CIA suppressed Eichmann whereabouts

[DrTeeth]

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The CIA suppressed the whereabouts of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann to help protect high ranking West German officials from possible revelations about their own Nazi pasts, according to CIA documents released on Tuesday.

It now appears that West Germany could have captured him in 1958, if it wished to," said University of Virginia historian Timothy Naftali, director of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum.

"Newly released CIA materials suggest that in the highest levels of the Konrad Adenauer government, there was concern about what Eichmann could say if caught about those close to the chancellor."

But Naftali said the CIA also helped West Germany to suppress part of Eichmann's diary that could have embarrassed Adenauer's national security adviser, Hans Globke, himself a former Nazi.

How embarassing

 

[A_Wanderer]

The CIA should have been smashed into a thousand pieces long ago.

 

[4U2Play]

The CIA should have been smashed into a thousand pieces long ago.

Ridiculous hysteria.

Perhaps you forgot about what was happening in 1958. Capturing ex-Nazis was not a priority for West Germany or the US or any other nation, except for Israel. Countering the Soviet Union was. It was important that the nascent West German democratic government of Adenauer survived. If this meant saving the faces of government ministers with shady pasts, so be it. Realpolitik sometimes meant choosing the lesser of two evil actions. Ipso facto moral posturing is cheap and easy, which is why so many engage in it.

Eichmann was eventually captured in 1960, hiding in Argentina. Where is the 'smash the Peronistas into a thousand pieces" thread?

The Eichmann kidnapping by the Mossad was sanctioned by Adenauer's government in 1959-60, according to Isser Harel, but this apparently warrants little praise.

Eichmann was eventually murdered by the Israeli government, which caused great consternation from death penalty foes.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

 

[4U2Play]

Damn, I was expecting a more trenchant response than a smilie, oh well.

Maybe you had to go to work or something.


PS. I just saw your husband last night in Concord, CA... Joan Baez showed up, too, great night.

 

[aislinn]

If this meant saving the faces of government ministers with shady pasts, so be it. Realpolitik sometimes meant choosing the lesser of two evil actions.

So you're saying the actions of former Nazis such as Eichmann are less terrible than the threat of the spread of Communism?

I guess you'd agree with our government using the rocket technology from former Nazis like Werner von Braun...and using Reinhard Gehlen and his pals to set up the CIA?

 

[4U2Play]

So you're saying the actions of former Nazis such as Eichmann are less terrible than the threat of the spread of Communism?
I guess you'd agree with our government using the rocket technology from former Nazis like Werner von Braun...and using Reinhard Gehlen and his pals to set up the CIA?

Please. Spare me the morality lessons and ill-suited comparisons.

You are superior to me, if that makes you feel better.


The West German intelligence service figured out where Eichmann was in 1958, and passed along this intelligence to the CIA.

Simon Wiesenthal had already found Eichmann's wife and three children living in Argentina in 1947. He even received a tip from someone about Eichmann living in Argentina in the mid-50's, but he was unable to afford the plane ticket there (!) - sounds strange, but I just read that here:

http://www.israelnewsagency.com/simonwiesenthalisrael480920.html

In 1950, the Vatican issued Eichmann a passport.

In 1956, Eichmann gave a recorded interview from Argentina to Willem Sassen, the Dutch fascist.

As early as 1957, the Israeli foreign office learned that Eichmann may be living in Argentina.

The idea that Israel had no idea where Eichmann was is wrong.

Adenauer was concerned that Eichmann would spill the beans regarding Globke and many others if he were captured and put on trial in Germany (not to mention the possible diplomatic repercussions from South American governments if the West Germans were to kidnap Eichmann the way the Israelis eventually did).

Adenauer's policy of integration rather than persecution of ex-Nazi Party members may seem immoral by self-righteous historians of today, but it clearly worked in the larger scheme of things, as West Germany blossomed into one the great democracies on the planet and a generous friend to Israel (unlike the East Germans).

The CIA's main mission in 1958 was not prosecuting ex-Nazis, it was containing Soviet influence. Building up and maintaining a strong West Germany was part of that strategy. Other considerations were secondary. This did not mean that Adenauer, Eisenhower or Dulles were pro-Nazi, anti-Jewish or anti-Israeli.

Israel would not have existed very long without aid and support from the US and West Germany. Don't forget that.

Ben Gurion recognized that rapprochement with Germany was feasible as early as 1951. Cynics will say he did this in order to negotiate the massive reparation payments that West Germany ended up paying to the Israeli government.

Others will say that Ben Gurion was a hard-nosed realist like Adenauer and realized that having friends in Western Europe, even the Germans, would be in Israel's best interest, despite Israel's initial flirtation with the Soviets.

Adenauer met Ben Gurion in New York in March of 1960. In May of 1960, Mossad agents captured Eichmann in Argentina, where he enjoyed the protection of various Argentine governments for over ten years. Where is the outrage and condemnation against Argentina?

Knowing what we know now about West Germany's secret knowledge about Eichmann's exact whereabouts, one can perhaps conclude that Adenauer passed along this information to Ben Gurion during or after that meeting at the Waldorf Astoria in March of 1960. We will have to wait and see whether proof of this ever materializes.

Regardless, Israel did end up kidnapping their man less than two years after West Germany found out where he was, prosecuted him at a rather "showy" trial, and strung him up like a piece of meat, much to the chagrin of Nazis and death penalty foes everywhere.

By having the trial take place in Israel, rather than West Germany, Adenauer could breathe easy knowing that the Israelis would focus its prosecution solely on Eichmann's war record and that Eichmann would have no chance to harm the Adenauer government to the delight of the Soviet Bloc.

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Every country on Earth that has a space program or uses missiles of any sort are using Werner Von Braun's technology. Perhaps you can write letters to all them telling them to cease and desist.

Your comment about Gehlen's treachery is a non-sequitur.

 

[nbcrusader]

Interesting how the picture changes as you fill in more information. Articles on this subject suggest that the CIA did not pursue Eichmann (instead of covering up his location), and were surprised when he was caught a couple years later.