"Six Million Accusers" is a historical novel reliving the hunt for, and capture of one of history's most evil criminals - a leading Nazi named Adolf Eichmann. Having disappeared after WWII, members of an Israeli organization search the world for Eichmann, hoping to one day capture one of the men responsible for brutally massacring millions of Jews, and others.
Following any tip possible, eventually they
discover a Jewish father and daughter who swear Eichmann quietly lives in their community, under a new name. The search for Eichmann ramps up, and the agents begin to fervently believe they have found their man.
As they get closer and closer, a plan must also be created to capture Eichmann, and secretly transport the villain back to Israel. Is it really Eichmann? And if so, what complications may arise that might destroy their plans to have this notorious Nazi held responsible for his crimes?
An Interview with Haim A, one of the team who
tracked down and captured the top Nazi, Adolf Eichmann.
First of all, tell us something about your life that isn’t
mentioned in “Six Million Accusers.”
Well, most of
my life story is mentioned at the beginning of the novel: how I came to
Palestine as a young boy; joined an underground movement; fought in the Second
World War and met my future wife. I also described what I did during the
Israeli War of Independence and how I joined the Mossad. What I didn’t
include was my love of sport. I love playing football and basketball. I try and
play these games when I’m at home and I’m a part-time member of my kibbutz
basket-ball team. I enjoy these games, especially as playing them gives me a
chance to mix even more with my fellow-kibbutz members.
How has Israel changed since when you first arrived there?
When I first
arrived, Israel, then called Mandatory Palestine was a very simple, even
primitive country by European standards. Today it is as modern as any other
Western country. It has also changed politically. At first it was very much the
Socialist-flavored country as envisaged by the Founding Fathers such as
Ben-Gurion. This has changed a great deal over the past forty years. Today its
life-style is very similar to that of the rest of the Western world.
How has being a Mossad agent affected your life?
Being a Mossad
agent has certainly affected my life. The downside is that it has made me become
secretive in many ways and live my life knowing that I cannot share many of my ‘work’
experiences with my wife and family. They have learned to live with me
disappearing from time to time as I go abroad on ‘government business.’ The upside
is that I feel I’ve made a serious contribution to protecting my country from
all sorts of enemies: internal and external. I’ve also enjoyed much of the
foreign travel and have had many ‘work’ experiences which were both exciting
and boring. I’ve worked with many good and bad characters, and these I’d never
have met if I hadn’t been in the Mossad. Naturally, being one of the
team who captured Eichmann was one of the outstanding highlights of my career.
What was your reaction when you first saw Eichmann after you
captured him?
I can sum this
up in two words – a complete anti-climax! First, catching him meant that I’d
accomplished the mission that I had been working on for over two years.
Secondly, the man himself was a boring and bland character. As I say in the
book, it was almost impossible to believe that this very average looking man
who was living in a shabby house in a Buenos Aires slum was one of the most feared
Nazis who had organized the genocide of millions of the European Jewish
community and others just twenty years earlier.
Did you ever seriously question the legality of illegally spiriting
Eichmann out of Argentina and bringing him back to Israel to stand trial?
Never in a
serious manner. I did give it some thought and discussed it with my fellow
team-members. However, in the end I decided that the moral aspect of bringing
him to trial far outweighed the legal niceties of having him tried in Germany
or Austria. And remember this was in 1960, fifteen years after the Second World
War when many people wanted to put the violent past behind them and start anew.
At the end of the book you say that it would have been better to
keep Eichmann in prison for life instead of hanging him. Do you still think
that is true?
Yes, and even
more so today. When I see how Israel has grown and developed as a country, it
would have been a much harsher punishment for him to have spent the rest of his
miserable life living in the middle of the country built by the Jews, the
people he had done his best to completely annihilate. And this is especially
true as he showed absolutely no remorse for the mass-murders he had been
responsible for.
What do you think of “Six Million Accusers” as a title for this
book? After all, it bears no reference to what you did as a member of the Mossad
team.
I think it’s a
very good title. As you know, it’s taken from the Israeli Attorney General,
Gideon Hauser’s opening speech at Eichmann’s trial in Jerusalem. This as you
know was not just a trial to seek out justice but it was one that helped to set
a precedent for future international criminal trials. These included the trial
of Slobodan Milosevic, the Serbian leader who was tried for war crimes over a
dozen years ago, and also the trial of the Chilean dictator, Augusto Pinochet,
who had murdered many of those who’d opposed him during his 25 year reign of
terror. In addition, Eichmann’s trial was also one that was geared for
international and public education. Remember, this was before the days of Internet,
Facebook CNN etc. So having Gideon Hausner open his speech with these words in
front of an international audience via their TV stations present in the
courtroom was very important.
My Review:
Author D. Lawrence-Young has a wonderful gift for writing a well-written, fast paced historical novel. His writing style includes vivid details that fully immerse the reader into the world he creates, and a depth to his characters that puts the reader right in the midst of the chaos with them.
Although this is not my usual preferred genre or style of story, "Six Million Accusers"is written in such a way as to captivate even a reluctant reader of this novel as I was. I had not previously heard of Adolf Eichmann, and did not have any prior knowledge of his role in the Nazi regime during WWII, but now that I have read most of this book, I now realize the scope of his involvement and the horrible atrocities he was involved in.
The story is thrilling and quite difficult to put down. I highly recommend picking up a copy of Six Million Accusers: Catching Adolf Eichmann.
Kindle ebook Available for only $2.99 on Amazon.
Disclosure: I received free the item(s) mentioned in this post in exchange for my honest review. Regardless ~ All my reviews are my honest and personal opinion. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”.
