I first heard that accursed name Adolph Eichmann – Hitler’s appointee responsible for the assembly and mass deportation of Jews to the extermination camps of Auschwitz, Treblinka, Majdanek, Sobibor, Belzac and Chemno, all located in Poland – in March 1960, while completing my voluntary military service in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Rumors had been circulating that Eichmann had found refuge in some Arab country and this was raised in the Israeli Knesset (Parliament). The incumbent Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion (BG), gave a very derisory reply, infuriating the opposition parties. When pressed to be more explicit, BG again answered in a dismissive manner. It made headline news in the Israeli media.
Understandably, with other more pressing news, the subject of Eichmann’s alleged location was soon deferred and forgotten. As it transpired, BG had been deliberately downplaying the Eichmann issue, knowingly misleading the Israeli media into believing that he did not think that there was any basis to the rumor. In actuality, he had been well-informed in advance of planned steps being taken to locate Eichmann and apprehend him.
In April 1960, my dear friend, the late Ernie Saks from Johannesburg and I were honorably discharged from the IDF, having completed our 15 months military service. We then began planning a hitch-hiking tour of Europe and accordingly applied for and received from the Israeli Youth Hostel Association a membership card that would enable us to get cheap accommodation at youth hostels located in almost every town in Europe
The author (left) with fellow Nahalnik Ernie Saks, during his service with the IDF
Original Israel Youth Hostel Association membership card made out in the author’s name, 1960
Ernie and I sailed from Haifa to Istanbul on 20 April 1960. After arriving in that city during a bloody revolution, we immediately fled to the Turkish – Greek border where we began our hitch-hiking adventure across Europe. To facilitate easy travelling, we decided, sadly, to split up and go our own way. We would reunite in London some four months later.
Hitch-hiking in Europe in the 1960s was a popular, safe and cheap method of travelling. The exits from European towns always had groups of young folks with backpacks, waiting for kind drivers to stop and give them lifts. Unfortunately, the principle “first come, first served!” was not always observed and sometimes unruly scuffles would take place between the hikers in order to enter a stopped car.
For reasons I cannot explain, I affixed an Israeli flag to my backpack. It never occurred to me that stating my country of origin could pose any danger to me. That being said, throughout my travels as an Israeli, I never encountered a single unpleasant incident. The contrary was frequently the case, indeed, with drivers sometimes going out of their way to take me to the local youth hostel in their town. Arriving at a town exit, with the usual throng of hitchhikers, I would purposefully walk some distance beyond them and stand quite alone at the side of the road, placing my backpack alongside me with the Israel flag prominently facing the oncoming traffic. This proved most effective and I never had to wait long before a driver stopped for me, sometimes curious to meet an Israeli.
Hiking across Greece, Italy, Austria and Switzerland, I headed north, taking a bus from Basel, Switzerland, to arrive at the Swiss-German border at about 8:00 A.M. on 10 May. I was quite knowledgeable about Hitler’s Germany and the Holocaust, having read about it and been raised by parents who would never buy anything “Made in Germany”! The following quote comes directly from the travel diary that I updated daily throughout my trek across Europe: “This country was the graveyard of six million of my people. Fifteen years ago, the Germans were murderers and I had grown up to hate this nation. However, on entering Germany, I made up my mind to see things with an open mind, free from prejudice and animosity. On what I was to see, would be drawn my conclusions and opinions of the people and country”.
I did not have to wait long before I got a series of lifts that took me past Freiburg and Baden-Baden. We then hit the trans-German multi-lane high-speed autobahn. Passing through Stuttgart, Heidelberg, Frankfurt, Koblenz and Cologne, we entered Dusseldorf on Friday, 13 May, the kind German driver taking me to the entrance of the town’s Yugendherberge (youth hostel).
I won’t detail my experiences with the various German drivers who gave me lifts. Suffice it to say, that with my very limited knowledge of German, aided with a combination of Afrikaans and broken Yiddish, I managed to converse with those few who did not speak reasonable English. Without exception, the drivers were friendly, kind and hospitable, treating me to meals at refueling stopovers and even inviting me to spend the nights at their homes. They all expressed their admiration for Israel in its battle against hostile neighbors and expressed interest in visiting the country.
I had no hesitation in asking the more elderly German drivers about their experiences during the period of Nazi Germany. One driver, after a moment’s shocked silence, felt my genuine interest, and spoke openly about the time that he was active in the Hitler-Jugend (Youth) and of being indoctrinated into the beliefs of antisemitism. Another driver related his wartime experiences in Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1940. He emphasized that he was not at all involved in the killing of Jews, “which was ‘schrecklich’”! (terrible). He further stated that he is not aware of antisemitism in the present West Germany, commenting that very few Jews remained in Germany after World War II.
Indeed, in 1933 the Jewish population of Germany was 525 000; in 1950, there were 37 000 Jews living in Germany.
I presented my Israeli Youth Hostel card to the woman seated at the entrance desk of the Dusseldorf youth hostel on that late and rainy Friday afternoon, 13th May. Reading the country of issue, she asked me pointedly,
“Sind sie Israeli?” (“Are you Israeli?”).
To which I proudly replied, “Naturlich bin ich!” (“Of course I am!”).
She then remarked rather loudly, which was heard by the other hostel residents standing at the door entrance, waiting for a break in the rain to go out.
“Du bist sein langsam user erster Israeli”(“You are our first Israeli for a long time”)
Waving her hand, she indicated that I could enter the hostel, adding. “Gehen Sie in den zweiten Stock und suchen Sie sich ein Bett!”(“Go to the second floor and find a bed!”)
My Israel Youth Hostel Association card (reverse side)
Expressing my “Vielen Dank!” (“Thank you very much!”), I walked up the stairs with my backpack to the second floor and found a large dormitory with narrow metal beds placed methodically around the room. Seated on some of the beds were young men chatting amongst themselves. That dormitory room was obviously for “men only”. Standing at the entrance to the room, I called out in English, “Hey guys, where is there an empty spare bed?”
All raised their heads and looked around the room, finally pointing to a bed located at the far end of the room, beneath a large, closed window. Thanking them, I made my way to it. It had only a thread-bare mattress, but I was quite used to such basic sleeping facilities in the youth hostels. Having nothing to do, I lay down, using my backpack as a pillow.
Outside, it was already dark and quite chilly inside the dormitory. It was a Friday evening and for the first time I felt the loneliness of erev Shabbat (Sabbath eve). This despondent feeling was exacerbated by being in Germany with the inconsolable memories of its “Never Again!” past! Suddenly my rest was disturbed by a group of excited young Germans who stormed into the dormitory, calling out loudly, “Wo ist der Israeli?” (“Where is the Israeli?”)
It was obvious to all that the latest newcomer to the dormitory, who had not yet introduced himself, had to be the elusive Israeli! Frankly, I was more than a little apprehensive in raising my hand and stating as much, not having the vaguest idea why those Germans wanted to know who the Israeli was.
Five young Germans approached me and held up a copy of the daily Frankfurt newspaper, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, one of the most prestigious and influential in Germany. The newspaper date was Wednesday, 11 May, 1960 (two days previously) and the bold headlines, with a recognizable photo of the Nazi fugitive Adolph Eichmann, stated: “Eichmann wurde in Argentinien gefangen genommen von Mossad und Nach Israel gebacht” (“Eichmann captured in Argentina by the Mossad and brought to Israel!”)
Jerusalem Post headline, 10 May 1960
I had no difficulty in understanding the texts (the main verbs in German are very similar to their equivalent Afrikaans words!) but before I could fully comprehend the significance of this amazing – no, unbelievable! – exploit, the Germans around me began to fire questions at me in their basic English: How Mossad find Eichmann?” “How you bring him to Israel?” “What you do with Eichmann in Israel?”
In no time, all the dormitory residents, which included some Americans and British, became totally familiar with the background to “Wo ist der Israeli?”. They also approached me with similar questions – and many more. Finally, the situation calmed down somewhat, and I found myself being the unofficial Israeli spokesman, informative and savvy. Obviously, I was totally overwhelmed by this phenomenal and successful Mossad undertaking, all the more so in light of the very ambiguous answers given by Ben Gurion in the Knesset only two months previously. To the best of my ability, I explained that Eichmann had been in the crosshairs of the Mossad’s search for some time. Furthermore, his reputed refuge in an Arab country could have been a deliberate ruse planted by the Mossad to divert the attention away from his real location which was probably discovered by the Mossad. I concluded by opining that Eichmann would in all probability appear in an Israel court, facing a charge of “Crimes against Humanity” and that he would be entitled to all the privileges of a legal defense.
Our discussions continued late into the night and suddenly I became aware that I was the center of attraction, that my lonely and depressed Sabbath eve had changed completely. I was enjoying the companionship of my fellow dormitory residents and when one of the Germans arrived with plates of delicious pizza, taken from the hostel kitchen, the evening took on an almost festive ambiance. Indeed, there was cause for celebration, having the archenemy of the Jews captured by the Israeli secret service and brought to Israel for trial. I was conscious of the fact that the young Germans shared my elation that the war criminal Eichmann had been captured; that the Nazi period was a permanent and heinous slur on the German nation and that the Holocaust was an unforgiveable crime perpetrated by the Germans against the Jewish people. In addition, they admired the Jewish State of Israeli in its brave and continuous defense against the vast and powerful Arab world.
When we finally decided to go to bed, having ignored the youth hostel mutter” (mother) ordering us: “Geh ins Bett” (“Go to bed!”), I must have fallen asleep almost immediately, with a very contented smile on my face, despite the hard and uncomfortable bed under my sleeping bag!
The following morning, at the ungodly hour of 7:00 A.M., with heavy rain pounding on the window above my bed, the mutter entered the dormitory and proclaimed loudly, “Steht alle auf!” (“Everyone get up!”)
Except for the German residents in our dormitory, all of us totally ignored the mutter’s order and turned over and continued sleeping. The second time that the order was bellowed at us, some of the Americans and British residents shouted to the mutter, telling her with descriptive expletives what she should do!
On the other hand, without exception the three German dormitory residents, upon hearing the order, “Steht alle auf!” immediately jumped out of their beds and began to dress. They obeyed the given order like obedient German soldiers, not hesitating for a moment. There was nothing that they had to do that justified such an early morning rise! However, it appeared to be part of their DNA, that when an order is given, irrespective of its rationality or necessity, it had to be carried out without question!
That little incident taught me something about the character of the Germans with its correlation to expediting extreme orders given by the German Heerfuhrer(army officer) in the period of Hitler’s Germany.
That, then, was the unique and unforgettable Sabbath eve that I spent in the Dusseldorf youth hotel, sharing with young Germans the historic news of Eichmann’s capture by the Israeli Mossad and the successful return of the Jews’ most wicked living enemy to appear in an Israeli court in Jerusalem at some future date.
A B.Sc. graduate in Economics and Geology from the University of Cape Town, Lennie Lurie served as a volunteer in the Israeli Defence Force in 1959-60 and settled permanently in Israel in 1970. For many years, he worked as an Export Manager for some of the country’s major food manufacturers and chemical companies as well as an independent consultant in Export Marketing, guiding many small Israeli businesses to sell their products and services in the world-wide market. As a result of a work accident in 1995, he made a career change and became an independent English teacher working mainly with hi-tech companies and associated with universities and colleges in the north of Israel.
