Hunting Eichmann

Whoa, kids. I haven't posted a book review in a while; my blog has subsisted of too many videos lately. I promise to get back to writing more reviews pronto. To begin fulfilling that pledge, here is a review of a most excellent historical thriller, Hunting Eichmann by Neal Bascomb.

I think the reason why more people don't choose to read historical accounts is because they find them boring. Whether it's the subject or the writing style that doesn't appeal to the reader, historical accounts (including biographies and memoirs) are often left on the shelf. Our current society's neglect of these books is quite sad because there are many treasures to be found in such books.

One such treasure is Hunting Eichmann, which recounts the story of how Adolf Eichmann, one of the masterminds to the Nazi ‘Final Solution of the Jewish Question’, escapes Europe after the end of the Second World War, emigrating to Argentina with the help of the underground Nazi network in both Europe and South America and indeed, with the help of the Argentine government itself. At the same time, this extremely well-researched book details the actions of several different Nazi hunters (both independent individuals and others connected to various different governments) and the newly-developed Israeli spy agency, the Mossad, in their determination to locate Nazi criminals of war hiding throughout the world in order to bring them to justice. When Eichmann's whereabouts in Argentina were determined, another challenge was presented to the Mossad team, as the Argentine government would never hand over Eichmann (Argentina had a large German population, and many of the country sympathized with the Nazi party), and removing Eichmann from Argentina would definitely end in immense political tension, at the very least.

I learned in school that many former Nazis, many of them high-ranking officers who played an integral role in the Third Reich's regime, had fled Europe and escaped a war crimes tribunal. However, my textbooks didn't delve further into the discussion; they simply moved on to the Cold War and McCarthyism. Hunting Eichmann does an absolutely terrific job of relating the factual events of what happened after one such individual escaped a trial and avoided justice. The book reads like a spy thriller and even though the reader knows the outcome from the very beginning, she still finds hereslf on the edge of her seat, drawn into this drama that was reality for all the players involved.

One of the greatest assets to this book is not only the sheer volume of research Bascomb conducted and compiled and the excellent faithfulness to the historical data, but also how Bascomb is able to address the emotions and humanity of the individuals involved in the hunt and capture of the Nazi who had sent so many people, including family members of the team, to their death. The Mossad operatives found themselves facing the challenging issue of having to remain in the same house as Eichmann for several days while hiding him in Argentina until it was safe to flee the country; though he had already been captured, this was truly the most intense part of the book, as the operatives wrestled with Eichmann's horrific past deeds in the war and his current frail and obedient form. Even upon returning to Israel, the operatives continued to deal with these issues, which were only compounded by the fact that their role in apprehending Eichmann must remain a secret.

It was the epilogue that finally brought out the tears. One of the operative's sisters had died because of a direct order from Eichmann, and it was only at their mother's death several years later that the operative was finally able to reveal his true role in the capture of one of the world's most notorious Nazis. One of Eichmann’s sons had been born several years after the end of World War II and grew up knowing nothing of his father’s involvement in the slaughter of thousands upon thousands of people; imagining his difficulty reconciling that realization to his childhood was difficult for me and reinforced the importance of creating a godly and strong legacy for our children and grandchildren.

This has been one of my favorite books I have read so far this year. I highly recommend it and congratulate the author on writing this book, which is bound to become a classic. Don't be surprised if it makes it to 'Required Reading' lists for high school and college students sometime in the near future.