London, Jan 10 (ANI): Adolf Eichmann, who was the supreme logistical mastermind of the Nazi Holocaust of six million Jews, is said to have been shielded from justice for a decade by West German intelligence.
Newly released documents from a Munich archive revealed the intelligence services of both America and Germany knew where Eichmann was hiding almost a decade before he was kidnapped and brought to trial.
Critics believe the inaction on the part of both countries was to protect both German officials and pro-Nazi clergy in the Vatican who helped him escape.
German newspaper Bild reported that it had gained access to some of the files of the BND intelligence service showing it knew where Eichmann was hiding under the alias of Ricardo Klement in Argentina as early as 1952.
It was not until 1960 that an Israeli Mossad commando squad kidnapped him and flew him to Israel to stand trial for his war crimes. The ultimate "desk murderer", Eichmann was hanged in the Jewish state in 1962.
"SS colonel Eichmann is not to be found in Egypt but is residing in Argentina under the fake name Clemens," the Daily Mail quoted an index card dated 1952 and reproduced in Bild as stating.
"E's address is known to the editor of the German newspaper 'Der Weg' in Argentina," it stated.
The BND also told America about Eichmann's whereabouts in 1958.
The BND has been fighting recently to keep all files sealed that detail Eichmann's life on the run.
Campaigners challenging the rule say the full disclosure of the Eichmann material may prove German and Vatican officials colluded in his escape and freedom.
Critics believe this is a smokescreen designed to avoid official embarrassment both in Berlin and the Vatican.
"This index card is in fact a sensation. Until now it was not known that the West German secret service knew about Eichmann's hiding place eight years before his arrest," historian Bettina Stangeth, who is writing a book about Eichmann, added. (ANI)
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