Operation Eichmann

Released on 15 March 1961, about 4 weeks before the Adolf Eichmann trial began in Jerusalem on April 11, 1961, this docudrama was quickly completed to take advantage of the trial. The story unfolds in several large segments. Eichmann (played by actor Werner Klemperer), as head of Dept. IV B4 or "Jewish affairs/evacuation affairs”, personally supervises the extermination of Jews in Germany and the nations under its occupying forces. These years are shown in the first part of the film; the second half deals with Eichmann's escape from an American POW camp, his 4 years under cover in Germany, aided by an association of Nazi SS members (ODESSA), his escape in 1950 to Argentina through Italy, and his capture on May 11, 1960.