Well, not literally, of course, given that he was hanged by the neck in 1962, but perhaps in the 'literary' sense now that a second major book has been published which takes on Hannah Arendt's famous Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil (1963). Her challenger is Bettina Stangneth, a philosopher based in Germany, and her recently published book Eichman Before Jerusalem: The Unexamined Life of a Mass Murderer.
I should make clear that not only have I not read either book, I have absolutely no intention of ever doing so. Both have been praised for their scholorship, even if they reach different conclusions, and there can be no doubt as to their historical importance. However, call me 'Mr. Wimpy' but there are just some subjects which I simply cannot stomach.
Arendt's summation of Eichmann's industrial scale slaughter as "the banality of evil" offers a seductive description of an otherwise inexplicable life to those of us who have never 'been up front and personal' with evil on such a monstrous scale. Yes, we can comfort ourselves by saying, he was just another pen-pusher, a jumped-up clerk with no imagination and therefore incapable of sensing the ocean of blood through which he was wading.
But Ms. Stangneth will, apparently, have none of it. Not only did Eichmann know full well what he was doing, he was an enthusiastic and tireless advocate for even greater efforts to exterminate the Jews of Europe once and for all. Apparently, some of her material came from recorded interviews that took place post-war in Argentina between Eichmann, who had taken refuge there, and a Dutch pro-Nazi contemporary of his called Willem Sassen.
Marc Parry has written a particularly interesting article in the Chronicle of Higher Education which, amongst other things, explores the traumas suffered by Sassen's daughter as she grew up and discovered her father's hidden life and associations.
Hat tip, as so often, to the always excellent Arts & Letters Daily
Evil indeed. This week marks the 70th anniversary of the onset of the Battle of the Bulge. The death toll was enormous but the evil to be discovered in just a few months was nearly unspeakable. Thus the subject person of your post.
Posted by: Whitewall | Saturday, 13 December 2014 at 14:00
Once, when my battalion was training in Germany we were taken on a day trip to Bergen-Belsen. Knowing the Toms' raucous humour I wondered how they would re-act. Utter silence was the result.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bergen-Belsen_concentration_camp
Posted by: David Duff | Saturday, 13 December 2014 at 17:03
Recalling his experiences growing up in neutral, wartime Sweden, the author Jan Myrdal said "The really horrible thing about the Nazis was that they were nothing like those portrayed by Hollywood". Sweden was, of course, subjected to a considerable Nazi charm offensive, backed up by really tasteful literature extolling European culture. If you can get hold of their magazine "Signal" (printed in most European languages) you will see a very slick article indeed.
I showed some excerpts to a neighbour who worked for a leading advertising agency from the Sixties. He said that Goebbels was ahead of what they were doing twenty years later.
We have just seen how (presumably) normal Americans were turned into systematic torturers by the CIA, so I don't think there is any cause for complacency amongst us.
Posted by: Edward Spalton | Saturday, 13 December 2014 at 19:16
Words of wisdom from Mr. Spalton.
The evil that lurks in the hearts of man.....
Posted by: Andra | Saturday, 13 December 2014 at 19:18
It is difficult to move from the individual to the general. Eichmann was an individual who was more or less replicated through swathes of the German public. However, I remain intrigued by a story I touched upon some time ago concerning the relatively soft treatment of the Danish Jews who were, in effect, allowed to escape across into Sweden. Two senior Nazis based in Copenhagen were mainly responsible for turning blind eyes but for very different reasons. One had dropped his earlier enthusiasm for Nazi-ism when he saw the reality; the other remained convinced but was shrewd enough to see much earlier than anyone else that Germany was bound to lose the war and wanted to keep his record as clean as possible.
Also, Edward, I do not accept that "normal Americans were turned into systematic torturers by the CIA". I have yet to see any example of what I would call torture.
Posted by: David Duff | Saturday, 13 December 2014 at 20:54