Eichmann+in+Jerusalem

By Hannah Arendt
__Chapter 1: The House of Justice__

1) Why did Adolph Eichmann need a German translator in the courtroom? Describe and reflect on Arendt's paranthetical reference to the translators -- who was there, what purpose did they serve and was there perceived bias?

2) Arendt compared Beth Ha'am, or the House of Justice, to a theatre. Explain the significance of this comparison.

3) Arendt states that Prime Minister [|Ben-Gurion] had Eichmann kidnapped and made to stand trial for his role in the "final solution of the Jewish Question." She then lists a series of questions that are to "be left in abeyance." For what then, did Eichmann stand trial? Is this clear in this first chapter?

4) Analyze and explain the meaning of this statement: "They were to watch a spectacle as sensational as the Nuremburg Trials, only this time, 'the tragedy of Jewry as a whole was to be the central concern.' For 'if we shall charge (Eichmann) also with crimes against non-Jews ... this is" not becaouse he committed them, but, surprisingly, 'because we make no ethnic distinctions.'"

5) Why didn't the Jewish people want Eichmann to stand trial in an international court?

6) What was ironic about the Nuremburg Laws of 1935, which prohibited intermarriage between Jewish people and Germans?

7) Ben-Gurion gives several reasons for kidnapping and trying Eichmann in Jerusalem. What are those reasons?

8) Why, according to Arendt, did Jewish prisoners not fight back against their German captors?

9) Describe the relationship between the Nazis and Arab countries.

10) Describe the relationship between Jerusalem and West Germany, especially in reference to the trial of Eichmann.

11) According to Arendt, how did Germans feel about their own history?

12) Why wasn't Eichmann extradited to Germany?

13) What question did Dr. Servatius ask at Columbia University? What do you think of this question?

14) Describe the "newest anti-semitic notion of the Elders of Zion."

15) What do you consider to be the overall purpose of Chapter 1?

More on the Dreyfus Affair (Nov. 1984) ** A brief definition of [|Realpolitik] Zionism and the creation of Israel
 * Helfpul Links

__Chapter 2: The Accused__

1) How did Eichmann plead in response to the charges brought against him? What do you think of this reasoning?

2) Reflect upon the statement, "Eichmann feels guilty before God, not before the law." What do you think that means? How does that statment fit in the context of the trial?

3) What "only legitimate criminal problem" did Servatius argue existed in the case?

4) What was Eichmann's attitude towards his indictment?

5) What evidence did the prosecution have against Eichmann?

6) Explain what Arendt means when she says "(Eichmann) had always been a law-abiding citizen." (p. 24)

7) After evaluation, what did psychiatrists think of Eichmann's mental status? Considering what they said later, which evaluation do you think is true?

8) How did the prosecutor and the judges finally come to view Eichmann?

9) Describe the contents of Eichmann's memoir. What do you think of his perception of himself?

10) What "grief and sorrow" was in Eichmann's life?

11) What was Eichmann's employment record? How did he obtain his job at the Vacuum Oil Company?

12) What was the allure of the Nazi party for Eichmann?

__Chapter 3 Questions__ Handout

__Chapter 4__ Write your own 10 questions with answers

__Chapter 5__ 1) What important event occurred on Sept. 1, 1939?

2) Explain the "objective" attitude about the concentration camps.

3) What was the organizational structure of the Third Reich? Why do you think it was so complicated?

4) Explain what idea Eichmann "gave birth to."

5) What was the Madagascar project?

6) What did Eichmann assume the "final aim" of the Sept. 21, 1939 document to be?

7) How was the Theresienstadt ghetto different from the others?

8) Was Eichmann informed of the "Final Solution"? How do you know?

__Chapter 6 Questions (from quiz, with answers)__

1) What historical event occurred on June 22, 1941? //Hitler launched an attack on the USSR. Consider the size of the USSR vs. Germany!

2) What fateful message did Heydrich deliver to Eichmann in Nov. 1941? //"//The Fuhrer has ordered the physical extermination of the Jews."//

//3) Why did Nazis use code names for plans against the Jews?// //Several answers would work here. 1) The code names, like "final solution" and "special treatment" were euphemisms that sounded better than what was actually happening. They took the emotion out of the action. 2) The Nazis may have been anticipating a later cover-up and using these terms would help them hide what they actually did.//

4) Eichmann said, "I'm shown a gaping would, I can't possibly look at it." Why did he say this? How did this statement fit in the context of the book? //I// //n recalling his trip to Lublin, Eichmann said he thought that the gassing of Jews in the submarine was monstrous and that seeing such death was difficult for him. This is not the first time he has claimed to be disgusted by the horrors of the concentration camps, yet we still remember that he said he would go to his grave laughing with the death of 5 million Jews on his conscience. As usual, he is contradicting himself and we cannot tell when he is telling the truth, or if he even knows.//

5) Describe some of the horrors Eichmann claimed to have seen. //In Minsk, he said he saw a woman in a ditch with her arms stretched backwards. In Treblinka, he saw a column of naked Jews gassed in a large hall. Usually, however, he did not see much of what was going on in the camps.//

6) What happened to the SS officers who chose to leave their jobs at the concentration camps? //Though the book considered that Eichmann could argue that he had done his job to avoid the consequence of immediate death, there is no document of a single case in which an officer was reprimanded for leaving a job at a concentration camp.//

7) Discuss the quote, "Is a murderer of human beings more guilty than when a culture is destroyed in the process?" //There is no right or wrong answer here, but it is important that you thoroughly think through the question. Some may say that murder is murder, no matter how many people are killed or what population is destroyed. Others may argue that the loss of an entire culture is worse than the loss of a large number of lives because all of the ideas and traditions are wiped out forever.//

8) What was the July 20 conspiracy? //Though// //few people openly opposed Hitler, a group of former Nazis plotted to kill Hitler. More on this [|here] .//

9) What does "killing by gas must be a medical matter" mean? //The gas chambers were originally constructed for "incurably sick persons (who) should be granted a mercy death." This was another example of the "language rules" established to make reality seem less harsh.//

10) At the end of the chapter, Arendt presents a hypothesis about a female German who might make the following statement: "And now all that good, expensive gas is being wasted on the Jews!" What do you think this means? //Arendt presents this idea after recounting an incident where a Jewish woman sought medical attention for a varicose vein in worries that she would be executed for her deformity at a concentration camp. The doctor she spoke with told her evacuation was more important, to which she replied: The Russians will never get us. The Furher will never permit it. Much sooner he will gas us." The observer of this incident, Count Hans van Lehnsdorff, was shocked that no one around this woman was at all surprised at the idea that she might be gassed. Arendt further compounds this astonishment by arguing that the Germans might actually be offended that gas would be wasted on the Jews. This demonstrates the lack of care Germans had for the plight of the Jews.

__Chapter 9 Questions__ // 1) What was Eichmann's main concern between Jan. 1942 and Fall 1944?

2) What was Eichmann's role during these years in "solving the Jewish question"?

3) Describe and explain "the end of the world" in reference to European Jews.

4) What were the details of the first two deportations Eichmann carried out? What was their objective in terms of administration of the Final Solution?

5) What erroneous generalization did Nazis make about foreign non-Jews? Why was this a problem?

6) What FOUR steps took place in the process of judenrein, beginning Sept. 1941?

7) What role did the Order Police and the Security Police play in Eichmann's deportations from West to East? Why were they not mentioned in the Jerusalem trial?

8) What two obstacles stood in the way of "the Final Solution"?

9) How did Eichmann feel about these obstacles? What issues concerned foreign governments in reference to their citizens in the Third Reich?

10) Explain the following quote: "It is the nature of things that these, in some respects, very difficult problems can be solved in the interests of the permanent security of our people only with ruthless toughness"?

__Chapter 10__ 1) Why did Eichmann recall his advisers in June 1942?

2) Explain French anti-Semitism.

3) What two incidents occurred in the summer of 1942 which particularly interested the Jerusalem court in terms of Eichmann's power?

4) Why did the Nazis' relationship with France become sour?

5) How many Jewish people were deported from Holland by 1944?

6) Explain the reaction in Denmark to the Nazis call for Jewish deportation.

7) How did Italy react to the Nazi call for Jewish deportation?

__Chapter 11__ 1) How were Jews in Hungary, Bulgaria and Rumania treated?

2) What was the legal status of Eastern European Jews?

3) Explain Croatia's move for "honorary Aryan citizens."

4) Who was King Boris? Why is his story significant?

5) Describe the treatment of Jews in Rumania.

6) How did the Greeks feel about the call for Jewish deportation?

__Chapter 12__

1) How were Jews who had been baptized Christians treated in Hungary?

2) How was Hungary inconsistent in its treatment of Jews?

3) Describe Eichmann's "cleverest trick."

4) Explain the quote "A Jew who trembles for his life and that of his family loses all sense of money."

5) What was Eichmann's life like in Hungary?

6) Explain the role of Zionism in Hungary.

7) What was the greatest "sin" of the Jews in Slovakia?

__Chapter 13__

1) Describe "the East" and how it was divided.

2) Why were Eastern countries the first that the prosecution presented evidence about but the last to be handled by the judges?

3) Why was the credibility of the judges called into question?

4) Why were the survivors of the Holocaust allowed to testify in court if their testimony had no bearing on the trial itself?

5) Why did the Israeli government feel justified in kidnapping Eichmann and extraditing him to Israel?

6) Into which two parts did judgement in the case fall?

7) What four points were in dispute?

8) What was the difference between "transportation Jews" and "Jews in protective custody"?

9) What was "the Polish problem"?

__Chapter 14__

1) What was the aim of the SS during the last weeks of the war?

2) Even though Eichmann's office burned its files, how did the information come out?

3) Explain the "inequality" between the prosecution and the defense.

4) Why did Servatius claim to take on the Eichmann case?

5) For how long was Eichmann on the stand in Jerusalem?

6) Who was Herschel Grynszpan?

7) Who was Abba Kovner?

8) Reflect on the final paragraph of this chapter.

__Chapter 15__

1) Explain how Eichmann made it to Argentina.

2) How did Eichmann handle his true identity in Argentina?

3) Explain how and why Eichmann was brought from Argentina to Israel. Give details of his time in capture before going to Israel.

4) What two reasons did Eichmann give for cooperating with the authorities?

5) For what was Eichmann finally convicted?

6) What was Servatius's argument against Eichmann getting the death penalty?

7) Who wrote letters asking for Eichmann's release?

8) What did protesters of Eichmann's death argue?

9) Describe the last moments of Eichmann's life.

10) What lesson was Eichmann "summing up" in his last few moments? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ **Eichmann in Jerusalem Test Review** **I. Identification (40 points)**  In the first part of the test, you will be asked to identify major characters/concepts from a list. You will be able to choose EIGHT from a list. You must thoroughly identify each topic with AT LEAST THREE SENTENCES of information. Any answers shorter than three sentences will not be counted. Possibilities include:  Hannah Arendt Williem Sassen  David Ben-Gurion Anton Schmidt  Adolf Eichmann Robert Servatius  //Beth Hamishpath  Schutzstaffein// (S.S)  The Critique of Practical Reason Theresienstadt  Gideon Hauser Wansee Conference  Heinrich Himmler Zionism  //Judenrein//  Immanuel Kant  Richard Klement  Moshe Landau  Paradox of Auschwitz  **II. Short Answer (30 points)** All short answer questions will come directly from the online study guide. You will have SIX, worth five points each. You must answer all of these. **IV. Essay (30 points)** You will choose ONE essay question from a given list. You must answer this essay with AT LEAST three paragraphs. You will be graded on your knowledge of the book – so make direct references – and your ability to reflect on the given questions. Topics include: n The meaning of the book’s title: __Eichmann in Jerusalem, A Report on the Banality of Evil__ n The significance of the Anton Schmidt story and Arendt’s overall reflection on how the people of the world can function in the aftermath of Holocaust n Compare/contrast the reactions of three different countries to calls for Jewish deportation n Consider the right of humans in most country to be “innocent until proven guilty” and the premise for the kidnapping of Eichmann. Were the Israelis right? What options did they have? What was the real purpose of the trial if everyone already considered Eichmann to be guilty?