1 00:00:03,250 --> 00:00:07,375 - [Laurence] Tonight, the global manhunt for a Nazi war criminal 2 00:00:07,375 --> 00:00:09,875 who vanished after the Holocaust 3 00:00:09,875 --> 00:00:11,208 and the stunning operation 4 00:00:11,208 --> 00:00:14,375 that finally brought him to justice. 5 00:00:14,375 --> 00:00:15,542 - [Christina] Adolf Eichmann was the architect of the Nazi 6 00:00:15,542 --> 00:00:18,208 Nazi Holocaust. 7 00:00:18,208 --> 00:00:21,042 - [Sami] He murdered millions of Jews, 8 00:00:21,042 --> 00:00:24,458 yet the Allies never even knew his name. 9 00:00:24,458 --> 00:00:27,542 - [Katherine] He takes this idea of the Final Solution 10 00:00:27,542 --> 00:00:30,958 and turns it into almost an assembly line process. 11 00:00:30,958 --> 00:00:35,500 - At the end of World War II, Eichmann hides in plain sight. 12 00:00:35,500 --> 00:00:38,542 - [Kevin] There's so much chaos that the Allies don't even 13 00:00:38,542 --> 00:00:40,750 realize that they have Eichmann in custody. 14 00:00:40,750 --> 00:00:43,833 And by the time they realize it, he's vanished. 15 00:00:43,833 --> 00:00:46,667 - [Sami] Nazi hunters are convinced that Eichmann is still 16 00:00:46,667 --> 00:00:49,958 alive, but a decade passes and no one knows 17 00:00:49,958 --> 00:00:51,917 where he could possibly be. 18 00:00:51,917 --> 00:00:54,375 - Now we explore the top theories 19 00:00:54,375 --> 00:00:57,333 surrounding Adolf Eichmann's whereabouts 20 00:00:57,333 --> 00:00:59,625 leading up to his dramatic capture. 21 00:00:59,625 --> 00:01:01,333 - [Katherine] These Nazis in Germany end up 22 00:01:01,333 --> 00:01:05,292 with a really surprising ally, the Catholic Church. 23 00:01:05,292 --> 00:01:07,708 - [Paul] An Israeli investigator receives a tip off 24 00:01:07,708 --> 00:01:11,500 that Adolf Eichmann has been recently spotted in Kuwait. 25 00:01:11,500 --> 00:01:14,875 - [Christina] There was only one existing photograph of Eichmann. 26 00:01:14,875 --> 00:01:17,333 It's really like hunting a ghost. 27 00:01:17,333 --> 00:01:20,417 - What really happened to Adolf Eichmann? 28 00:01:21,208 --> 00:01:24,125 [dramatic music] 29 00:01:26,208 --> 00:01:29,167 [dramatic music] 30 00:01:34,125 --> 00:01:37,167 [dramatic music] 31 00:01:40,042 --> 00:01:42,500 - [Laurence] It's January, 1942, 32 00:01:42,500 --> 00:01:45,375 and in a lakeside mansion near Berlin, 33 00:01:45,375 --> 00:01:48,917 15 senior Nazi officials are meeting. 34 00:01:48,917 --> 00:01:53,167 The topic, the systematic annihilation of Europe's Jews, 35 00:01:53,167 --> 00:01:56,625 what the Nazis refer to as the Final Solution. 36 00:01:57,625 --> 00:01:59,750 - Along with these high officials, 37 00:01:59,750 --> 00:02:02,042 there's one lieutenant colonel, 38 00:02:02,042 --> 00:02:05,333 very quiet, very unassuming, taking notes, 39 00:02:05,333 --> 00:02:07,250 but he's also providing information 40 00:02:07,250 --> 00:02:09,708 like the amount of Jews in different countries. 41 00:02:09,708 --> 00:02:11,167 [dramatic music] 42 00:02:11,167 --> 00:02:12,500 This is Adolf Eichmann. 43 00:02:13,625 --> 00:02:15,292 - [Amory] Eichmann is not really well known 44 00:02:15,292 --> 00:02:17,292 as a front man of the Nazis. 45 00:02:17,292 --> 00:02:19,833 He's more of a behind the scenes bureaucrat. 46 00:02:19,833 --> 00:02:22,542 And he really views the killing of millions of Jews 47 00:02:22,542 --> 00:02:24,750 as sort of this logistical problem 48 00:02:24,750 --> 00:02:26,875 that he's in charge of solving. 49 00:02:26,875 --> 00:02:28,542 [dramatic music] 50 00:02:28,542 --> 00:02:30,875 - [Laurence] Eichmann grows up in Austria, 51 00:02:30,875 --> 00:02:32,792 the son of an accountant. 52 00:02:32,792 --> 00:02:37,833 He joins the Nazi Party in 1932 at age 26. 53 00:02:39,208 --> 00:02:41,167 - [Anand] Eichmann had joined the SD, 54 00:02:41,167 --> 00:02:44,083 the SS's intelligence agency in 1934. 55 00:02:44,083 --> 00:02:47,750 In 1936, he's recruited by a member of the SD 56 00:02:47,750 --> 00:02:50,250 to join the so-called Jewish Affairs Division. 57 00:02:50,250 --> 00:02:53,083 And eventually he comes to take over this division. 58 00:02:53,083 --> 00:02:56,792 He makes a name for himself after the annexation of Austria, 59 00:02:56,792 --> 00:02:58,167 where he works out a system 60 00:02:58,167 --> 00:03:01,083 for basically speeding up the immigration 61 00:03:01,083 --> 00:03:04,625 of Jewish populations outside of Germany. 62 00:03:04,625 --> 00:03:07,333 - [Sami] He figures out how to conduct these mass deportations 63 00:03:07,333 --> 00:03:09,292 as fast as possible. 64 00:03:09,292 --> 00:03:13,042 He devises a system to give deportation papers 65 00:03:13,042 --> 00:03:15,208 to Jewish people on the spot 66 00:03:15,208 --> 00:03:16,875 while also stripping them of their possession, 67 00:03:16,875 --> 00:03:18,292 stripping them of the wealth, 68 00:03:18,292 --> 00:03:20,542 and getting them essentially out of the country 69 00:03:20,542 --> 00:03:23,542 within less than an hour's time. 70 00:03:23,542 --> 00:03:25,208 - [Amory] Once World War II starts, 71 00:03:25,208 --> 00:03:28,250 Adolf Eichmann becomes more and more fanatical. 72 00:03:28,250 --> 00:03:30,833 And once the Final Solution is decided upon, 73 00:03:30,833 --> 00:03:34,000 he becomes the central operational figure 74 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:35,542 behind the Holocaust. 75 00:03:35,542 --> 00:03:38,292 Hitler is the one who's ordering these atrocities, 76 00:03:38,292 --> 00:03:40,208 but Eichmann is the bureaucrat 77 00:03:40,208 --> 00:03:42,333 in charge of actually carrying them out. 78 00:03:42,333 --> 00:03:43,833 [dramatic music] 79 00:03:43,833 --> 00:03:45,875 - [Paul] There are a lot of pieces of information 80 00:03:45,875 --> 00:03:49,375 that come out of Nazi Germany during World War II. 81 00:03:49,375 --> 00:03:52,083 And it's just so hard for Westerners 82 00:03:52,083 --> 00:03:56,208 to comprehend this scale of tragedy 83 00:03:56,208 --> 00:03:58,375 that it's not until we start to overrun 84 00:03:58,375 --> 00:04:00,583 some of the outlying murder camps 85 00:04:00,583 --> 00:04:02,875 that we can't deny what's going on anymore. 86 00:04:04,208 --> 00:04:08,333 - [Amory] In January of 1945, Hitler retreats to his bunker. 87 00:04:08,333 --> 00:04:11,000 By April of that year, he's dead. 88 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:15,333 And then on May 7th of 1945, the Germans surrender. 89 00:04:16,458 --> 00:04:18,542 - [Sami] Despite the fact that many high-ranking Nazis 90 00:04:18,542 --> 00:04:22,417 have been captured, Eichmann is never found. 91 00:04:23,458 --> 00:04:26,042 And on top of that, most of the world 92 00:04:26,042 --> 00:04:28,500 has never even heard his name. 93 00:04:30,167 --> 00:04:31,708 - [Laurence] Six months go by 94 00:04:31,708 --> 00:04:34,417 before the public finally learns about Adolf Eichmann 95 00:04:34,417 --> 00:04:36,833 and his role in the Holocaust. 96 00:04:38,125 --> 00:04:42,042 - [Kevin] In November of 1945, all eyes are on Nuremberg, 97 00:04:42,042 --> 00:04:44,875 Germany, where 24 Nazi officials are put on trial 98 00:04:44,875 --> 00:04:47,375 for their atrocities during World War II. 99 00:04:48,625 --> 00:04:52,125 And it's here that Adolf Eichmann's name first comes up. 100 00:04:52,125 --> 00:04:54,875 - [Amory] Prosecutors quote this Hungarian Jewish leader 101 00:04:54,875 --> 00:04:58,542 who tells the story of a mass deportation 102 00:04:58,542 --> 00:05:01,083 of Hungarian Jews from Budapest. 103 00:05:01,083 --> 00:05:04,417 So, there's a special unit that is running operations there 104 00:05:04,417 --> 00:05:06,667 and Eichmann is in charge of that unit. 105 00:05:06,667 --> 00:05:08,708 He is the one who's gonna decide 106 00:05:08,708 --> 00:05:12,208 who's going to the gas chambers and who will live. 107 00:05:12,208 --> 00:05:13,792 [dramatic music] 108 00:05:13,792 --> 00:05:18,167 - [Laurence] A few weeks later, on January 3rd, 1946, 109 00:05:18,167 --> 00:05:22,667 an SS captain with ties to Eichmann is called to testify. 110 00:05:23,875 --> 00:05:26,375 - [Anand] He had joined the Nazi's intelligence service 111 00:05:26,375 --> 00:05:28,792 and ended up becoming one of Eichmann's men 112 00:05:28,792 --> 00:05:32,708 in the so-called Jewish Affairs Division of the Gestapo. 113 00:05:32,708 --> 00:05:35,042 - [Kevin] He claims that he pushed back against this plan 114 00:05:35,042 --> 00:05:38,375 to kill millions of Jews, but Eichmann simply told him, 115 00:05:38,375 --> 00:05:40,333 "You're being too sentimental about it." 116 00:05:40,333 --> 00:05:42,333 [pensive music] 117 00:05:42,333 --> 00:05:43,750 - [Laurence] The Nuremberg testimony 118 00:05:43,750 --> 00:05:46,542 gives Eichmann worldwide notoriety, 119 00:05:46,542 --> 00:05:49,208 but his whereabouts are still unknown. 120 00:05:49,208 --> 00:05:51,208 Finding Eichmann won't be easy, 121 00:05:51,208 --> 00:05:56,167 but after the revelations at Nuremberg, it's a priority. 122 00:05:56,167 --> 00:05:59,917 The question is where could he be? 123 00:05:59,917 --> 00:06:02,792 - [Kevin] There are millions of Germans packed into POW camps 124 00:06:02,792 --> 00:06:03,917 all over Europe. 125 00:06:03,917 --> 00:06:07,875 The Americans alone have 2 million in captivity, 126 00:06:07,875 --> 00:06:10,542 but these camps are cramped, they're not well organized, 127 00:06:10,542 --> 00:06:13,375 they don't have the names of everybody in them. 128 00:06:13,375 --> 00:06:15,417 But the obvious place to look for Eichmann 129 00:06:15,417 --> 00:06:17,708 is in POW camps around Europe. 130 00:06:17,708 --> 00:06:20,542 [dramatic music] 131 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:23,333 [dramatic music] 132 00:06:23,458 --> 00:06:24,958 - [Sami] Despite the fact that most of the world 133 00:06:24,958 --> 00:06:27,542 has never heard the name Adolf Eichmann, 134 00:06:27,542 --> 00:06:29,250 the US Counterintelligence Corps 135 00:06:29,250 --> 00:06:32,958 has actually been compiling a dossier on him for months. 136 00:06:32,958 --> 00:06:37,083 - [Paul] Investigators go and track down Eichmann's wife Vera. 137 00:06:37,083 --> 00:06:38,583 They find her in Austria. 138 00:06:38,583 --> 00:06:41,375 She claims that she hasn't seen her husband in months 139 00:06:41,375 --> 00:06:44,208 and she doesn't even have a photograph of him. 140 00:06:44,208 --> 00:06:47,000 - [Amory] It's clear that he was really planning ahead here. 141 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:48,458 He was making sure 142 00:06:48,458 --> 00:06:50,917 that there were no pictures of him left over. 143 00:06:50,917 --> 00:06:52,917 SS officers tell Allied officials 144 00:06:52,917 --> 00:06:55,417 that Eichmann was still alive at the end of the war 145 00:06:55,417 --> 00:06:57,250 and he probably still is. 146 00:06:57,250 --> 00:07:00,208 They don't think that Eichmann would've taken his own life 147 00:07:00,208 --> 00:07:02,958 the way that other Nazi officials did at this time. 148 00:07:04,083 --> 00:07:06,375 - [Sami] With all of the chaos, and the disorganization, 149 00:07:06,375 --> 00:07:08,333 and the disarray of these POW camps, 150 00:07:08,333 --> 00:07:09,708 it becomes very, very likely 151 00:07:09,708 --> 00:07:13,500 that Eichmann is using these POW camps to hide out. 152 00:07:13,500 --> 00:07:16,917 The Allies also assume that he's using an alias. 153 00:07:16,917 --> 00:07:20,167 The CIC distributes notices to their regional offices 154 00:07:20,167 --> 00:07:21,708 and they call Eichmann, 155 00:07:21,708 --> 00:07:24,333 quote, "of the highest importance among war criminals." 156 00:07:24,333 --> 00:07:26,333 [dramatic music] 157 00:07:26,333 --> 00:07:27,708 - [Laurence] As it turns out, 158 00:07:27,708 --> 00:07:30,708 the Americans already have Eichmann in custody, 159 00:07:30,708 --> 00:07:33,375 they just don't know it. 160 00:07:33,375 --> 00:07:34,792 - [Kevin] At the end of the war, 161 00:07:34,792 --> 00:07:37,792 Eichmann actually goes down into Austria to hide out. 162 00:07:37,792 --> 00:07:40,375 And there are tons of Nazis all over the place 163 00:07:40,375 --> 00:07:42,042 hiding from the Allies. 164 00:07:42,042 --> 00:07:45,000 He meets with his wife and gives her instructions 165 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:47,542 on how to deal with Allied investigators, 166 00:07:47,542 --> 00:07:49,208 which he knows are coming. 167 00:07:49,208 --> 00:07:52,042 His plan is to head northwest through Germany 168 00:07:52,042 --> 00:07:54,542 with his assistant, staying in homes of people 169 00:07:54,542 --> 00:07:57,375 who are sympathetic to former Nazis. 170 00:07:57,375 --> 00:07:58,875 - [Sami] A little later in May, however, 171 00:07:58,875 --> 00:08:01,792 Eichmann and his assistant are picked up by a US Army patrol 172 00:08:01,792 --> 00:08:05,792 and they're taken to a US POW camp in Weiden. 173 00:08:06,917 --> 00:08:09,208 Eichmann gives a false name, a false identity 174 00:08:09,208 --> 00:08:11,000 by the name of Adolf Barth. 175 00:08:13,375 --> 00:08:14,833 - [Laurence] In the camp, 176 00:08:14,833 --> 00:08:17,208 Eichmann plots how to keep from being discovered 177 00:08:17,208 --> 00:08:18,875 and how to escape. 178 00:08:20,208 --> 00:08:22,458 - [Paul] Eichmann is going to be identified sooner or later 179 00:08:22,458 --> 00:08:25,167 because every SS officer like Eichmann 180 00:08:25,167 --> 00:08:26,583 has a unique identifier 181 00:08:26,583 --> 00:08:29,458 that's not common in the rest of the German Wehrmacht. 182 00:08:29,458 --> 00:08:32,625 Every SS soldier has his blood type 183 00:08:32,625 --> 00:08:34,875 tattooed inside his armpit. 184 00:08:34,875 --> 00:08:37,750 And that means if you make all of the captives 185 00:08:37,750 --> 00:08:39,917 take off their shirts and hold their hands up in the air, 186 00:08:39,917 --> 00:08:43,000 you can quickly pick out the fanatical Nazis. 187 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:44,792 - [Anand] He tries to burn that tattoo with cigarettes, 188 00:08:44,792 --> 00:08:45,917 but it doesn't work, 189 00:08:45,917 --> 00:08:47,208 so he's not gonna be able to claim 190 00:08:47,208 --> 00:08:48,542 he's not a member of the SS. 191 00:08:48,542 --> 00:08:50,542 But there are plenty of SS men 192 00:08:50,542 --> 00:08:53,208 who are POWs at the end of the war. 193 00:08:53,208 --> 00:08:55,458 - [Kevin] So, what he tells the Allied officials 194 00:08:55,458 --> 00:08:57,708 is that his name is actually Otto Eckmann 195 00:08:57,708 --> 00:09:00,458 and that he's a lieutenant colonel in the SS. 196 00:09:00,458 --> 00:09:01,708 [dramatic music] 197 00:09:01,708 --> 00:09:03,250 - [Laurence] Eichmann makes the switch 198 00:09:03,250 --> 00:09:06,417 thinking Eckmann is close enough to his real surname. 199 00:09:06,417 --> 00:09:07,917 If an old acquaintance 200 00:09:07,917 --> 00:09:10,375 were to suddenly blurt out his real name, Eichmann, 201 00:09:10,375 --> 00:09:14,500 in the camp, it would be less likely to rouse suspicion. 202 00:09:14,500 --> 00:09:17,875 - [Amory] Eichmann knows that he can't play this game forever. 203 00:09:17,875 --> 00:09:20,875 He's gotten through a couple of interrogations undetected, 204 00:09:20,875 --> 00:09:22,750 but he knows it's only a matter of time 205 00:09:22,750 --> 00:09:26,083 before he's found out to be who he really is. 206 00:09:26,083 --> 00:09:29,792 - [Sami] He finds some SS officers in the camp 207 00:09:29,792 --> 00:09:31,875 who help him in his escape. 208 00:09:31,875 --> 00:09:35,583 He's able to forge papers that pass him off 209 00:09:35,583 --> 00:09:37,708 as a hunter in the area, 210 00:09:37,708 --> 00:09:39,833 and the SS officers in the camp 211 00:09:39,833 --> 00:09:42,208 also get him some civilian clothes. 212 00:09:42,208 --> 00:09:44,542 And one night, Eichmann is able to climb 213 00:09:44,542 --> 00:09:46,125 over a section of barbed wire fence 214 00:09:46,125 --> 00:09:49,167 that isn't viewed by any camp guards 215 00:09:49,167 --> 00:09:53,583 and he's able to make his escape into the surrounding woods. 216 00:09:53,583 --> 00:09:55,250 And there he vanishes. 217 00:09:55,250 --> 00:09:57,458 - [Amory] Authorities learned that an SS officer named 218 00:09:57,458 --> 00:10:00,042 Otto Eckmann has escaped. 219 00:10:00,042 --> 00:10:02,833 And so they interrogate all the other former SS officers 220 00:10:02,833 --> 00:10:04,083 that are in the camp. 221 00:10:04,083 --> 00:10:06,958 And those people confirm that Otto Eckmann 222 00:10:06,958 --> 00:10:09,792 actually is Adolf Eichmann. 223 00:10:09,792 --> 00:10:11,792 - [Paul] It really shows how disorganized 224 00:10:11,792 --> 00:10:14,333 the situation in Europe is at the end of '45 225 00:10:14,333 --> 00:10:15,708 and beginning of '46. 226 00:10:15,708 --> 00:10:17,167 The Allies wind up realizing 227 00:10:17,167 --> 00:10:19,333 that they'd been looking for Eichmann for months, 228 00:10:19,333 --> 00:10:21,542 when in reality he was hiding right underneath their nose 229 00:10:21,542 --> 00:10:23,625 inside one of their own compounds. 230 00:10:23,625 --> 00:10:25,250 And so, it's a little embarrassing, 231 00:10:25,250 --> 00:10:26,958 it's a little frustrating, 232 00:10:26,958 --> 00:10:29,583 but it also means that they're pretty hot on his tail. 233 00:10:34,625 --> 00:10:35,917 - In the wake of World War II, 234 00:10:35,917 --> 00:10:38,250 the Nuremberg Military Tribunal declared the SS 235 00:10:38,250 --> 00:10:39,875 a criminal organization, 236 00:10:39,875 --> 00:10:43,042 citing its direct involvement in war atrocities. 237 00:10:43,042 --> 00:10:44,750 The Allied powers would go on 238 00:10:44,750 --> 00:10:47,958 to arrest hundreds of SS officials. 239 00:10:47,958 --> 00:10:51,667 But as of 1946, one of the most notorious of these 240 00:10:51,667 --> 00:10:55,417 is still missing, Adolf Eichmann. 241 00:10:55,417 --> 00:10:57,625 - [Christina] It's not just Allied officials 242 00:10:57,625 --> 00:10:59,208 who are searching for Eichmann. 243 00:10:59,208 --> 00:11:02,917 We also have the Haganah, the Jewish intelligence services 244 00:11:02,917 --> 00:11:05,542 that ultimately became the IDF 245 00:11:05,542 --> 00:11:08,667 once the Israeli state was established. 246 00:11:08,667 --> 00:11:10,042 - The Haganah tried to find Eichmann 247 00:11:10,042 --> 00:11:12,667 by assembling this team of five operatives 248 00:11:12,667 --> 00:11:14,375 that are gonna track his family. 249 00:11:14,375 --> 00:11:17,375 They launched this much more elaborate investigation 250 00:11:17,375 --> 00:11:18,708 than the Allied forces had. 251 00:11:18,708 --> 00:11:20,125 [dramatic music] 252 00:11:20,125 --> 00:11:22,250 - [Laurence] The team travels to Austria, 253 00:11:22,250 --> 00:11:25,875 and after months of searching, locates the current homes 254 00:11:25,875 --> 00:11:29,292 of Eichmann's wife and brother Otto. 255 00:11:29,292 --> 00:11:30,875 - As the members of Haganah 256 00:11:30,875 --> 00:11:32,875 start tracking Vera and her brother-in-law, 257 00:11:32,875 --> 00:11:35,208 what they discover is the two of them 258 00:11:35,208 --> 00:11:39,625 regularly take train trips out to the Austrian countryside, 259 00:11:39,625 --> 00:11:42,083 basically between Linz and Salzburg. 260 00:11:42,083 --> 00:11:45,167 They always travel separately but arrive at the same time, 261 00:11:45,167 --> 00:11:48,375 and they then walk into the forest essentially 262 00:11:48,375 --> 00:11:51,917 to a two-story house that's kind of camouflaged 263 00:11:51,917 --> 00:11:54,167 from casual observation. 264 00:11:54,167 --> 00:11:56,208 - [Kevin] The team investigates the house 265 00:11:56,208 --> 00:11:58,917 and what they find is there's four men living in it 266 00:11:58,917 --> 00:12:00,542 and they never come out. 267 00:12:00,542 --> 00:12:03,208 But every night, an individual comes to the door 268 00:12:03,208 --> 00:12:04,542 and brings them food. 269 00:12:04,542 --> 00:12:07,042 The five-man team, from a distance, 270 00:12:07,042 --> 00:12:08,167 sees one of these figures 271 00:12:08,167 --> 00:12:09,958 that they think looks like Eichmann, 272 00:12:09,958 --> 00:12:11,875 but they really can't tell. 273 00:12:11,875 --> 00:12:14,833 They theorize that this is why Vera and his brother 274 00:12:14,833 --> 00:12:17,375 are coming, and staying, and visiting for a while. 275 00:12:19,125 --> 00:12:21,667 - [Laurence] Sensing they may have found their man, 276 00:12:21,667 --> 00:12:24,292 the operatives stage a raid on the chalet. 277 00:12:25,500 --> 00:12:27,083 - [Paul] One night, while the men are having dinner 278 00:12:27,083 --> 00:12:30,708 inside this house, five members of Haganah approach. 279 00:12:30,708 --> 00:12:34,125 Two of them kick in the door while the other ones pull guns 280 00:12:34,125 --> 00:12:36,375 on the men inside this secluded home. 281 00:12:36,375 --> 00:12:37,875 They single out the individual 282 00:12:37,875 --> 00:12:39,875 that they think might be Adolf Eichmann 283 00:12:39,875 --> 00:12:42,042 and they remove him from the house. 284 00:12:42,042 --> 00:12:43,542 - [Sami] The operatives are shouting questions 285 00:12:43,542 --> 00:12:45,708 at the man that they're convinced is Adolf Eichmann, 286 00:12:45,708 --> 00:12:46,667 but the man is telling them, 287 00:12:46,667 --> 00:12:47,708 "I'm not Adolf Eichmann. 288 00:12:47,708 --> 00:12:49,667 My name is Wolfgang Bauer. 289 00:12:49,667 --> 00:12:51,083 But after a bit of time, 290 00:12:51,083 --> 00:12:54,500 Bauer reveals that he actually was an SS officer, 291 00:12:54,500 --> 00:12:57,458 but he's still not the man that they're looking for. 292 00:12:58,833 --> 00:13:01,417 - [Amory] He's not Eichmann, but he knows Eichmann. 293 00:13:01,417 --> 00:13:03,458 He served with Eichmann. 294 00:13:03,458 --> 00:13:05,667 And he was actually part of the Einsatzgruppen 295 00:13:05,667 --> 00:13:07,917 that Eichmann oversaw. 296 00:13:07,917 --> 00:13:11,583 This was this mobile death squad that came in 297 00:13:11,583 --> 00:13:14,875 and exterminated Jews, usually by shooting them. 298 00:13:14,875 --> 00:13:17,292 They killed millions of people. 299 00:13:17,292 --> 00:13:19,292 [dramatic music] 300 00:13:19,292 --> 00:13:21,875 - [Laurence] Still convinced the man is Eichmann himself, 301 00:13:21,875 --> 00:13:24,875 the operatives drag him out into a waiting car 302 00:13:24,875 --> 00:13:27,958 and drive him deeper into the woods. 303 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:31,042 - [Kevin] They say, "If you're not Eichmann, 304 00:13:31,042 --> 00:13:33,375 why are Eichmann's wife and brother 305 00:13:33,375 --> 00:13:35,125 continually visiting you?" 306 00:13:35,125 --> 00:13:37,125 And his only answer is that they were friends 307 00:13:37,125 --> 00:13:39,958 with the owner of the chalet where they were staying. 308 00:13:39,958 --> 00:13:42,208 - [Sami] They continue peppering him with questions. 309 00:13:42,208 --> 00:13:43,583 One of the operatives is pointing a gun 310 00:13:43,583 --> 00:13:44,875 directly at his chest, 311 00:13:44,875 --> 00:13:47,375 and Bauer basically just laughs at the operatives 312 00:13:47,375 --> 00:13:51,250 and he tells them, "All you can do is kill me." 313 00:13:52,208 --> 00:13:54,208 So, that's what the operatives do. 314 00:13:54,208 --> 00:13:57,167 They pump bullets into his chest, 315 00:13:57,167 --> 00:13:59,542 and they bury him in a shallow grave, 316 00:13:59,542 --> 00:14:01,708 and then later the Haganah go back to their superiors 317 00:14:01,708 --> 00:14:03,208 and they tell them 318 00:14:03,208 --> 00:14:05,958 that they have successfully killed Adolf Eichmann. 319 00:14:05,958 --> 00:14:08,958 [dramatic music] 320 00:14:10,875 --> 00:14:12,083 - [Paul] Nobody's quite sure 321 00:14:12,208 --> 00:14:14,208 what to think about the Eichmann situation. 322 00:14:14,208 --> 00:14:15,792 There are some that are convinced 323 00:14:15,792 --> 00:14:17,875 that Haganah had gotten the wrong man, 324 00:14:17,875 --> 00:14:19,583 that in fact the individual they shot 325 00:14:19,583 --> 00:14:22,833 really was Wolfgang Bauer and he was telling the truth. 326 00:14:22,833 --> 00:14:24,583 He wasn't Eichmann. 327 00:14:24,583 --> 00:14:26,208 - [Sami] Others, on the other hand, are convinced 328 00:14:26,208 --> 00:14:29,208 that Adolf Eichmann is killed by the Haganah 329 00:14:29,208 --> 00:14:31,875 and it's officially over, case closed. 330 00:14:31,875 --> 00:14:33,500 As for the Allied forces, 331 00:14:34,583 --> 00:14:37,292 they're not as worried anymore 332 00:14:37,292 --> 00:14:39,667 about looking for Nazi war criminals 333 00:14:39,667 --> 00:14:41,042 considering that by 1947, 334 00:14:41,042 --> 00:14:43,667 the Allied forces are dealing with, in their minds, 335 00:14:43,667 --> 00:14:47,375 a much bigger deal, which is the burgeoning Cold War. 336 00:14:47,375 --> 00:14:49,708 - [Laurence] One man still in pursuit 337 00:14:49,708 --> 00:14:54,417 is an Austrian holocaust survivor named Simon Wiesenthal, 338 00:14:54,417 --> 00:14:59,167 who's dedicated his life to hunting down Nazi war criminals. 339 00:14:59,167 --> 00:15:00,500 - [Paul] Wiesenthal becomes convinced 340 00:15:00,500 --> 00:15:03,875 that the Haganah victim was not Eichmann, 341 00:15:03,875 --> 00:15:05,958 that this individual was someone else 342 00:15:05,958 --> 00:15:07,792 who might have been connected to him. 343 00:15:07,792 --> 00:15:09,667 In fact, Wiesenthal is fairly frustrated 344 00:15:09,667 --> 00:15:11,542 that they shot the individual 345 00:15:11,542 --> 00:15:14,167 rather than bringing him in for deeper interrogation 346 00:15:14,167 --> 00:15:16,708 because he might have been able to offer some clues 347 00:15:16,708 --> 00:15:18,792 as to Eichmann's actual whereabouts. 348 00:15:18,792 --> 00:15:20,750 But he has to work with the materials 349 00:15:20,750 --> 00:15:21,958 that are available to him. 350 00:15:21,958 --> 00:15:23,833 So, he begins at the beginning 351 00:15:23,833 --> 00:15:25,792 and he starts looking at the individuals 352 00:15:25,792 --> 00:15:27,333 that were closest to Eichmann. 353 00:15:28,542 --> 00:15:30,417 - [Laurence] Working with other investigators, 354 00:15:30,417 --> 00:15:33,625 Wiesenthal is able to source a photo of Eichmann, 355 00:15:33,625 --> 00:15:37,667 finally putting a face to the notorious Nazi criminal. 356 00:15:38,875 --> 00:15:42,417 - [Amory] In December of 1947, Wiesenthal is called to Austria, 357 00:15:42,417 --> 00:15:46,125 to the US CIC headquarters, for an urgent meeting. 358 00:15:46,125 --> 00:15:49,250 He's told there that Eichmann's wife Vera 359 00:15:49,250 --> 00:15:50,875 has just put in an application 360 00:15:50,875 --> 00:15:54,208 to have her husband legally declared dead. 361 00:15:54,208 --> 00:15:55,375 Now she says she does this 362 00:15:55,375 --> 00:15:57,292 in the interest of their children. 363 00:15:57,292 --> 00:15:59,708 But if he is in fact declared dead, 364 00:15:59,708 --> 00:16:02,875 the warrants that are out on Eichmann will disappear. 365 00:16:02,875 --> 00:16:05,667 The search for him will officially be over. 366 00:16:05,667 --> 00:16:08,542 - [Christina] And the proof of the death is that there is a 367 00:16:08,542 --> 00:16:10,875 report coming from a government officer 368 00:16:10,875 --> 00:16:13,875 in Czechoslovakia named Lucas 369 00:16:13,875 --> 00:16:16,167 that he witnessed Eichmann being killed 370 00:16:16,167 --> 00:16:20,000 by a Soviet firing squad at the end of World War II. 371 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:22,958 [dramatic music] 372 00:16:24,500 --> 00:16:26,542 [dramatic music] 373 00:16:26,542 --> 00:16:29,875 - [Sami] Paul Lucas swears in an affidavit that Eichmann, 374 00:16:29,875 --> 00:16:33,083 along with other Nazis, were apprehended by the Red Army. 375 00:16:33,083 --> 00:16:35,708 They were lined up shoulder to shoulder 376 00:16:35,708 --> 00:16:39,375 and executed on April 30th, 1945 377 00:16:39,375 --> 00:16:41,375 by members of the Soviet Army. 378 00:16:42,667 --> 00:16:44,583 - [Amory] Wiesenthal is not buying it. 379 00:16:44,583 --> 00:16:47,208 He has interviewed people in the POW camps 380 00:16:47,208 --> 00:16:51,875 who said that they saw Eichmann after April of 1945. 381 00:16:51,875 --> 00:16:53,208 And he starts thinking 382 00:16:53,208 --> 00:16:55,375 Vera has probably submitted this application 383 00:16:55,375 --> 00:16:58,458 as an attempt to end the hunt for her husband. 384 00:16:59,417 --> 00:17:01,375 - [Paul] Wiesenthal petitions the court 385 00:17:01,375 --> 00:17:03,333 to essentially postpone the decision 386 00:17:03,333 --> 00:17:05,375 about whether Eichmann was alive or dead. 387 00:17:05,375 --> 00:17:07,708 Wiesenthal thinks that given a little bit of time, 388 00:17:07,708 --> 00:17:10,500 he can actually prove that Eichmann is still alive. 389 00:17:10,500 --> 00:17:12,500 - [Kevin] He sends investigators to Prague 390 00:17:12,500 --> 00:17:15,625 to both find out more evidence on Eichmann 391 00:17:15,625 --> 00:17:19,292 and also to basically check the background on Lucas. 392 00:17:19,292 --> 00:17:21,250 So, this investigation is three years 393 00:17:21,250 --> 00:17:23,167 after this alleged shooting, 394 00:17:23,167 --> 00:17:26,042 so there's really no evidence to be found there. 395 00:17:26,042 --> 00:17:29,167 But what Wiesenthal's researchers do find, 396 00:17:29,167 --> 00:17:30,875 that's rather fascinating, 397 00:17:30,875 --> 00:17:33,542 is that Lucas is married to Vera's sister. 398 00:17:33,542 --> 00:17:35,375 [dramatic music] 399 00:17:35,375 --> 00:17:38,792 - [Paul] When Wiesenthal approaches the judge and points 400 00:17:38,792 --> 00:17:41,625 out that the star witness suggesting that Eichmann 401 00:17:41,625 --> 00:17:45,042 was dead is actually married to his wife's sister, 402 00:17:45,042 --> 00:17:47,083 the judge is mortified because that's something 403 00:17:47,083 --> 00:17:48,958 that the witness should have revealed 404 00:17:48,958 --> 00:17:50,500 at the very beginning of the discussion. 405 00:17:50,500 --> 00:17:52,417 Ultimately, the judge throws the case out. 406 00:17:52,417 --> 00:17:54,417 He can't rule Eichmann dead 407 00:17:54,417 --> 00:17:57,125 on the basis of individuals testifying 408 00:17:57,125 --> 00:18:00,083 who had a vested interest in an outcome. 409 00:18:00,083 --> 00:18:01,542 - [Sami] So, to Wiesenthal, 410 00:18:01,542 --> 00:18:04,417 this pretty much confirms his suspicions. 411 00:18:04,417 --> 00:18:08,375 Eichmann is still alive and doing whatever he can 412 00:18:08,375 --> 00:18:11,250 to elude the long arm of justice. 413 00:18:11,250 --> 00:18:15,333 So, Eichmann could presumably be anywhere. 414 00:18:19,958 --> 00:18:23,250 - [Laurence] By 1950, with the Cold War heating up, 415 00:18:23,250 --> 00:18:25,250 the Allied powers are less focused 416 00:18:25,250 --> 00:18:28,417 on hunting Nazi war criminals. 417 00:18:28,417 --> 00:18:30,958 But it remains risky for Nazi fugitives, 418 00:18:30,958 --> 00:18:32,750 even those with fake identities, 419 00:18:32,750 --> 00:18:36,208 to pass through border checkpoints and escape Europe. 420 00:18:37,208 --> 00:18:39,667 Nazi hunters like Simon Wiesenthal 421 00:18:39,667 --> 00:18:42,833 have no idea if Eichmann is still in Germany 422 00:18:42,833 --> 00:18:46,208 or could have escaped thousands of miles away. 423 00:18:46,208 --> 00:18:47,833 [pensive music] 424 00:18:47,833 --> 00:18:50,708 - [Paul] In a major surprise to Western powers, 425 00:18:50,708 --> 00:18:51,958 some of the former Nazis 426 00:18:51,958 --> 00:18:55,042 are actually gaining assistance escaping Europe 427 00:18:55,042 --> 00:18:56,917 thanks to the Catholic church. 428 00:18:56,917 --> 00:19:02,125 The Catholic Church sees the Nazis as one of the great ways 429 00:19:02,125 --> 00:19:04,833 to fight against the evils of communism. 430 00:19:04,833 --> 00:19:07,750 - [Sami] There are still plenty of fascist sympathizers 431 00:19:07,750 --> 00:19:09,375 after World War II, 432 00:19:09,375 --> 00:19:13,333 and they start creating these secret routes via safe houses 433 00:19:13,333 --> 00:19:17,042 that are called ratlines as a way to help Nazis 434 00:19:17,042 --> 00:19:19,333 escape to safer areas. 435 00:19:19,333 --> 00:19:20,917 And the Catholic church plays a role in this 436 00:19:20,917 --> 00:19:24,750 because some of these ratlines, some of these safe houses, 437 00:19:24,750 --> 00:19:28,500 are monasteries that exist in places like Germany, 438 00:19:28,500 --> 00:19:31,542 Austria, Switzerland, Spain, and Italy. 439 00:19:31,542 --> 00:19:33,417 - [Katherine] You have a number of cardinals 440 00:19:33,417 --> 00:19:37,458 and a number of upper level Catholic administrators 441 00:19:37,458 --> 00:19:39,542 who are sympathetic to the Nazis, 442 00:19:39,542 --> 00:19:41,375 not because of their anti-Jewish stance, 443 00:19:41,375 --> 00:19:44,125 but because they saw them as an ally 444 00:19:44,125 --> 00:19:45,708 in the fight against communism, 445 00:19:45,708 --> 00:19:50,583 which they saw as much worse than even Nazism. 446 00:19:50,583 --> 00:19:52,833 - [Kevin] Italy is vital to all this because in Rome, 447 00:19:52,833 --> 00:19:56,375 there's a Catholic bishop named Alois Hudal 448 00:19:56,375 --> 00:19:58,708 who was very pro-Nazi, 449 00:19:58,708 --> 00:20:01,667 and he's got the ability to make the fake papers 450 00:20:01,667 --> 00:20:04,417 to get these former Nazis out of Europe. 451 00:20:05,708 --> 00:20:07,833 - [Amory] These papers are accepted by the Red Cross, 452 00:20:07,833 --> 00:20:09,375 no questions asked. 453 00:20:09,375 --> 00:20:12,667 The Red Cross is really overseeing the flow of refugees. 454 00:20:12,667 --> 00:20:15,708 And so these former Nazis and SS officers 455 00:20:15,708 --> 00:20:19,292 are basically able to just blend in with other refugees 456 00:20:19,292 --> 00:20:20,875 and being able to get out the country. 457 00:20:20,875 --> 00:20:22,292 [pensive music] 458 00:20:22,292 --> 00:20:24,167 - [Laurence] By the early 1950s, 459 00:20:24,167 --> 00:20:26,375 investigators believe it's possible Eichmann 460 00:20:26,375 --> 00:20:29,417 has taken advantage of the ratlines. 461 00:20:30,625 --> 00:20:32,917 - [Katherine] About 90% of these Nazis escaped Europe 462 00:20:32,917 --> 00:20:35,500 through Italy or Spain, 463 00:20:35,500 --> 00:20:38,833 and they were on their way, most of them, to South America. 464 00:20:38,833 --> 00:20:42,500 Argentina is a safe haven for these Germans. 465 00:20:42,500 --> 00:20:45,708 - [Amory] President Juan Perón was a close ally of Hitler's 466 00:20:45,708 --> 00:20:46,875 during the war. 467 00:20:46,875 --> 00:20:50,000 So, Hudal knew exactly who he was helping here. 468 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:52,542 He writes to Perón actually in 1948 469 00:20:52,542 --> 00:20:57,250 and asks for 5,000 visas to help Nazis escape. 470 00:20:57,250 --> 00:20:59,208 So, Argentina seems like a good place 471 00:20:59,208 --> 00:21:01,708 to try to start looking for Eichmann. 472 00:21:01,708 --> 00:21:04,458 [dramatic music] 473 00:21:06,375 --> 00:21:08,542 [pensive music] 474 00:21:08,542 --> 00:21:10,875 - [Sami] There are rumors that start to circulate 475 00:21:10,875 --> 00:21:15,125 that by the 1950s, Eichmann has fled to Argentina 476 00:21:15,125 --> 00:21:16,292 and has started a life there. 477 00:21:16,292 --> 00:21:18,167 Now, for the most part, 478 00:21:18,167 --> 00:21:21,625 the newly formed West German government 479 00:21:21,625 --> 00:21:24,375 largely ignores a lot of these rumors, 480 00:21:24,375 --> 00:21:26,375 but there's one prosecutor 481 00:21:26,375 --> 00:21:28,792 that just will not let this information go. 482 00:21:28,792 --> 00:21:32,333 He's a German Jewish prosecutor by the name of Fritz Bauer. 483 00:21:32,333 --> 00:21:34,542 [dramatic music] 484 00:21:34,542 --> 00:21:37,125 - [Paul] He and his family had fled from German persecution 485 00:21:37,125 --> 00:21:39,583 early on in the Third Reich, 486 00:21:39,583 --> 00:21:42,792 so he escaped some of the worst evils of the Holocaust. 487 00:21:42,792 --> 00:21:46,375 But when he returns to Germany in the post-war era, 488 00:21:46,375 --> 00:21:49,792 he's determined to set some of the wrongs right. 489 00:21:49,792 --> 00:21:52,208 Bauer can't be too open with what he's up to 490 00:21:52,208 --> 00:21:55,375 because he doesn't know who in the German hierarchy 491 00:21:55,375 --> 00:21:57,500 might be sympathetic to those individuals 492 00:21:57,500 --> 00:21:59,167 and might tip them off 493 00:21:59,167 --> 00:22:01,375 to the possibility of their discovery. 494 00:22:01,375 --> 00:22:03,542 - [Laurence] In September, 1957, 495 00:22:03,542 --> 00:22:06,958 Bauer receives a letter from Lothar Hermann, 496 00:22:06,958 --> 00:22:09,792 a blind attorney living in Argentina. 497 00:22:11,375 --> 00:22:13,292 - [Kevin] Hermann is one of the German expats 498 00:22:13,292 --> 00:22:14,875 living in Argentina. 499 00:22:14,875 --> 00:22:18,458 He's Jewish and part of a rather large Jewish population. 500 00:22:18,458 --> 00:22:21,542 Even though Perón is really anti-Semitic, 501 00:22:21,542 --> 00:22:24,292 there's a population of about 400,000 Jews 502 00:22:24,292 --> 00:22:26,250 living in Argentina. 503 00:22:26,250 --> 00:22:28,542 - [Sami] Hermann is a survivor 504 00:22:28,542 --> 00:22:32,333 of one of the most notorious concentration camps 505 00:22:32,333 --> 00:22:34,667 of World War II, Dachau. 506 00:22:34,667 --> 00:22:36,625 In fact, he endured such vicious beatings 507 00:22:36,625 --> 00:22:38,542 during his time at the camp 508 00:22:38,542 --> 00:22:41,083 that he actually lost his eyesight. 509 00:22:41,083 --> 00:22:43,750 - [Amory] He immigrates to Argentina in 1938 510 00:22:43,750 --> 00:22:45,708 with his wife and his daughter. 511 00:22:45,708 --> 00:22:49,917 In 1956, he's living in a suburb of Buenos Aires 512 00:22:49,917 --> 00:22:51,167 with his family. 513 00:22:51,167 --> 00:22:53,667 And his daughter Silvia is dating 514 00:22:53,667 --> 00:22:57,750 this young German expat named Nick. 515 00:22:59,500 --> 00:23:00,667 - [Kevin] So, one night, while having dinner 516 00:23:00,667 --> 00:23:02,667 over at the Hermann's house, 517 00:23:02,667 --> 00:23:04,833 young Nick says that his dad 518 00:23:04,833 --> 00:23:08,583 was a high official in the Wehrmacht, the German army. 519 00:23:08,583 --> 00:23:11,875 Nick has no idea that he's talking to a Jewish family. 520 00:23:11,875 --> 00:23:15,083 The Hermanns do not publicize the fact that they're Jewish. 521 00:23:15,083 --> 00:23:18,500 So, he just keeps talking and talking and eventually says, 522 00:23:18,500 --> 00:23:20,375 "It's a shame the Nazis were never able 523 00:23:20,375 --> 00:23:23,583 to complete their mission of extermination." 524 00:23:23,583 --> 00:23:26,125 - [Katherine] The Hermann family just sits quietly. 525 00:23:26,125 --> 00:23:27,750 The father doesn't say anything. 526 00:23:27,750 --> 00:23:30,500 He's used to hearing anti-Semitic comments. 527 00:23:30,500 --> 00:23:33,708 He knows that this is just how it goes sometimes. 528 00:23:33,708 --> 00:23:36,708 He's disappointed that his daughter is 529 00:23:36,708 --> 00:23:39,542 dating him, I'm sure, but he just lets it go. 530 00:23:39,542 --> 00:23:41,542 A few months later, the Hermann family 531 00:23:41,542 --> 00:23:45,167 move a couple of hundred miles away to another town 532 00:23:45,167 --> 00:23:47,708 and the boyfriend is forgotten. 533 00:23:47,708 --> 00:23:49,917 - [Sami] One day, in April of 1957, 534 00:23:49,917 --> 00:23:53,167 Silvia is reading an article in the newspaper for her father 535 00:23:53,167 --> 00:23:54,542 about Nazi war criminals 536 00:23:54,542 --> 00:23:57,708 and she mentions the name Adolf Eichmann. 537 00:23:57,708 --> 00:24:00,375 And she says her boyfriend Nick 538 00:24:00,375 --> 00:24:03,792 said that his last name is Eichmann. 539 00:24:05,042 --> 00:24:06,833 - [Laurence] Lothar Hermann instantly remembers 540 00:24:06,833 --> 00:24:10,417 the boy's hateful comments at the dinner table. 541 00:24:10,417 --> 00:24:13,375 - [Kevin] Silvia is still in touch with Nick, 542 00:24:13,375 --> 00:24:16,125 but he's never given her his home address. 543 00:24:16,125 --> 00:24:20,042 He gives her a different address to write to, to get to him. 544 00:24:20,042 --> 00:24:23,583 And oddly enough, while Silvia and Nick were dating, 545 00:24:23,583 --> 00:24:26,375 he never invited her over to his house. 546 00:24:26,375 --> 00:24:28,750 So, Lothar immediately suspects 547 00:24:28,750 --> 00:24:31,667 that this might be Adolf Eichmann's son. 548 00:24:31,667 --> 00:24:33,833 - [Amory] They want to tell the German authorities 549 00:24:33,833 --> 00:24:35,875 or the Argentinian authorities, 550 00:24:35,875 --> 00:24:38,083 but they really can't 'cause Nazi sympathizers 551 00:24:38,083 --> 00:24:40,292 are everywhere at this point. 552 00:24:40,292 --> 00:24:42,208 So, instead, they write a letter 553 00:24:42,208 --> 00:24:45,417 to the prosecutors in Frankfurt, West Germany. 554 00:24:45,417 --> 00:24:49,167 And that's the letter that makes its way to Fritz Bauer. 555 00:24:49,167 --> 00:24:50,583 So, Bauer's intrigued. 556 00:24:50,583 --> 00:24:53,208 He knows that Eichmann's son is named Klaus, 557 00:24:53,208 --> 00:24:56,292 but in German, Klaus is actually short for Nicholas. 558 00:24:56,292 --> 00:25:00,042 So, this seems promising, but he needs more information, 559 00:25:00,042 --> 00:25:01,750 such as an address. 560 00:25:02,875 --> 00:25:06,917 - [Sami] Lothar and Silvia take a 10-hour train ride 561 00:25:06,917 --> 00:25:11,250 from their home back to the suburb of Olivos. 562 00:25:11,250 --> 00:25:13,083 And they pretty much spend the day 563 00:25:13,083 --> 00:25:15,167 just walking around the town 564 00:25:15,167 --> 00:25:20,167 until Silvia runs into a mutual friend of hers and Nick's 565 00:25:20,167 --> 00:25:22,917 that tells her where Nick's house is. 566 00:25:22,917 --> 00:25:23,875 So, he gives her the address. 567 00:25:27,792 --> 00:25:30,792 - In 1957, teenager Silvia Hermann 568 00:25:30,792 --> 00:25:35,875 and her father Lothar are convinced 569 00:25:37,208 --> 00:25:38,167 Cynthia's old boyfriend is the son of Nazi war criminal 570 00:25:38,167 --> 00:25:40,208 Adolf Eichmann. 571 00:25:40,208 --> 00:25:44,625 They've tracked him to the Olivo suburb of Buenos Aires 572 00:25:44,625 --> 00:25:46,875 but need to confirm his identity 573 00:25:46,875 --> 00:25:49,208 before passing it along to the authorities. 574 00:25:49,208 --> 00:25:50,875 [dramatic music] 575 00:25:50,875 --> 00:25:52,333 - [Amory] Silvia goes to the house. 576 00:25:52,458 --> 00:25:56,000 The door is answered by a woman who reluctantly lets her in. 577 00:25:56,000 --> 00:25:59,042 There is a middle-aged man in glasses. 578 00:25:59,042 --> 00:26:02,333 And she thinks that he looks like the guy in the picture 579 00:26:02,333 --> 00:26:05,292 that Fritz Bauer had sent to her of Adolf Eichmann, 580 00:26:05,292 --> 00:26:06,542 but she's not totally sure. 581 00:26:06,542 --> 00:26:08,250 So, she asks him. 582 00:26:08,250 --> 00:26:10,292 She says, "Are you Mr. Eichmann? 583 00:26:10,292 --> 00:26:12,167 Are you Nick's father?" 584 00:26:12,167 --> 00:26:15,083 And he sort of tersely responds, "No, I'm his uncle." 585 00:26:16,167 --> 00:26:18,458 So, she sits down and just strikes up 586 00:26:18,458 --> 00:26:20,500 a pleasant conversation with him. 587 00:26:20,500 --> 00:26:22,208 [dramatic music] 588 00:26:22,208 --> 00:26:24,417 - [Katherine] Nick comes home shortly thereafter 589 00:26:24,417 --> 00:26:26,042 and sees Silvia. 590 00:26:26,042 --> 00:26:27,333 He says, "What are you doing here?" 591 00:26:27,333 --> 00:26:29,292 "Oh, I just stopped to say hi. 592 00:26:29,292 --> 00:26:30,875 I have to go, I have to go." 593 00:26:30,875 --> 00:26:33,333 The middle aged man wearing glasses, 594 00:26:33,333 --> 00:26:35,542 who has claimed to be the uncle, 595 00:26:35,542 --> 00:26:37,917 stands up to walk her to the door, and Nick says, 596 00:26:37,917 --> 00:26:41,458 "No, father, I can walk her to the door myself." 597 00:26:41,458 --> 00:26:42,875 [dramatic music] 598 00:26:42,875 --> 00:26:45,250 - [Sami] So, it would seem that the Hermanns 599 00:26:45,250 --> 00:26:49,542 have stumbled on something pretty suspicious. 600 00:26:49,542 --> 00:26:51,500 The fact that it took all this time 601 00:26:51,500 --> 00:26:53,833 to figure out Nick's address, 602 00:26:53,833 --> 00:26:56,208 why was he being so cagey about where he lives, 603 00:26:56,208 --> 00:26:59,250 and then when Silvia arrives to the house, 604 00:26:59,250 --> 00:27:02,500 the woman that answers the door reluctantly lets her in, 605 00:27:02,500 --> 00:27:05,083 the man claims to be Nick's uncle, 606 00:27:05,083 --> 00:27:07,875 but then Nick refers to him as father, 607 00:27:07,875 --> 00:27:11,375 something just is not adding up in this situation. 608 00:27:11,375 --> 00:27:13,042 [pensive music] 609 00:27:13,042 --> 00:27:16,083 - [Paul] Although Fritz Bauer is intrigued, he's got a problem. 610 00:27:16,083 --> 00:27:19,250 He can't really rely on German or Argentinian authorities 611 00:27:19,250 --> 00:27:20,875 to follow up on this information. 612 00:27:20,875 --> 00:27:23,042 There's just too many Nazi sympathizers 613 00:27:23,042 --> 00:27:25,667 within both of those populations. 614 00:27:25,667 --> 00:27:27,208 So, instead, he turns 615 00:27:27,208 --> 00:27:30,625 to the new Israeli intelligence service, the Mossad. 616 00:27:31,708 --> 00:27:33,042 - [Katherine] The Mossad go to the house 617 00:27:33,042 --> 00:27:34,708 the Hermanns had told them about. 618 00:27:34,708 --> 00:27:35,917 But when they get there, 619 00:27:35,917 --> 00:27:37,833 they don't think it's the right address. 620 00:27:37,833 --> 00:27:40,625 It is ramshackle, it's worn out, 621 00:27:40,625 --> 00:27:43,042 and they just can't believe that an SS officer 622 00:27:43,042 --> 00:27:48,083 of the rank and fortune of Eichmann would be living there. 623 00:27:48,792 --> 00:27:50,208 As they watched the house, 624 00:27:50,208 --> 00:27:52,042 they just don't see anybody coming and going 625 00:27:52,042 --> 00:27:54,000 that matches Eichmann's description. 626 00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:55,083 So, they're pretty certain 627 00:27:55,083 --> 00:27:57,125 this is a case of mistaken identity. 628 00:27:58,042 --> 00:28:00,875 - [Amory] The Mossad let the tip go. 629 00:28:00,875 --> 00:28:03,333 The Hermanns, though, they don't wanna let this go. 630 00:28:03,333 --> 00:28:07,500 So, in April of 1958, they're going through public records 631 00:28:07,500 --> 00:28:08,792 and they find out that the home 632 00:28:08,792 --> 00:28:12,042 is owned by a guy named Francisco Schmidt. 633 00:28:12,042 --> 00:28:14,542 And they think that this is just the latest alias 634 00:28:14,542 --> 00:28:16,208 of Adolf Eichmann. 635 00:28:16,208 --> 00:28:18,542 And so they go back to the Mossad and they say, 636 00:28:18,542 --> 00:28:20,625 "Look into Francisco Schmidt." 637 00:28:20,625 --> 00:28:22,208 And they do. 638 00:28:22,208 --> 00:28:24,792 And they say, "There's no way that Francisco Schmidt 639 00:28:24,792 --> 00:28:26,958 is actually Adolf Eichmann." 640 00:28:26,958 --> 00:28:31,333 So, at this point, they pause their contact with the Hermanns 641 00:28:31,333 --> 00:28:32,583 because they just think 642 00:28:32,583 --> 00:28:35,333 that they're full of unreliable information. 643 00:28:35,333 --> 00:28:38,208 - [Kevin] A year later, in August of 1959, 644 00:28:38,208 --> 00:28:41,625 an independent Nazi investigator, Tuviah Friedman, 645 00:28:41,625 --> 00:28:43,333 says that he's been in contact 646 00:28:43,333 --> 00:28:46,083 with some high government officials in Germany 647 00:28:46,083 --> 00:28:49,417 and they've told him that Eichmann is not in Argentina, 648 00:28:49,417 --> 00:28:50,708 he's in Kuwait. 649 00:28:50,708 --> 00:28:53,458 [dramatic music] 650 00:28:55,208 --> 00:28:56,750 [pensive music] 651 00:28:56,750 --> 00:28:58,375 - [Amory] Now, Kuwait at this time 652 00:28:58,375 --> 00:29:01,292 is this sort of obscure British territory. 653 00:29:01,292 --> 00:29:04,458 There's only about 300,000 people living there. 654 00:29:04,458 --> 00:29:06,000 North Africa and the Middle East 655 00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:09,167 are actually very popular destinations for ex-Nazis. 656 00:29:09,167 --> 00:29:11,042 - [Sami] Friedman immediately contacts 657 00:29:11,042 --> 00:29:12,708 the Israeli Defense Ministry 658 00:29:12,708 --> 00:29:15,667 and he says that Eichmann is in Kuwait. 659 00:29:15,667 --> 00:29:18,375 You should send some agents over there to go pick him up. 660 00:29:18,375 --> 00:29:22,708 But the ministry pretty much ignores Friedman entirely. 661 00:29:24,708 --> 00:29:26,208 - [Kevin] Israel is a brand new country 662 00:29:26,208 --> 00:29:29,167 and has a long list of security priorities. 663 00:29:29,167 --> 00:29:31,000 And Friedman realizes that Eichmann 664 00:29:31,000 --> 00:29:32,667 is not really the top of the list 665 00:29:32,667 --> 00:29:34,042 or maybe even the middle of it. 666 00:29:34,042 --> 00:29:36,167 But he's not gonna give up. 667 00:29:36,167 --> 00:29:39,917 So, Friedman contacts an Israeli newspapermen and says, 668 00:29:39,917 --> 00:29:41,958 "Have I got a scoop for you. 669 00:29:41,958 --> 00:29:45,375 Adolf Eichmann, the former Nazi, is living in Kuwait." 670 00:29:45,375 --> 00:29:46,958 [pensive music] 671 00:29:46,958 --> 00:29:48,542 - [Paul] Friedman suddenly becomes an international 672 00:29:48,542 --> 00:29:52,875 celebrity, and he uses his fame to draw attention 673 00:29:52,875 --> 00:29:55,958 to the fact that Eichmann has not been located. 674 00:29:55,958 --> 00:29:57,958 - [Kevin] Other Nazi hunters are not happy. 675 00:29:57,958 --> 00:29:59,458 They believe it's gonna do nothing 676 00:29:59,458 --> 00:30:03,125 but drive Eichmann either underground or out of Kuwait. 677 00:30:04,208 --> 00:30:05,875 - [Laurence] No solid evidence of Eichmann 678 00:30:05,875 --> 00:30:07,875 turns up in Kuwait 679 00:30:07,875 --> 00:30:11,458 and the trail once again seems to run cold. 680 00:30:11,458 --> 00:30:15,000 - [Sami] Nevertheless, Friedman is pleased with what he did 681 00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:18,000 because now he's put Adolf Eichmann's name 682 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:20,583 in newspapers all over the world. 683 00:30:20,583 --> 00:30:23,875 And this becomes a way 684 00:30:23,875 --> 00:30:27,583 to potentially inspire not only Nazi hunters 685 00:30:27,583 --> 00:30:32,542 but actual governments to locate this Nazi war criminal 686 00:30:32,542 --> 00:30:33,542 and bring him to justice. 687 00:30:39,417 --> 00:30:40,708 - [Laurence] In late 1959, 688 00:30:40,708 --> 00:30:41,542 there's a rash of anti-Semitic activity 689 00:30:41,542 --> 00:30:43,250 throughout West Germany. 690 00:30:43,250 --> 00:30:45,250 Reportedly, swastikas are painted 691 00:30:45,250 --> 00:30:49,375 on nearly 700 Jewish sites across the country, 692 00:30:49,375 --> 00:30:52,458 along with graffiti reading, Jews out. 693 00:30:52,458 --> 00:30:55,167 It's a painful time, but the attacks 694 00:30:55,167 --> 00:30:58,042 do help galvanize all the parties 695 00:30:58,042 --> 00:31:02,917 that are or should be hunting down Nazi war criminals. 696 00:31:02,917 --> 00:31:04,708 - [Christina] It is important to acknowledge 697 00:31:04,708 --> 00:31:07,375 that there were still Nazi sympathies. 698 00:31:07,375 --> 00:31:10,208 Even though they had been defeated in World War II, 699 00:31:10,208 --> 00:31:11,375 that didn't mean 700 00:31:11,375 --> 00:31:15,208 that pro-Nazi sentiment completely disappeared. 701 00:31:15,208 --> 00:31:18,917 This can explain why it took West Germany so long 702 00:31:18,917 --> 00:31:22,250 to take the hunt for Eichmann seriously. 703 00:31:23,667 --> 00:31:25,208 - Up to this point, there has been a lot of foot dragging. 704 00:31:25,208 --> 00:31:28,000 West German intelligence has been sitting 705 00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:30,125 on a lot of evidence that Adolf Eichmann 706 00:31:30,125 --> 00:31:33,375 is alive in Argentina and living under an assumed name. 707 00:31:33,375 --> 00:31:34,542 [pensive music] 708 00:31:34,542 --> 00:31:36,667 - [Laurence] After years of pursuing Eichmann, 709 00:31:36,667 --> 00:31:41,875 West German prosecutor Fritz Bauer receives new intel 710 00:31:41,875 --> 00:31:45,833 pointing him to Eichmann's alleged alias. 711 00:31:45,833 --> 00:31:49,125 - [Amory] Bauer gets a tip from a man named Gerhard Klammer. 712 00:31:49,125 --> 00:31:51,750 And Klammer used to work for a construction company 713 00:31:51,750 --> 00:31:56,500 in Northern Argentina with a guy named Ricardo Klement. 714 00:31:56,500 --> 00:31:58,500 He's never forgotten the man's face. 715 00:31:58,500 --> 00:32:00,542 And he's seen it in news coverage 716 00:32:00,542 --> 00:32:02,167 as the years have gone by. 717 00:32:02,167 --> 00:32:05,042 And he is thoroughly convinced that Ricardo Klement 718 00:32:05,042 --> 00:32:07,583 is actually Adolf Eichmann. 719 00:32:07,583 --> 00:32:10,083 - [Katherine] Now, he was German, but he wasn't a Nazi. 720 00:32:10,083 --> 00:32:13,208 He was anti-Nazi, as so many Germans were. 721 00:32:13,208 --> 00:32:17,208 And so he spends the 1950s trying multiple times 722 00:32:17,208 --> 00:32:19,500 to notify the German government 723 00:32:19,500 --> 00:32:23,167 that Ricardo Klement is there in Argentina 724 00:32:23,167 --> 00:32:25,458 and that he is Adolf Eichmann. 725 00:32:25,458 --> 00:32:28,250 [dramatic music] 726 00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:33,625 - [Paul] In an amazing coincidence, Klammer is in 727 00:32:33,625 --> 00:32:36,458 Buenos Aires and he sees a man get off the bus 728 00:32:36,458 --> 00:32:41,083 that he recognizes as his old coworker Ricardo Klement. 729 00:32:41,083 --> 00:32:44,708 He follows the man and writes down the address 730 00:32:44,708 --> 00:32:46,208 where the man goes home. 731 00:32:46,208 --> 00:32:49,042 Finally, in December of 1959, 732 00:32:49,042 --> 00:32:50,875 we might have definitive evidence 733 00:32:50,875 --> 00:32:52,417 of where Adolf Eichmann is hiding. 734 00:32:53,875 --> 00:32:56,417 - [Sami] Klammer's findings make their way to Fritz Bauer. 735 00:32:56,417 --> 00:33:00,542 And this is when Bauer starts to slowly put together 736 00:33:00,542 --> 00:33:01,875 the pieces of this puzzle. 737 00:33:01,875 --> 00:33:04,375 He knows the name Ricardo Klement 738 00:33:04,375 --> 00:33:06,292 because that information was provided to him 739 00:33:06,292 --> 00:33:09,292 by the Hermanns when Silvia found that name registered 740 00:33:09,292 --> 00:33:12,375 on the electric meter of the house that he's living in. 741 00:33:12,375 --> 00:33:16,542 On top of that, Klammer also has a photograph of him 742 00:33:16,542 --> 00:33:18,958 and Ricardo Klement standing together. 743 00:33:18,958 --> 00:33:22,292 And when Bauer takes this photograph 744 00:33:22,292 --> 00:33:27,333 and puts it by the photo that they have of Adolf Eichmann, 745 00:33:28,333 --> 00:33:30,958 the resemblance is incredibly striking. 746 00:33:32,208 --> 00:33:33,333 - [Laurence] A few months later, 747 00:33:33,333 --> 00:33:36,333 Bauer reaches out to the Mossad. 748 00:33:36,333 --> 00:33:38,208 He knows where Eichmann is hiding. 749 00:33:38,208 --> 00:33:41,375 He just hopes it's not too late. 750 00:33:41,375 --> 00:33:44,583 - [Paul] The Mossad recognizes that they might have made a 751 00:33:44,583 --> 00:33:46,083 mistake about whether or not Eichmann 752 00:33:46,083 --> 00:33:48,292 is still alive and well in Argentina. 753 00:33:48,292 --> 00:33:52,125 In March of 1960, a new Mossad agent is sent to Argentina, 754 00:33:52,125 --> 00:33:54,292 and he starts to investigate. 755 00:33:54,292 --> 00:33:57,542 - The agent who is assigned this case is Zvi Aharoni. 756 00:33:57,542 --> 00:34:01,625 He was known as being very methodical, very unflappable. 757 00:34:01,625 --> 00:34:04,500 He could do just about any job that needed to be done. 758 00:34:04,500 --> 00:34:08,417 While he and his mother had escaped the Holocaust 759 00:34:08,417 --> 00:34:12,042 and gotten to Palestine by 1938, 760 00:34:12,042 --> 00:34:14,958 the entire rest of his family was killed. 761 00:34:14,958 --> 00:34:18,792 So, the idea that he could capture Eichmann was personal. 762 00:34:20,250 --> 00:34:22,208 - [Amory] Zvi goes to the neighborhood and checks out the 763 00:34:22,208 --> 00:34:26,042 house in Buenos Aires, only to find that Ricardo Klement 764 00:34:26,042 --> 00:34:28,208 has just recently moved out. 765 00:34:28,208 --> 00:34:31,542 There's a team of painters painting the house. 766 00:34:31,542 --> 00:34:34,833 So, Zvi finds an ally in this young Argentinian kid 767 00:34:34,833 --> 00:34:37,458 in the neighborhood who goes up to the painters 768 00:34:37,458 --> 00:34:39,375 and is trying to get the address 769 00:34:39,375 --> 00:34:42,292 of where Ricardo Klement moved. 770 00:34:42,292 --> 00:34:45,500 - [Paul] He claims to be determined to deliver a package 771 00:34:45,500 --> 00:34:48,375 to the family that had previously inhabited the home. 772 00:34:48,375 --> 00:34:50,875 And it turns out one of the workers 773 00:34:50,875 --> 00:34:54,208 is actually friends with one of the Klement family sons. 774 00:34:54,208 --> 00:34:55,958 And after a little more discussion, 775 00:34:55,958 --> 00:34:58,500 he's persuaded to provide the new address 776 00:34:58,500 --> 00:35:00,333 where the Klement family resides. 777 00:35:01,583 --> 00:35:04,125 - [Amory] This new property was purchased by Eichmann's wife 778 00:35:04,125 --> 00:35:06,167 using her maiden name. 779 00:35:06,167 --> 00:35:07,708 And they've moved to San Fernando, 780 00:35:07,708 --> 00:35:10,250 which is just outside of Buenos Aires. 781 00:35:10,250 --> 00:35:14,292 The address is 14 Garibaldi Street. 782 00:35:14,292 --> 00:35:18,875 - [Sami] Using caution, Aharoni surveils the address. 783 00:35:18,875 --> 00:35:24,167 And during his surveillance, he notices a middle-aged man 784 00:35:24,542 --> 00:35:29,417 that bears a pretty striking resemblance to Adolf Eichmann. 785 00:35:29,708 --> 00:35:32,542 And with this information, Aharoni contacts the Mossad 786 00:35:32,542 --> 00:35:36,500 and tells them, quote, "The driver is black." 787 00:35:36,500 --> 00:35:39,500 This is a code that basically tells the Mossad 788 00:35:39,500 --> 00:35:42,375 that Eichmann has been found. 789 00:35:47,333 --> 00:35:48,583 - [Laurence] In the spring of 1960, 790 00:35:48,583 --> 00:35:50,542 the war criminal investigation that began 791 00:35:50,542 --> 00:35:52,208 with a hunch from a blind attorney and 792 00:35:52,208 --> 00:35:54,208 his teenage daughter reaches the desk of Israeli Prime Minister 793 00:35:54,208 --> 00:35:59,042 David Ben-Guiron. 794 00:35:59,042 --> 00:36:00,375 - [Kevin] With this information, 795 00:36:00,375 --> 00:36:02,458 the prime minister of Israel, Ben-Gurion, 796 00:36:02,458 --> 00:36:06,167 decides to send an 11-man team of Mossad agents 797 00:36:06,167 --> 00:36:08,917 to Buenos Aires to capture Eichmann 798 00:36:08,917 --> 00:36:10,917 and bring him back to Israel. 799 00:36:10,917 --> 00:36:13,583 It's called Operation Finale. 800 00:36:13,583 --> 00:36:15,208 - [Sami] The Mossad agents run surveillance 801 00:36:15,208 --> 00:36:17,292 on Eichmann for two months. 802 00:36:17,292 --> 00:36:19,458 And they track all of his movements 803 00:36:19,458 --> 00:36:22,167 because the better they know where he goes, 804 00:36:22,167 --> 00:36:24,583 where he stops, what he does during the day, 805 00:36:24,583 --> 00:36:26,417 it'll be much easier to figure out 806 00:36:26,417 --> 00:36:27,750 when's the best time to strike. 807 00:36:27,750 --> 00:36:30,833 And they figure out he gets off the same bus 808 00:36:30,833 --> 00:36:34,083 every single day and makes this short walk to his house. 809 00:36:34,083 --> 00:36:36,208 And that's when they'll strike. 810 00:36:36,208 --> 00:36:38,833 - [Laurence] On the evening of May 11th, 1960, 811 00:36:38,833 --> 00:36:42,833 the operation unfolds like a scene from a spy novel. 812 00:36:44,417 --> 00:36:47,708 - Adolf Eichmann has become very set in his daily patterns. 813 00:36:47,708 --> 00:36:52,167 Every day, he climbs off of a city bus at 7:40 PM 814 00:36:52,167 --> 00:36:55,167 and he follows the same path to his house 815 00:36:55,167 --> 00:36:57,292 just 110 yards away. 816 00:36:58,167 --> 00:36:59,667 - [Laurence] But on this night, 817 00:36:59,667 --> 00:37:04,417 7:40 Passes and Eichmann's bus has yet to arrive. 818 00:37:04,417 --> 00:37:07,667 - Mossad operators are waiting for him near the bus stop. 819 00:37:07,667 --> 00:37:09,875 They have a limousine full of agents. 820 00:37:09,875 --> 00:37:11,875 They even have a couple of guys outside of the car 821 00:37:11,875 --> 00:37:14,792 who are sort of pretending to work under the hood. 822 00:37:14,792 --> 00:37:18,250 There's another guy in a backup car behind them. 823 00:37:18,250 --> 00:37:22,375 7:40 comes and goes, the bus doesn't come. 824 00:37:22,375 --> 00:37:23,875 So, now they're confused. 825 00:37:23,875 --> 00:37:27,250 This is not how they were expecting things to go down. 826 00:37:27,250 --> 00:37:29,000 It's getting later and later. 827 00:37:29,000 --> 00:37:32,292 And they realize, really, the longer that they sit there, 828 00:37:32,292 --> 00:37:33,542 the more likely it is 829 00:37:33,542 --> 00:37:35,167 that they're gonna get noticed by someone. 830 00:37:35,167 --> 00:37:36,625 [pensive music] 831 00:37:36,625 --> 00:37:39,208 - [Kevin] So, finally, a bus arrives. 832 00:37:39,208 --> 00:37:41,375 The agent's blood pressure rises 833 00:37:41,375 --> 00:37:43,375 as they know that this is the moment, 834 00:37:43,375 --> 00:37:44,708 but the bus doesn't stop. 835 00:37:44,708 --> 00:37:46,625 It just whizzes by. 836 00:37:46,625 --> 00:37:49,042 - [Sami] The Mossad agent's probably starting 837 00:37:49,042 --> 00:37:50,375 to get a little bit nervous. 838 00:37:50,375 --> 00:37:52,625 What if somebody tipped off Eichmann? 839 00:37:52,625 --> 00:37:54,208 So, we should abort for tonight. 840 00:37:54,208 --> 00:37:55,417 Maybe we'll try again later 841 00:37:55,417 --> 00:37:57,625 with the hopes that this operation will work. 842 00:37:58,833 --> 00:38:02,875 But then, five minutes later, at 8:05 PM, 843 00:38:02,875 --> 00:38:05,542 another bus pulls up to the bus stop. 844 00:38:05,542 --> 00:38:07,208 - [Laurence] 25 minutes late, 845 00:38:07,208 --> 00:38:10,208 their suspect steps off the bus. 846 00:38:10,208 --> 00:38:12,375 - He starts making the walk to his street. 847 00:38:12,375 --> 00:38:14,625 They're gonna let him get to his street. 848 00:38:14,625 --> 00:38:17,375 And it's there that an agent named Peter Malkin 849 00:38:17,375 --> 00:38:21,583 goes up to him and says, "Un momentito Señor?" 850 00:38:22,375 --> 00:38:24,292 And he must know something's up 851 00:38:24,292 --> 00:38:26,708 because he takes off running. 852 00:38:26,708 --> 00:38:30,625 Malkin has to go and and really tackle him to the ground. 853 00:38:30,625 --> 00:38:34,125 After a struggle, they drag him into the limousine. 854 00:38:34,125 --> 00:38:37,042 - [Kevin] And while they're in the car, he's strangely silent. 855 00:38:37,042 --> 00:38:41,583 And then suddenly, in perfect German, he says to them, 856 00:38:41,583 --> 00:38:43,708 "I am resigned to my fate." 857 00:38:43,708 --> 00:38:48,125 Now, before this, the Mossad agents were 99% sure 858 00:38:48,125 --> 00:38:49,917 this was Eichmann. 859 00:38:49,917 --> 00:38:51,708 After he says this, 860 00:38:51,708 --> 00:38:53,958 they know a hundred percent they've got their man. 861 00:38:53,958 --> 00:38:56,708 [dramatic music] 862 00:38:58,500 --> 00:39:01,417 - [Sami] For nine tense days, the Mossad agents 863 00:39:01,417 --> 00:39:03,500 keep Eichmann sequestered in a safe house 864 00:39:03,500 --> 00:39:05,417 while trying to figure out the details of his extraction. 865 00:39:05,417 --> 00:39:06,875 Because you have to understand, 866 00:39:06,875 --> 00:39:10,000 these Mossad agents are in a sovereign nation. 867 00:39:10,375 --> 00:39:14,750 They have just apprehended a citizen of that nation. 868 00:39:14,750 --> 00:39:16,042 And now they're going to try 869 00:39:16,042 --> 00:39:19,125 to extradite this person out of the country 870 00:39:19,125 --> 00:39:21,917 without the Argentinian government knowing. 871 00:39:21,917 --> 00:39:23,542 So, they have to be very, very careful 872 00:39:23,542 --> 00:39:25,208 about every step that they take 873 00:39:25,208 --> 00:39:27,375 because if something goes wrong, 874 00:39:27,375 --> 00:39:30,833 Eichmann could be allowed to stay in Argentina 875 00:39:30,833 --> 00:39:33,958 and not be extradited back to Israel. 876 00:39:33,958 --> 00:39:35,792 [pensive music] 877 00:39:35,792 --> 00:39:37,000 - [Katherine] What they end up doing could 878 00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:38,542 be a part of a movie. 879 00:39:38,542 --> 00:39:42,750 They drug him, put him in a flight crew uniform, 880 00:39:42,750 --> 00:39:44,208 and take him to the airport. 881 00:39:44,208 --> 00:39:47,708 They drag him along as if he's just some drunk pilot 882 00:39:47,708 --> 00:39:49,625 that they're gonna put on the plane. 883 00:39:49,625 --> 00:39:52,250 They're very nonchalant, laughing about this. 884 00:39:52,250 --> 00:39:54,750 Here's this drunk pilot, no big deal. 885 00:39:54,750 --> 00:39:58,333 This isn't Adolf Eichmann, the architect of the Holocaust. 886 00:39:58,333 --> 00:40:00,625 This isn't a prisoner who we've drugged. 887 00:40:00,625 --> 00:40:02,958 This is just some drunk flight crew member 888 00:40:02,958 --> 00:40:06,542 who we're gonna take home before he gets in trouble. 889 00:40:06,542 --> 00:40:08,917 They finally get to Israel. 890 00:40:08,917 --> 00:40:10,625 Eichmann is caught. 891 00:40:10,625 --> 00:40:15,375 He knows that he is, and he's resigned to his fate. 892 00:40:15,375 --> 00:40:17,625 - [Laurence] Now, at long last, 893 00:40:17,625 --> 00:40:20,208 one of the primary engineers of the Holocaust 894 00:40:20,208 --> 00:40:22,500 will stand trial for his crimes. 895 00:40:23,542 --> 00:40:26,000 - [Paul] Eichmann's trial commences in 1961. 896 00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:28,667 And his defense essentially suggests 897 00:40:28,667 --> 00:40:30,792 that he's a low ranking bureaucrat 898 00:40:30,792 --> 00:40:33,792 who was merely following orders and doing his job. 899 00:40:33,792 --> 00:40:37,042 However, as the trial develops, the evidence makes it clear 900 00:40:37,042 --> 00:40:38,958 that Eichmann was absolutely central 901 00:40:38,958 --> 00:40:40,917 to the propagation of the Holocaust. 902 00:40:42,000 --> 00:40:44,958 - [Sami] Eichmann is ultimately found guilty 903 00:40:44,958 --> 00:40:49,542 of war crimes against humanity, is sentenced to death, 904 00:40:49,542 --> 00:40:53,958 and is hanged for his crimes on June 1st, 1962. 905 00:40:54,875 --> 00:40:56,542 [dramatic music] 906 00:40:56,542 --> 00:41:00,042 - Government authorities eventually took down Eichmann, 907 00:41:00,042 --> 00:41:02,708 but the details of his capture remind us of the role 908 00:41:02,708 --> 00:41:05,542 played by ordinary people. 909 00:41:05,542 --> 00:41:07,042 The Hermanns, a blind lawyer, 910 00:41:07,042 --> 00:41:09,375 and his teenage daughter with no training 911 00:41:09,375 --> 00:41:11,333 were the first to truly expose 912 00:41:11,333 --> 00:41:13,542 Eichmann's new life in Argentina, 913 00:41:13,542 --> 00:41:16,250 and they never gave up seeking justice. 914 00:41:16,250 --> 00:41:17,917 I'm Laurence Fishburne. 915 00:41:17,917 --> 00:41:22,208 Thank you for watching this case closed episode 916 00:41:22,208 --> 00:41:24,708 of "History's Greatest Mysteries."