Israel to Release Memoir of Nazi War Criminal Eichmann

Israel announced Tuesday that it will give Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann’s jailhouse memoir to a German research institute for publication.

Eichmann oversaw the deportation and murder of millions of Jews during World War II and promoted the use of gas chambers in death camps. In 1961 and 1962, he filled 1,300 notebook pages with his Gothic-style script while being tried by Israel for crimes against humanity.

The memoir was placed in Israel’s national archives after Eichmann was put to death in 1962. But the Justice Ministry said the writings--in which Eichmann tries to portray himself as a mid-level official who was only following Adolf Hitler’s orders--would be released at the “earliest opportunity” in a scholarly fashion to a German research institute that had yet to be chosen.

Israel’s decision to release Eichmann’s writings as a scholarly document apparently is aimed at foiling attempts by neo-Nazis and others to use the text for propaganda. The decision drew quick criticism from Eichmann’s son, who wants the writings handed over to his family, and from an Israeli author who said the original text should be made publicly available.