A public opinion poll conducted by a German polling organization in West Germany and West Berlin has shown that Germans were about equally divided in their opinions as to whether Adolf Eichmann should have been tried in Israel or in Germany, the World Jewish Congress announced here today.
An analysis of the poll, in which almost 2, 000 Germans in the Federal Republic and in West Berlin had been questioned, showed that 35 percent thought Israel was the right place for the Eichmann trial, while 33 percent felt the trial should have been held in Germany. Fifteen percent of the respondents thought that the passage of time since Eich-mann’s crimes should have eliminated the need for a trial; four percent advocated an international tribunal for Eichmann; while 13 percent had no opinions on where he should have been tried.
According to the WJC analysis, 95 percent of the persons questioned had heard or read something about the trial, and most of the respondents were “well informed” about the reasons and purposes of the trial. Fifty-nine percent said he was tried because of his personal guilt, 37 percent knowing about his leading role in the annihilation of Jews. Twelve percent believed he may or may not have been guilty, and that the trial was just “a show.”
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