Becoming Eichmann: Rethinking the Life, Crimes, and Trial of a "Desk Murderer" (Eichmann: His Life and Crimes) - Hardcover

Cesarani, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0306814765 ISBN 13: 9780306814761

Publisher: Da Capo Press, 2006

Synopsis

In charge of the logistical apparatus of mass deportation and extinction, Adolf Eichmann was at the center of the Nazi genocide against the Jews. He was personally responsible for transporting over two million Jews to their deaths in Auschwitz-Birkenau and other death camps. This is the first account of Eichmann's life to appear since the aftermath of his famous trial in 1961 and his subsequent execution in Jerusalem a year later. It reveals that the depiction of Eichmann as a loser who drifted into the ranks of the SS is a fabrication that conceals Eichmann's considerable abilities and his early political development. Drawing on recently unearthed documents, David Cesarani shows how Eichmann became the Reich's "expert" on Jewish matters and reveals his initially cordial working relationship with Zionist Jews in Germany, despite his intense anti-Semitism. Cesarani explains how the massive ethnic cleansing Eichmann conducted in Poland in 1939-40 was the crucial bridge to his later role in the mass deportation of the Jews. And Cesarani argues controversially that Eichmann was not necessarily predisposed to mass murder, exploring the remarkable, largely unknown period in Eichmann's early career when he first learned how to become an administrator of genocide. This challenging work deepens our understanding of Adolf Eichmann and offers fresh insights both into the operation of the Final Solution and the making of its most notorious perpetrator.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

The first biography of Eichmann in 40-odd years tells the story of the architect of the Final Solution, incorporating the latest scholarship on the origins and implementation of the Nazi genocide.

About the Author

David Cesarini, one of Britain's leading historians, is Research Professor in History at Royal Holloway, London University. He has published widely on Anglo-Jewish history and the history of Zionism.

Edition details

• Publisher: Da Capo Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0306814765
• ISBN 13: 9780306814761
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 472