54 | APRIL 8 • 2021 

Looking Back

From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History

accessible at www.djnfoundation.org

Trial of the Century
S

ixty years ago, Israel was the focal 
point for a world audience, not 
because of a war. In Jerusalem, the 
trial of Adolf Eichmann, one of the chief 
architects of the Holocaust, began on April 
11, 1961. The event was televised globally, 
and newspaper reporters were on location, 
including the legendary editor of the Detroit 
Jewish News, Philip Slomovitz.
Slomovitz spent weeks in 
Israel covering the Eichmann 
trial. The JN itself was not yet 
20 years old in 1961, but by 
this time, Slomovitz was con-
sidered the dean of American 
English language newspaper 
editors. He believed it was his 
duty to be at this trial. The 
William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish 
Detroit History holds his reports from and 
editorials about the trial. 
The Eichmann Trial was the most sig-
nificant judicial action against a Nazi since 
the Nuremberg Trials, 1945-1949. The 
Nuremberg Trials were conducted in the 
immediate aftermath of World War II (1945-
49) by an ad hoc international military tri-
bunal. It tried 197 German Nazi Party and 
military leaders who had been captured after 
the war. Nazis such as Hermann Goring, 
Rudolf Hess, Albert Speer and others were 
tried and convicted for war crimes and 
crimes against humanity.
The Eichmann Trial was a different affair. 
It resulted in another conviction of a leading 
Nazi, but it also raised global awareness of 
his role and that of other Nazis in the killing 
of more than 6 million Jews. More specif-
ically, it was a key factor toward generic 
“crimes against humanity” becoming univer-
sally recognized as the Holocaust. 
Eichmann escaped from Germany after 
its defeat in WWII. He settled in Argentina. 
That nation usually did not honor extradition 
requests and was a safe haven for many of the 
fleeing Nazis. After living there incognito for 
many years, Eichmann was seized by Israeli 
Mossad agents and clandestinely spirited to 

Israel on May 20, 1960.
Eichmann was a key 
implementer of “The 
Final Solution.” He 
planned for the shipping 
of millions of Jews to 
death camps. This was a 
massive logistical prob-
lem, especially, in the last 
months of WWII, when 
Nazi Germany was crum-
bling. It was Eichmann who 
kept the trains running.
At the trial, Eichmann 
claimed he was “merely a 
little cog in the machinery.
” 
He admitted his role in trans-
porting millions of Jews to 
death camps, but stated that 
he felt no guilt. He was just 
following orders, doing his 
duty, just doing his job. This 
is what philosopher Hannah 
Arendt termed the “banality of evil.
”
Most important, the Eichmann Trial 
included the testimony of hundreds of 
witnesses, including survivors. These first-
hand accounts of atrocities were a critical 
factor in raising public awareness of the 
enormity and magnitude of the Holocaust. 
In this respect, see Slomovitz’s poignant 
report in the April 28, 1961, issue of the JN: 
“Witnesses’ Experiences Document Nazi 
Holocaust, Eichmann’s Guilt.” 
Eichmann was found guilty and executed 
in 1961. He received the first and only death 
penalty in Israeli history. 
The JN has covered some major 
world events over the years. And, 
from start to finish, through 1961 
and 1962, Philip Slomovitz and the JN
reported the Eichmann Trial. It is fas-
cinating, albeit somber, reading about 
Israel’s “trial of the century.” 

Want to learn more? Go to the DJN 
Foundation archives, available for free at 
www.djnfoundation.org.

Mike Smith
Alene and 
Graham Landau 
Archivist Chair

From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History

bling. It was Eichmann who 

He admitted his role in trans-

duty, just doing his job. This 
is what philosopher Hannah 

Eichmann was found guilty and executed 

in 1961. He received the first and only death 

JN

