Karl Adolf Eichmann: The Banality of Evil

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses aspects of the Holocaust with particular focus on Karl Adolf Eichmann (1906-62), a Nazi official responsible for the execution of millions of Jews during World War II. The paper looks at how his decisions about which Jews would be allowed to emigrate (and later, which Jews would be sent to their deaths) affected society and how his eventual capture influenced the way in which the world thought about horrible war crimes and the people who committed them. The paper explains that Eichmann forever changed the course of history for millions during the war, and his trial changed the way sociologists, psychologists, and historians would think about Hitler's executioners.

From the Paper:

"Eichmann could not have impacted history on his own: that is one of the facts that caused such an impact. It had been commonly thought that only powerful men and women, either by great or by infamous deeds, could influence their communities and the world. Eichmann disproved this theory. He was a mild man who followed orders to the best of his ability and loyally attempted to serve his country well in a time of war. In effect, he acted according to accepted values and standards. When he was finally captured in 1960 and tried in Jerusalem, the world awaited the trial of a madman whose inherent evil nature would be revealed by the court. His years of hiding were over, and his mild nature was expected to drop from him like a curtain, exposing the moral corruption that allowed him to send millions to their deaths. Sociologists awaited a monumental event; survivors awaited answers, admissions of guilt before the law, and justice. None of these were forthcoming from the trial."

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