Israel’s landmark Eichmann trial depicted in limited-run NYC production

NEW YORK — A stage adaptation of Israel’s trial of Adolf Eichmann in 1961 premiered Sunday at New York’s Center for Jewish History.

Based on victim testimony and courtroom transcripts, “The Trial of Eichmann” is the latest tour de force from opera singer David Serero. As writer, director, producer, and star of the show, Serero said the production was several years in the making.

“I always wanted to bring a trial or court onto the stage,” Serero told The Times of Israel. “The stage is the biggest courtroom you can find,” he said.

The play, currently running through July 25, is based on Israel’s capture and trial of Eichmann, known as the Holocaust’s architect. He was kidnapped by Mossad agents in Argentina and brought to the Jewish state in 1960. Prime minister David Ben-Gurion engineered the trial — in part — to educate the nation about what took place during Nazi Germany’s genocide of six million Jews.

Playing Gideon Hausner, the Israeli prosecutor tasked with bringing Eichmann to justice, Serero immersed himself in documents related to the eight-month trial held in Jerusalem.

While hundreds of thousands of Israelis listened to trial broadcasts on the radio, American news crews flew filmed footage back to the US each day to air on television. The trial was memorably covered by philosopher Hannah Arendt, who was struck by Eichmann’s “banality” on the stand.

“The process was to reassemble all of that information into an hour and 20 minutes so the audience can see what happened. We show a lot of the courtroom strategy, even on the Eichmann side,” said Serero.

Born in Paris to a Moroccan Jewish family, Serero previously delved into Jewish history with his production of “Anne Frank: A Musical,” which premiered 2019. For “Eichmann,” he assembled four additional actors to portray Eichmann and others associated with the trial.

‘A justice for humanity’

As intended by Ben-Gurion, the trial of Eichmann extended beyond the atrocities ordered by the former SS leader in his capacity as operations manager of the “Final Solution.”

Thirteen years after the Jewish state was established, the Eichmann trial allowed Israelis who did not experience the Holocaust first-hand to learn about the genocide at length. For some of the survivors who testified, the trial was the first time they had been asked to share their accounts. Of more than 100 survivors called to the stand, about a dozen had personally witnessed Eichmann’s activities.

David Serero as Gideon Hausner (Courtesy)

“The trial really helped the survivors to speak up,” said Serero. “How do you heal a broken nation? You give people a voice,” he said, repeating a line of Hausner’s in the play.

One of the strategies used by Eichmann’s defense team was arguing that Israel had no jurisdiction over crimes committed outside the country and before its existence. Notoriously, Eichmann persistently claimed he was not guilty because he was “following orders” in a system based on rigid adherence to hierarchy.

“With this play, we are examining the depth of human evil and the quest for justice,” said Serero. Israel made an important point by bringing Eichmann to justice in Jerusalem, he added.

“They could have murdered Eichmann when they captured him in Argentina. But they brought him to trial. They had the courage to do that,” said Serero.

Adolf Eichmann standing in his glass cage, flanked by guards, in the Jerusalem courtroom during his trial in 1961 for war crimes committed during World War II. (AP Photo/File)

The production ends with Serero performing Israel’s national anthem, “Hatikva,” or “The Hope,” alongside footage of Israelis listening to the trial in 1961.

“The trial was a justice for humanity,” said Serero. “It shows that no matter what kinds of crimes you commit that you will be accountable for it. And no matter where, freedom will always triumph.”