The "Other" Final Solution

By Ryan H.

In May 1960, a team of Israeli spies captured Adolf Eichmann, one of the most- wanted escaped Nazis following WWII. He was said to be the Architect of the Holocaust and the man behind the Nazi strategy and operational voice of the Final Solution to the Jewish Problem, Eichmann's capture, transportation to Israel, and ensuing trial represent a groundbreaking moment in Jewish history. In The Nazi Hunters, Neal Bascomb tells the thrilling story of the people who found and captured Eichmann, and how they were able to bring him to Israel to face justice. With the addition of photographs, maps, and images of secret documents and correspondence, Bascomb relates the harrowing discovery, capture, and retribution in a fast-paced, almost cinematic fashion.

I have two separate opinions when it comes to how I feel about the book. First, the good: it is a fantastic, tautly written spy thriller, complete with details about secret car compartments and license plate changing mechanisms, airplane routes and travel plans, as well as a deep dive into the context of the Holocaust and Argentina's role in offering shelter for former Nazis following World War II.

It paints a perfect picture of the challenging road that led to Adolf Eichmann's discovery, which was a fifteen year process involving civilians (including those such as a blind man and his young daughter) as well as a group of highly trained spies – and the steps of those involved in secretly extracting Eichmann from his  sons and without alerting the Argentine government. The books greatest success, though, is in the way it hammers home the significance of Eichmann's capture and trial. Bascomb repeats many times throughout the book: "For the first time in history the Jews will judge their assassins and for the first time the world will hear the full story of the edict of annihilation against an entire people."

The Eichmann trial in 1961 was a controversial and transformative moment in the history of the Jewish people, and for the new state of Israel. The internationally broadcasted trial was a spark that accomplished what Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion sought to achieve, it forced the world to acknowledge and understand the true nature of the Holocaust, and it provided the Holocaust's survivors a chance to share their experiences, openly and for the world to hear, for the first time.

Beyond the cultural and historical significance of the book's subject, I'm also impressed by the amount of research that must have gone into writing this book. We learn of the documents that needed to be forged as well as the airline and flight plan that had to be arranged at the highest levels to avoid suspicion. There are pictures of Eichmann in captivity, wearing blacked out goggles to disorient and imprison him; there are images of artwork created by one of the men on the team who captured Eichmann in Argentina.

That being said, there's few statements I will try to explain; The Nazi Hunters is an undeniable thriller and cinematic in scope, but there is no footnoting or source referencing in the body of the narrative, although there is an extensive notes section in the back of the book . Additionally, there's no examination of the legality of Eichmann's trial, the diplomatic tensions and historical context of the trial outside of Israel – which is also hugely important. There is very little time spent on the trial itself, and more pages spent on the depiction of Eichmann's hanging than anything he said during the trial.

I understand the sentiment – this is the man who was in charge of the strategic and operational implementation of deceit and mass murder, moving the Jews from their homes to the ghettos and then eventually to the labor and death camps. But the general label of Evil and the repeated assertion that the undercover Jewish agents in this book were "guardian angels of justice, the emissaries of the Jewish people" or "chosen by destiny" makes me uncomfortable without examining this in a broader context. I am also uncomfortable with historical analysis that editorializes and uses labels like Good and Evil.