Where Were Eichmann's Memoirs for 37 Years?
Last week, a German newspaper published Adolf Eichmann's memoirs. The
127-page document in Eichmann's handwriting was recently uncovered in Germany's
Holocaust archives. No one knows how it got there.
Experts believe the recently published document is just an outline to the
1,200-page memoir Eichmann wrote during his captivity in Israel (1960-62). A
New York Times article briefly mentions that the longer document is
currently in Israel and will be released this week. If Israel has had
Eichmann's complete memoirs for over three decades, why are they being
published only now?
The answer is that when Eichmann was hanged in May 1962, David
Ben-Gurion--Israel's prime minister--decreed that the memoir should be hidden
in Israel's state archives. He believed the document was full of lies, the most
important being Eichmann's claim that he played only a small role in the
Holocaust.
Of course, Eichmann also made this claim in open court during the trial.
(His arguments were most famously recounted in Hannah Arendt's Eichmann in
Jerusalem. ) So what's the harm in releasing memoirs that repeat it?
Ben-Gurion felt that releasing the document after the trial would distract
attention from the court's verdict--an explicit rejection of Eichmann's claims.
He was worried that publishing the memoir would give readers the impression
that there was still some controversy over Eichmann's guilt.
The memoir's existence came to light only in the 1980s, when it was
mentioned in another memoir, that of Eichmann's chief prosecutor. The
prosecutor argued that there was no harm in not releasing the Eichmann's
memoir, since he had already been given his day in court.
Spurred by this revelation, an Israeli journalist and historian named Tom
Segev took up the cause, arguing that the document is stolen property and
belongs rightfully to Eichmann's heirs. Last week, Eichmann's son filed suit.
Israel agreed to release the document to a German research institution for
publication. (It is not yet clear whether this will satisfy Eichmann's son.)
The document will be released in German, with commentary pointing out the
narrative's many inaccuracies.
Is it coincidence that the German newspaper Die Welt released the
shorter 127-page memoir just days after Israel announced plans to release the
longer version? It's possible--but unlikely. The editors at Die Welt
surely knew their document would be worthless if released after the Israeli
document, and it's reasonable to assume they sped up their editorial process to
scoop Israel's release.
Bruce Gottlieb, Slate's former Explainer-in-Chief, is
about to start law school.
