September 14, 2014

“Eichmann Before Jerusalem” by Bettina Stangneth – The Biggest Cog

Eichmann Before Jerusalem by Bettina Stangneth (Book cover)
There is certainly no denying that Adolf Eichmann, otherwise known as the “Manager of the Holocaust” was a despicable human being responsible for the suffering and demise of countless people, and crimes for which there is no atonement.

Nevertheless, he remains in himself a rather interesting figure, and the study of his “work” and the influence he had on people's minds both during and after the war (after he escaped in exile) can certainly yield some curious findings, both on the Holocaust and the human mind itself.

In Eichmann Before Jersualem written by Bettina Stangneth, a historian and philosopher, we are treated to a rather extensive reassessment and analysis of Eichmann's life, partially based on new information, which include 1300 recently-discovered personal notes of his as well as over seventy recordings of meetings held in the 1950s in a Buenos Aires Nazi salon.

Much of the book has to do with Eichmann's personal defense at his trial, where he managed to portray himself as nothing but a small pawn, the tiniest of cogs in Hitler's giant war machine, someone who simply did what he had to do.

A great part of this work explores precisely how Eichmann managed to (at least somewhat) successfully diminish his role in those unspeakable crimes of his, how he managed to escape the public for so long, what he did during his time in hiding, and perhaps most importantly, how he fueled people's ideas after the fall of the Third Reich.

Though it may at times feel as if the book is attempting to demonize Eichmann, there is certainly no shortage of evidence to supplement that portrayal. Stangneth does a great job at presenting the relevant facts in the right order at the right times, carefully rebuilding the chronology of Eichmann's life in as much accuracy and detail as possible, seemingly trying to understand the nature of the man himself.

In the end, we come to see him not as some feeble war criminal trying desperately to escape justice, but one of the most cunning and bloodthirsty manipulators out there, someone capable of swaying and directing the minds of countless people with the mere power of his words... a mastermind who managed to fool everyone and continued his bloody work to the last.

In addition to that, Stangneth also pays attention to various other Nazis, drawing the many links which exist between them, both during and after the war, displaying before us a vast, intelligent and complex network where seemingly nothing is left to chance. In the end, it also ends up being a depiction of the Nazi war machine, of its innermost workings from the inside.

And so, if you are looking to primarily educate yourself on Eichmann, the Second World War and the Nazi war machine, then this is one book you cannot afford to miss out on for all the neglected and previously-unknown details it brings to life.

Eichmann Before Jerusalem by Bettina Stangneth (Book cover)
Don't expect too much of it in terms of entertainment though, for the book is written like an engaging history book rather than a novel; this is one book that will cater to a specific crowd really, those who enjoy literature for the knowledge it brings more than anything else.



Bettina Stangneth (Author)

Bettina Stangneth


Bettina Stangneth is a German historian, philosopher and more recently, an author. Her works have mostly dealt with political and war-related matters, and her first book, published recently titled Eichmann Before Jerusalem, chronicles the life of the infamous mass murderer in depths few have ventured before.



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