Eichmann, Adolf (1906-1962), a lieutenant colonel in the Nazi secret police, was convicted and executed for his part in the killing of about 6 million Jews during World War II. As an officer in the Schutzstaffel (SS), Eichmann directed the deportation to concentration camps of Jews from Germany and the occupied countries. See Wannsee Conference.
After the war, Eichmann escaped to Argentina and lived there under an assumed name. Israeli Mossad agents seized him in May 1960 and took him to Israel for trial on charges of crimes against the Jewish people, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. An Israeli court sentenced Eichmann to death in December 1961, after a trial that lasted several months. He was hanged on May 31, 1962. Eichmann was born on March 19, 1906, in Solingen, Germany.
