A high-ranking member of the Nazi Party, Adolf Eichmann was one of the most pivotal actors in the deportation of European Jewry during the Holocaust. Eichmann played a central role in the deportation of over 1.5 million Jews from all over Europe to killing centers and killing sites in occupied Poland and in parts of the occupied Soviet Union.

At war's end, Eichmann found himself in US custody, but escaped in 1946. In the end, he succeeded, with the help of Catholic Church officials, in fleeing to Argentina. There he lived under a number of aliases, most famously Ricardo Klement. In 1960, agents of the Israeli Security Service Mossad abducted Eichmann and brought him to Israel to stand trial. The proceedings before a district court in Jerusalem drew international attention, and historians roundly credit coverage of the trial with awakening public interest in the Holocaust.

On December 15, 1961, Eichmann was found guilty of crimes against the Jewish people. He was hanged at midnight between May 31 and June 1, 1962. Jewish authorities cremated his remains and scattered his ashes in the sea beyond Israeli boundary waters.

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