“Eichmann and No End in Sight”: How International Criminal Justice Has Evolved

During the Nazi era, Adolf Eichmann, holding the rank of SS-Obersturmbannführer (lieutenant colonel), headed Section IV B 4 (“Jewish Affairs, Evacuation Affairs”) in the “Reich Security Main Office.” He organized the deportation of millions of Jews to the Nazi concentration and extermination camps and was thus responsible for their exploitation and murder.

After the end of World War II in Europe and his escape from American captivity as a prisoner of war, he first went into hiding in Germany and then fled to Argentina in 1950, where he lived with his family for ten years under the name “Ricardo Klement.” Acting on tips, agents of the Israeli intelligence service Mossad abducted him on 11 May 1960. He was tried in Jerusalem from 11 April 1961 to 15 December 1961 and sentenced to death. He was executed during the night leading into 1 June 1962.

The Struggle for Justice

The exhibition at the Dortmunder U places the Eichmann trial within a series of proceedings dealing with the prosecution of Nazi crimes and crimes against humanity: from the Nuremberg trials and the Auschwitz trials to the last Holocaust trials in Germany. Emerging as a result is a picture of a struggle for justice in which new laws and new institutions, such as the International Criminal Court, were created. 

Prof. Thomas Goll, head of the Initiative Center for Civic Education and Local Democracy (Initiativzentrum für politische Bildung und kommunale Demokratie, IZBD) at TU Dortmund University, comments: “It is a long road from the Nuremberg trials to the International Criminal Court, and a road just as long from the Frankfurt Auschwitz trial to the 2011 verdict against John Demjanjuk – but both roads have led to a right and important destination: no one can hide behind having been merely a cog in the machine.”

A Topic of Continuing Relevance

The exhibition aims to trace this development while also encouraging dialogue, says Prof. Barbara Welzel, art historian and academic director of Campus Stadt: “The exhibition shows the tension between historical crimes and the development of international law. We have juxtaposed historical accounts and legal norms, and in doing so we want to open up a space for discussion: for university students, for schoolchildren, for interested members of the local community – indeed, for all visitors.”

Several prizes awarded this month show just how timely the exhibition’s subject is: The 2026 Nobel Peace Prize honored Navanethem Pillay’s work, including at the International Criminal Court, and the European Parliament is awarding this year’s Sakharov Prize to that very institution in recognition of its work upholding international law and justice. Philippe Sands received the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade for his literary work on family history, crimes against humanity, and the origins of international law.

Accompanying Program “Banality of Evil?” (Banalität des Bösen?):

An accompanying program to the exhibition will take place on five Thursdays, always starting at 6 p.m. The events are free of charge, and no registration is required.

More Information

Campus Stadt
At Campus Stadt, TU Dortmund University, as a partner at the Dortmunder U, regularly offers insights into its research and teaching. Through exhibitions and a variety of event formats, the space serves as a forum for dialogue, giving the local community the opportunity to learn about the questions and findings of the academic disciplines and to discuss them together.

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