Sixty-three years ago, the Eichmann trial opened in Jerusalem. It had a lasting impact on the ways in which we perceive the Holocaust. The trial was an occasion for heated debate and controversy. Hannah Arendt’s Eichmann in Jerusalem is a case in point. It also generated a rich trove of research materials related to the Nazi regime’s policies of anti-Jewish persecution. A paradox remains, however: only a few studies have focused on the accused himself.
Using an array of unpublished archives, Fabien Théofilakis reassesses Eichmann’s role in the dramaturgy of the trial and raises questions about the nature of his encounter with Israel and Israeli authorities.