Adolf Eichmann Sentenced to Death

Notorious Nazi perpetrator SS officer Adolf Eichmann was sentenced to death on December 15, 1961. Eichmann was a pivotal actor in the deportation of European Jews and the coordination of the "Final Solution." He organized the deportation of more than 1.5 million Jews from all over Europe to ghettos, killing centers, and killing sites in German-occupied eastern Europe. 

After World War II, Eichmann went into hiding under an assumed identity in Argentina. Eventually, his identity was unmasked. In May 1960, officers from the Israeli foreign intelligence service (Mossad) captured him and brought him to Israel. Eichmann stood trial in Jerusalem from April to December 1961. On December 11–12,  Eichmann was convicted of crimes against the Jewish people, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and membership in a hostile organization. He was sentenced to death on December 15. On June 1, 1962, Eichmann was executed by hanging.

With detailed survivor testimony shown in extensive television coverage, the Eichmann trial represented more than an exercise in justice. It was the moment when ordinary people all over the world were confronted with the true scale of the Holocaust.