History's Crimes and Trials
The Trial of Adolph Eichmann This episode examines the trial of the man whom Israeli intelligence called the chief organizer of Nazi extermination of the Jews during Hitler’s regime. In 1960, Eichmann was smuggled back to Israel, marking the first time that Israel had put one of its leading enemies on trial for war crimes. The Trial of Adolf Eichmann would be useful for World History, Religion, World Culture and Criminal Justice. It is appropriate for middle school and high school.
Discussion Questions
- annihilation
- appalling
- architect
- decimation
- disguise
- dissident
- extermination
- extreme
- faltered
- fervently
- flouted
- functionary
- heinous
- hideous
- incriminating
- indictment
- innumerable
- obscene
- pogroms
- pretense
- quarry
- sadistic
- sensation
- sullied
Extended Activities
- Israelis hunted Adolf Eichmann for over a decade. Who was he? What was his role in the Holocaust?
- What was the Holocaust?
- Eichmann’s capture created a diplomatic incident. What was this incident? How was it resolved?
- What crime did Israelis accuse Eichmann of committing?
- What was Eichmann’s defense?
- What was the “Final Solution?”
- Jews in Germany during the 1930s had to obey the Nuremberg laws. What were these laws? How did they regulate Jewish life?
- Everyone believed that Eichmann was guilty as charged, but in a court of law you must prove it. How do lawyers do this? How is it possible for an innocent person to be found guilty, or for a guilty person to go free?
- The Israeli court sentenced Eichmann to the die. Should Eichmann have received the death penalty?
- Why did the state of Israel spread Eichmann’s ashes beyond its borders? What was the symbolic value of this act?
- Create a mock courtroom in your classroom and try Adolf Eichmann for crimes against humanity.
