Image by Getty Images

A trove of documents related to Israel’s 1961 trial of the Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann will be auctioned off in Jerusalem after their discovery in a trash bin.

The collection will be up for sale on Dec. 2 at the Kedem Auction House. The sellers have estimated it could bring in more than $20,000.

The documents, some of which were also found in a deserted apartment in Jerusalem, reportedly had belonged to a member of the prosecution team.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Meron Eren of the Kedem Auction House said in a statement that it was fortunate that the collection was not lost, as the man who found the documents in a Jerusalem trash bin reportedly then searched the apartment from which they had come and found more papers just before they were to be discarded.

Eichmann, who was responsible for organizing the genocide of European Jewry, escaped Germany to Argentina after World War II and was captured by Israel’s Mossad spy agency in 1960. He was hanged on May 31, 1962, following a trial lasting some four months.

Among the documents recently uncovered are a signed statement by Israel’s then-foreign affairs minister, Golda Meir; correspondence involving prosecution attorneys regarding Eichmann’s body language during the trial; and remarks from the closing argument. Photographs of the court also were uncovered.

In one document, an attorney asks, “Did you notice how he stands there for a full hour without moving at all? There is only one muscle one can see him working: the gullet muscle. And there you can see he’s not that peaceful …”

Some documents deal with the legality of the Mossad’s kidnapping of Eichmann. In one of them, Meir herself certifies that the capture and transfer to Israel “were subjects of discussions between the governments of Argentina and Israel, and a solution was found to the disagreements, acceptable by both governments.”

The history of the trial has been the focus of increasing attention in recent years.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount