Eichmann's death cell memoirs to be released

By Ohad Gozani in Tel Aviv
Associated Press Writer

ISRAEL plans to release the memoirs of Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi war criminal, to international scholars and his family, the Justice Ministry said yesterday.

Eichmann, mastermind of the Holocaust, wrote the 1,300-page manuscript during his trial in Israel in 1961 and up to his execution a year later. The document, which has been kept in the vaults of the state archives in Jerusalem, is believed to be Eichmann's vindication of his role in the genocide.

Release of the manuscript was initially blocked for fear that it would be used by neo-Nazi groups to deny the Holocaust. Israeli scholars have been divided on the issue.

The Justice Ministry said the memoirs would be released for scholarly use only and, if published, must be fully annotated.