A new site on the World Wide Web is attracting increasing numbers of Holocaust researchers. The site, “I Accuse – Testimony from the Eichmann Trial,” provides the complete transcript of the 1961 Jerusalem trial of Adolf Eichmann.
Eichmann, a senior Nazi official who was a central figure in the extermination of European Jewry during World War II, was apprehended by Israeli agents in Argentina in 1960 and brought to Israel to stand trial.
He was convicted and then executed in 1962.
The site was launched April 16 and already has been visited by more than 1,500 people from around the world, said David Baker, an official at the Israeli Ministry of Education, which helped develop the site.
“Researchers all over the world are plugging into the Internet and studying the Holocaust,” he said. “It’s revolutionary. “It’s the first time, to my knowledge, that people have used technology to study the Holocaust.”
The database includes the testimony of about 106 prosecution witnesses, historical documents, a chronicle of events, a glossary of terms and names, a model for instruction, instructional guides and a bibliography.
While the site now is offered only a Hebrew, plans call for an English version to be developed, Baker said.
Chaim Zins, a Holocaust researcher affiliated with Hebrew University, spent some 5,000 hours developing the site, which is a joint project of the Ministry of Education and the university.
The site is also supported by the Ministry of Education’s Department for the Enrichment of Jewish Education, Israeli educators and the ministry hope that the site will stir students’ interest and raise their general awareness of the Holocaust.
“The Eichmann trial is a very important part of the curriculum for Israeli students,” Baker said. “This site is a new and innovative way of delving into previously uncharted territory of Holocaust study.”
The web site can be directly accessed at: http://ftp.cc.huji.ac.il/shoa/ shoa.html
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