Zvi Aharoni
| Zvi Aharoni | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
Hermann Arndt February 6, 1921 Frankfurt (Oder), Germany |
| Died |
May 26, 2012 (aged 91) England |
| Known for | Capture of Adolf Eichmann |
Zvi Aharoni (Hebrew: צבי אהרוני; February 6, 1921 – May 26, 2012) was an Israeli Mossad agent instrumental in the capture of Adolf Eichmann.[1]
Biography
Hermann Arndt (later Zvi Aharoni) was born in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany. He emigrated to Mandatory Palestine in 1938 as a boy. After serving in the British Army, he joined the Israeli secret service and spent 20 years as a Nazi-hunter. He was the Mossad agent who identified "Ricardo Klement" as Eichmann.[2]
Aharoni flew to Buenos Aires and tracked down the family’s house in a remote neighborhood on the outskirts of town. On March 19, 1960, he spotted Eichmann. In his account of the capture, Aharoni wrote: "I saw him about two o'clock in the afternoon...a man of medium size and build, about fifty years old, with a high forehead and partially bald, collecting the washing."[3] His assistant photographed Eichmann using a camera hidden in a bag.[4][5]
After retiring from the Mossad in the 1970s, Aharoni became a businessman in Hong Kong and China before settling in Devon, England, with his second wife Valerie, his first wife having died in 1973. At his death in 2012, aged 91, he was survived by Valerie and by a son and daughter from his previous marriage.
Published works
- Aharoni, Zvi (1997). Operation Eichmann: The Truth about the Pursuit, Capture, and Trial. Wiley-Blackwell. ASIN B0015GWWPO.
References
- ↑ "Zvi Aharoni, Israeli spy who spotted Eichmann". j. May 31, 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
- ↑ Operation Eichmann, Pursuit and Capture
- ↑ The hunt for Adolf Eichmann
- ↑ The true story of how Israel captured Adolf Eichmann
- ↑ 16 Aug 2012 (2012-08-16). "Zvi Aharoni and Yaakov Meidad". Telegraph. Retrieved 2013-07-27.