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