I will leap laughing to my grave, because the feeling that I have five million people on my conscience is for me a source of extraordinary satisfaction -Adolf Eichmann On May 29, 1962, Adolf Eichmann was convicted and sentenced to death for crimes against humanity, the Jewish people, and crimes during a time of war. Shortly after midnight on May 31, 1962, Adolf Eichmann was taken to the gallows at Ramle. All efforts made to reconcile him with religion failed. The closer Eichmann came to execution, the more defiant he became in rejecting Christianity. (Hausner 446) He also rejected the offer of the black hood, saying, I dont need that. He began his last words with the statement that he was a Gottglaubiger, a man who believed in God but was no Christian and did not believe in the afterlife. He continued by saying, Gentlemen, after a short while, we shall meet again. Such is the fate of all men. Long live Germany, long live Argentina, and long live Austria! I shall not forget them. (Papadatos 232) Then as the trapdoor was sprung and Eichmanns lifeless body swung from the gallows, a time in world history that few will soon forget, had finally come to an end. Yet, one will realize that although the holocaust was ultimately Hitlers vision, it was in fact, the creation of Adolf Eichmann.Adolf Eichmann was born on March 19, 1906 near Cologne, Germany, into a middle class Protestant family. His family moved to Austria early in Eichmanns life, following the death of his mother. He spent his childhood in Linz, Austria, which also is the hometown of Adolf Hitler. As a child, Eichmann was teased about his looks and dark complexion, and was given a nickname by his classmates. He was called the little Jew. After failing to complete his engineering studies, Eichmann had various jobs including working as a laborer in his fathers small mining company, working in sales for an electrical construction company, and he...
