealed that four million had been killed in extermination camps and additional two million in other ways, most of them by the Operations Units. 

In his evidence in this trial, Hoettl repeated that the Accused mentioned the number of six million victims, but retreated from his above-mentioned affidavit, saying that the Accused did not tell him that he felt guilty of the death of those six million Jews (p. 61).  The gravest version of this statement we find in the affidavit made by Wisliceny at Nuremberg on 24 November 1945 (T/56, paragraph 10 of the affidavit):

"He [the Accused] told me on the occasion of our last meeting in February 1945, at which time we were discussing our fates upon losing the War: `I will laugh when I jump into the grave, because of the feeling that I killed five million Jews.  This gives me great satisfaction and gratification'." (See also the evidence of Wisliceny at Nuremberg, T/58, p. 22). 

Out of caution, let us assume for the benefit of the Accused that he did not at the time confess his personal responsibility for the death of five or six million Jews.  But the fact remains - undisputed in our opinion - that at the end of the War he expressed satisfaction at the death of millions of Jews, and declared that the very thought would make it easier for him to "jump into the pit."  This was satisfaction at the terrible blow delivered to "the enemy of the Reich" on the front, where the Accused had been active during the War years and before.  This "soul-searching" by the Accused at a time of general despair, is sufficient to indicate his true attitude to the business of murder in which he had been engaged. 

240. From all that has been said, a very clear picture emerges - a picture matching, in our opinion, the evaluation given by Hoess, who wrote about the Accused (T/88): 

"Eichmann was a man full of life, always active... He always had new plans and always sought innovations and  improvements.  He never knew rest.  He was wholly and compulsively obsessed with the Jewish Question and with the `Final Solution' which had been ordered"  (Von der Judenfrage und der befohlenen "Endloesung" war er besessen)..."Eichmann was totally obsessed by his mission and convinced that the campaign of extermination was essential in order to rescue the German nation in future from the desire of the Jews to destroy it." (page 4)

 We shall add here that the Accused never alleged that Hoess bore him any grudge (see, for instance, T/37, p. 391). 

Of course, this attitude contradicts all readiness on the Accused's part "to do his best to reduce the gravity of the consequences of the offence," under Section 11(a) of the Law.  There is no desire here to alleviate matters, but a determined effort to aggravate matters in every respect. 

241. To summarize this chapter, we shall state that the Accused closed his ears to the voice of his conscience, as was demanded of him by the regime to which he was wholeheartedly devoted, and to which he had sold himself body and soul.  Thus far, Dr. Grueber's description of the Landsknecht suits the Accused.  Thus, he sank from one depth to another until, in the implementation of the "Final Solution," he reached the nethermost depths.  But it is not to be said of him that his mind also ceased to function, or that it functioned only out of blind obedience.  He believed wholeheartedly in the National Socialists' bogus ideology that the Jews were the enemies of the Reich, and that they were to be destroyed without mercy.  His hatred was cold and calculated, aimed rather against the Jewish People as a whole, than against the individual Jew, and for this very reason, it was so poisonous and destructive in all its manifestations.  To this task he devoted his alert mind, his great cunning and his organizing skill.  He acted within the general framework of the orders which were given to him.  But within this framework, he went to every extreme to bring about the speedy and complete extermination of all Jews in the territories under German rule and influence. 

242. In saying all this, we do not mean that the Accused's viciousness was unusual within the regime which had raised him.  He was a loyal disciple of a regime which was wholly evil and malicious. 

Counsel for the Defence devoted great efforts to proving the part played by others in the commission of crimes with which the Accused is charged.  In fact, it is not disputed that in all his activities the Accused always acted together with others, and this is how he was charged in the indictment.  We shall not see the complete picture if we place the responsibility for the entire extermination campaign upon the Accused alone.  Above him, there were the men at the top, beginning with Hitler himself - those who were the initiators of the Final Solution, and who gave the basic orders which guided the Accused; and alongside the Accused and his Section, many others were active, all of them determined to carry out the Fuehrer's order, each one of them in his own particular field of action: The Ministries of the Interior and Justice, which laid the main formal groundwork for the persecution of the Jews, by drafting definitions which determined precisely who was a Jew, who was a descendant of mixed marriage and who was an Aryan, thereby setting up barriers which segregated the Jews from the rest of the population - by promulgating laws and regulations aimed at putting the Jews beyond the pale of the law; the Foreign Ministry, which laboured unceasingly to spread the poison of anti-Semitism all over the world, and to create conditions for the delivery of the Jews of other countries into German hands, in order to deport them to their slaughter; the Ministry of Finance and the Reichsbank, which took part in plundering the property of the victims; the Fuehrer's Chancellery, which was active in the introduction of the method of killing by gas; and also the German Army Command, which tainted itself by acting in partnership with the SS in the extermination of the Jews in the East, in Greece, and in other countries.  Not only these, but all the authorities of the Reich and of the National Socialist Party, whose sphere of activity touched upon Jewish affairs - they all competed with one another to excel in furthering the common end - the complete extermination of the Jews, the enemies of the Reich, by every means in their power, efficiently and speedily. 

But all this does not detract from the fact that the Accused's Section in the RSHA stood at the very centre of the Final Solution; and the guilt of the others does not lessen by one iota the personal guilt of the Accused. 

243. The Accused's evidence in this case was not truthful evidence, in spite of his repeated declarations that he was reconciled to his fate, knowing the gravity of the activities to which he had confessed of his own will, and now his only desire was to reveal the truth, to correct the wrong impression which had been created in the course of time in regard to his activities in the eyes of his people and of the whole world.  In various sections of this Judgment, we have pointed out where the Accused was found to be lying in his evidence.  We now add that his entire testimony was nothing but one consistent attempt to deny the truth and to conceal his real share of responsibility, or at least to reduce it to a minimum.  His attempt was not unskilful, due to those qualities which he had shown at the time of his actions - an alert mind; the ability to adapt himself to any difficult situation; cunning and a glib tongue.  But he did not have the courage to confess to the truth, not about how things actually happened, nor about his inner convictions to the acts he committed.  We saw him again and again winding his way under the impact of the cross-examination, retreating from complete to partial denial, and only when left no alternative, to admission; but of course always taking refuge in the plea that in all matters, great or small, he was acting on explicit orders. 

The question which arises is: Why did the Accused confess before Superintendent Less to a number of incriminating details of which, on the face of it, there could be no proof but for his confession, in particular to his journeys to the East, where he saw the atrocities with his own eyes.  We cannot search the depth of the Accused's soul now, while he is under arrest, to discover what caused him to do so.  Various theories may be put forward to explain these partial confessions, but this would be futile for the purpose of a legal evaluation of his evidence.  Suffice it to say that in our view these confessions did not add credibility to his evidence before us, as regards all those matters in which he was found to be lying. 

244. The indictment was formulated in considerable detail.  The method generally followed by the Attorney General was to set out in each count the essence of the indictment in one of the paragraphs of the "particulars of offence," for example - in paragraph (a) of the first count (crime against the Jewish People by causing the death of Jews), in paragraph (b) of the third count (crime against the Jewish People by causing grave physical and mental harm), and in paragraph (a) of the seventh count (crime against humanity through the plunder of property).  To this the Attorney General added a detailed factual description of part of the acts attributed to the Accused.  This is particularly evident in counts 1-7 of the indictment.  It is here stressed at the same time that the factual description is not exhaustive.  Thus, in paragraph "g" of the first count, there is a partial description of the operations of the Einsatzgruppen (Operations Units) by the specification of the number of the victims during a given period; but it is clear from the opening words "the operations of these Units included inter alia the following operations, etc.", that the Attorney General merely sought to give instances and examples from among all the operations which were carried out by the Operations Units.  Again, in the seventh count, various operations of plunder of property are enumerated, but it is stated that these were among the activities of the Accused. 

We do not mean to criticize this way of wording the charge sheet.  On the contrary, in the nature of things, the description could not be more exhaustive because of the vast dimensions of the activities with the execution of which the Accused was, together with others, charged, while the method of partial specification was apt to inform the Accused with greater clarity of the nature of the operations of which he was accused.  But as we come now to convict the Accused, we do not consider ourselves bound by this partial specification in the indictment.  We shall adhere to the general framework of the indictment, insofar as it concerns the description of the statement of offence, and also those parts of the particulars of offence in which a general description of the nature of the offence appears.  But, as regards all other details, we base the conviction of the Accused on the detailed description of the facts which we have given in this Judgment, and of which the principal ones have been recapitulated in the chapter containing the legal analysis of the facts.  In the light of this detailed description, we will now comprise in the text of the conviction only that which appears to us essential in each of the counts of the indictment, insofar as they have been proved before us. 

(1) We, therefore, convict the Accused, pursuant to the first count of the indictment, of a crime against the Jewish People, an offence under Section 1(a)(1) of the Nazis and Nazi Collaborators (Punishment) Law 5710-1950, in that during the period from August 1941 to May 1945, in Germany, in the territories of the Axis States, in the areas which were occupied by Germany and by the Axis States, and in the areas which were subject to the authority of Germany and the Axis States, he, together with others, caused the deaths of millions of Jews, with the purpose of implementing the plan which was known as the "Final Solution of the Jewish Question," with intent to exterminate the Jewish People. 

We acquit the Accused of a crime against the Jewish People, by reason of the acts attributed to him in this count of the indictment during the period until August 1941.  The criminal acts of the Accused until that time (see sections 185, 186 above) will be included in the conviction for crimes against humanity, under paragraph (5) of the conviction, as set out below. 

(2) We convict the Accused pursuant to the second count of the indictment of a crime against the Jewish People, an offence under Section 1(a)(1) of the above-mentioned law, in that during the period from August 1941 to May 1945, in the territories and areas mentioned in paragraph (1) of the conviction, as set out above, he, together with others, subjected millions of Jews to living conditions which were likely to bring about their physical destruction, in order to implement the plan which was known as the "Final Solution of the Jewish Question," with intent to exterminate the Jewish People.

 We acquit the Accused of a crime against the Jewish People by reason of the acts attributed to him in this count during the period until August 1941.

 (3) We convict the Accused, pursuant to the third count of the indictment, of a crime against the Jewish People, an offence under Section 1(a)(1) of the above-mentioned Law, in that during the period from August 1941 to May 1945, in the territories and areas mentioned in paragraph (1) of the conviction, as above,  he, together with others, caused grave bodily and mental harm to millions of Jews, with intent to exterminate the Jewish People.

 We acquit the Accused of a crime against the Jewish People attributed to him in this count during the period until August 1941.

 (4) We convict the Accused, pursuant to the fourth count,  of a crime against the Jewish People, an offence under Section 1(a)(1) of the above-mentioned Law, in that during the years 1943 and 1944 he took measures calculated to prevent births among Jews, by directing that births be banned and pregnancies terminated among Jewish women in the Terezin Ghetto, with intent to exterminate the Jewish People.  

We acquit the Accused of having committed all other acts mentioned in the fourth count of the indictment.

 (5) We convict the Accused, pursuant to the fifth count, of a crime against humanity, an offence under Section 1(a)(2) of the above-mentioned Law, in that during the period from August 1941 to May 1945, in the territories and areas mentioned in paragraph (1) of the conviction, as above, he, together with others, caused the murder, extermination, enslavement, starvation and deportation of the Jewish civilian population in those countries and in those areas.

 We also convict the Accused of a crime against humanity, an offence under Section 1(a)(2) of the above-mentioned Law, in that he, together with others, caused during the period from March 1938 to October 1941, the expulsion of Jews from their homes in the territories of the Old Reich, Austria and the Protectorate of Bohemia-Moravia, by way of compulsory emigration through the Central Offices for Jewish Emigration  in Vienna, Prague and Berlin.

 We also convict the Accused of a crime against humanity, an offence under Section 1(a)(2) of the above-mentioned Law, in that during the period from December 1939 to March 1941 he, together with others, caused the deportation of Jews to Nisko and the deportation of Jews from areas in the East annexed to the Reich, and from the Reich area itself into the German-occupied area in the East and to France.

 (6) We convict the Accused, pursuant to the sixth count, of a crime against humanity, an offence under Section 1(a)(2) of the above-mentioned Law, in that, when carrying out the activities mentioned in paragraphs 1-5 of the conviction, he persecuted Jews on national, racial, religious and political grounds.

 (7) We convict the Accused, pursuant to the seventh count,  of a crime against humanity, an offence under Section 1(a)(2) of the above-mentioned Law, in that, during the period from March 1938 to May 1945, in the territories and areas mentioned in paragraph (1) of the conviction, as above, he, together with others, caused the plunder of the property of millions of Jews through mass terror, linked with the murder, destruction, starvation and deportation of those Jews.

 (8) We convict the Accused, pursuant to the eighth count, of a war crime, an offence under Section 1(a)(3) of the above-mentioned Law, in that he performed the acts of persecution, expulsion and murder mentioned in the preceding counts, so far as these were committed during the Second World War, against Jews from among the populations of the countries occupied by Germany and the other countries of the Axis.

 (9) We convict the Accused, pursuant to the ninth count, of a crime against humanity, an offence under Section 1(a)(2) of the above-mentioned Law, in that he, together with others, during the years 1940-1942, caused the expulsion of a civilian population, namely hundreds of thousands of Poles, from their homes.

 (10) We convict the Accused, pursuant to the tenth count, of a crime against humanity, an offence under Section 1(a)(2) of the above-mentioned Law, in that in 1941, he, together with others, caused the expulsion of a civilian population, namely more than fourteen thousand Slovenes, from their homes.

 (11) We convict the Accused, pursuant to the eleventh count, of a crime against humanity, an offence under Section 1(a)(2) of the above-mentioned Law, in that during the Second World War, he, together with others, caused the expulsion of a civilian population, namely tens of thousands of Gypsies from Germany and German-occupied areas, and their transportation to the German-occupied areas in the East. 

 It has not been proved before us that the Accused knew that the Gypsies were being transported to extermination.

 (12) We convict the Accused, pursuant to the twelfth count, of a crime against humanity, an offence under Section 1(a)(2) of the above-mentioned Law, in that in 1942, he, together with others, caused the expulsion of 93 of the children of the Czech village of Lidice.  It has not been proved before us that the Accused is guilty of the murder of these children.

 (13) We acquit the Accused of the charges of belonging to hostile organizations, under the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth counts, with respect to the period until May 1940, because of the prescription of these offences.

(14) We convict the Accused, pursuant to the thirteenth count, of membership of a hostile organization, an offence under Section 3(a) of the above-mentioned Law, in that he was, as from May 1941, a member of the organization known as Schutzstaffeln der NSDAP (SS), which was declared a criminal organization by the International Tribunal which tried the Major War Criminals, and in that, as a member of such organization, he took part in acts that were declared criminal in Article 6 of the London Charter of 8 August 1945.

 (15) We convict the Accused, pursuant to the fourteenth count, of membership of a hostile organization, an offence under Section 3(a) of the above-mentioned Law, in that, as from May 1941, he was a member of the organization known as Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsfuehrers-SS (SD) which was declared a criminal organization by the International Military Tribunal which tried the Major War Criminals, and as a member of such organization he took part in acts declared criminal in Article 6 of the London Charter of 8 August 1945.

(16) We convict the Accused, pursuant to the fifteenth count, of membership of a hostile organization, an offence under Section 3(a) of the above-mentioned Law, in that he was, from May 1940, a member of the organization known as the Geheime Staatspolizei, which was declared a criminal organization by the International Military Tribunal which tried the Major War Criminals, and as a member of such organization took part in acts which were declared criminal in Article 6 of the London Charter of 8 August 1945.