The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies and Survivors Captured the World's Most Notorious Nazi

by Neal Bascomb

In 1945, at the end of World War II, Adolf Eichmann, the head of operations for the Nazis' Final Solution, walked into the mountains of Germany and vanished from view. Sixteen years later, an elite team of spies captured him at a bus stop in Argentina and smuggled him to Israel, resulting in one of the century's most important trials -- one that cemented the Holocaust in the public imagination.

This is the thrilling and fascinating story of what happened between these two events. Illustrated with powerful photos throughout, impeccably researched, and told with powerful precision, THE NAZI HUNTERS is a can't-miss work of narrative nonfiction for middle-grade and YA readers.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Holocaust, World War II, War, Historical, Middle Grade

256 pages, Hardcover

First published August 27, 2013

About the author

Neal Bascomb is a national award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of a number of books, all non-fiction narratives, all focused on inspiring stories of adventure or achievement. His work has been translated into over 18 languages, featured in several documentaries, and optioned for major film and television projects.

Born in Colorado and raised in St. Louis, he is the product of public school and lots of time playing hockey. He earned a double degree in Economics and English Literature at Miami University (Ohio), lived in Europe for several years as a journalist (London, Dublin, and Paris), and worked as an editor at St. Martin’s Press (New York). In 2000, he started writing books full time.

His first book HIGHER was selected for the Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writer award and was featured in a History Channel documentary. His second THE PERFECT MILE was a New York Times bestseller and frequently ranks as one of the top books on running. His third RED MUTINY won the United States Maritime Literature Award and critical acclaim around the world. His fourth HUNTING EICHMANN was an international bestseller and led to a young adult edition called NAZI HUNTERS that was the 2014 winner of the YALSA Award, Sydney Taylor Book Award (Gold Medal), among numerous others. His fifth book THE NEW COOL was optioned by major producer Scott Rudin for film. His sixth ONE MORE STEP, focused on the first man with cerebral palsy to climb Kilimanjaro and finish the Kona Ironman, was a New York Times bestseller as well.

An avid hiker, skier, and coffee drinker, he is happily settled in Seattle, Washington with his family.

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adolf Eichmann, the head of operations for the Nazis’ Final Solution, was a man whose very name struck fear in the heart of any hearers. But as World War II came to an end in 1945, this powerful man somehow disappeared, seemingly going unpunished for his part in the Holocaust. Incredibly, he managed to escape notice for sixteen years, hiding in Argentina, until a team of spies brought him back to Israel where he faced justice. Readers will be fascinated at Eichmann’s ability to hide in plain sight and the fact that a teen girl and her blind father provided information that would lead to his arrest. The involvement of an elite Israeli spy team, many of them with personal connections to the Holocaust, and lesser-known heroic figures, makes readers race through the book to see if Eichmann manages to escape and go underground once again. The book relates some of the mistakes and assumptions that could have spelled failure for the team and its mission as well as its triumphs and the dedication of its members. It's interesting to consider how close Eichmann came to getting away with his part in the genocide, and his certainty, even when he was tried, that he was simply following orders. With photos sprinkled throughout the book, this narrative nonfiction title deservedly won the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction.

[Aodhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good book, very suspenseful, and a really enjoyable plot with good writing.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely excellent piece of narrative non-fiction. This book was full of facts but told in a way that made it read like a spy novel thriller. I had never heard of Eichmann, which shames me since WWII and Holocaust history is the time period I know the most about and have spent the most time studying. I don't know how I missed his name in every thing I learned. This book was not as focused on the horrible atrocities of the Holocaust as much as it was about the aftermath, which is something I knew little about. I knew many Nazis escaped to Argentina, but I did not realize that the country was brimming with them. The entire time I was reading the book was surreal; I could not believe these events, sometimes just pure strokes of luck, truly happened, which is one of the many things that makes this book so cool. I had trouble keeping names straight, and a few times had to go back and reread passages to remember who was who, but it otherwise was a read I'd have no problem giving to a middle schooler. Excellent book and I hope a contender for the Excellence in Non-fiction for Young Adults Award.

[Allison · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was pretty surprised by how "blah" I thought this book was. I know that it's by the same author who just wrote Hunting Eichmann and it's actually gotten mentioned in Newbery buzz (as in, what a shame that this great book isn't eligible) but I thought that it was not great. Bascomb must have put all his effort into the adult book and then just chopped out all the writing that was too "adult" for a child audience. I thought the sentences were stilted, short, and boring. I never really came to sympathize with any of the characters because they were all portrayed so flatly with nothing supporting them. Maybe that was different in the adult version? I'm not willing to try it to see if it's better.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had read about half of this book before going to see the movie, Operation Finale that presents the same story of the hunt for and capture of Adolph Eichmann, the architect of the Nazi’s Final Solution of the Jewish Question and the top Nazi in hiding after WWII. I had read a previous book by the leader of the Mossad team that brought Eichmann to Israel to stand trial for war crimes resulting in the deaths of six million Jews along with millions more non-Jews. I finished the book after watching the movie and, as usual, there were differences with the movie to add more drama. But the main points of the story are essentially correct! Makes me want to re-read the other book, The House On Garabaldi Street someday!

[Laila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had no plan to read this book but when your best friend ask you to read a particular book, you better do, particularly when she took the liberty to thrust the book into your hand! The backstory was we spent our Sunday morning walk discussing the Nazi hunters and the case of Adolf Eichman.
This book was well-written and riveting and there were few passages that took my breath away. Imagine yourself face to face with 'the evil' whom responsible for the death of 6 million of your people in which your family members were among them and yet you had to restrained yourself from avenging their death right there and then. The team to their credits kept carried out the task admirably.
There's of course, the question whether the kidnapping of Eichmann in Argentina to have the trial in Israel was a just one?
I agree with the notion that neither Germany nor Argentina would bring Eichmann to trial. The world need to hear what the Final Solution for the Jewish Question was about which was the central point of Hitler's war. Eichmann maintained his innocent of all crime right to the end and reasoned that he was only following orders. But if he was sincerely believe he was innocent why
he saw the need to disguised himself to be the person he was not and to run away to Argentina, a safe haven for former Nazis? Would it not better for him (and his family) to face the music right from the start?

[K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Content warnings: war, genocide, Holocaust, antisemitism, kidnapping, execution, death of a loved one (in the past), concentration camps.

3.5 stars

I picked this up because it sounded absolutely gripping and I often find that young adult nonfiction books are far more engaging than adult books on the same topic. And this WAS engaging but I also felt like it didn't entirely give me enough information about Eichmann himself to fully appreciate WHY there was such determination to find him. There's little mention of the Nuremberg Trials or of other Nazi leaders that escaped to South America. And perhaps this is my fault but I thought the book would focus on the hunt for more than one person.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that it wasn't engaging or gripping, or that I in any way felt for Eichmann because I absolutely didn't. But there were definitely times when it felt like the book was trying to......not humanise him, but make him a pitiable figure? And it sometimes felt like his crimes were discussed in such a surface level way that the reality of his atrocities didn't really sink in. And that makes sense given that it's meant to be a book discussing Mossad's hunt for Eichmann and their determination to bring him to Israel for trial. But I feel like he needed to be set up as a villain more than he was, you know?

So yeah. Maybe this is a me thing, but this was engaging without being as informative as I wanted it to be.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though this book is marketed to teens, it may as well be considered an adult book. I think the only thing that makes it directed to teens is the book length. In my opinion, the author was able to cover the main points of the search for Eichmann, without making readers have to wade through 700 pages of text that might make up the adult version of this book.

It was a bit hard to keep track of the list of characters in this book, at least initially. But the story was fascinating and I read through it much more quickly than I usually do with nonfiction books, which was a sign of how interesting it was.

Many one liners are sprinkled throughout this book about the horrors and pains Jewish people went through and I felt like it was insensitive to toss out the cruelties that these people had experienced with no commentary or follow up about it.

Overall, I enjoyed this book.

[L DeN · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be honest, I just picked this book off a random shelf in my library, but it turned out to be a really cool story. I'm not gonna talk much about the whole plot other than that it was written very well. This book is of a genre of what I like to call a 'sexy essay'. (I coined this term myself 💅💅✨✨). A sexy essay is a book about an important historical event, and you know how essays are informative, but the book is written in a novel format. It is an essay wrapped in sexy bacon, and the readers are the dogs eating the bacon. I think this book is so great because it was very suspenseful and I could not put it down. As the book says on the back, every teenager should read this book, I very strongly agree with it. Every teenager should learn about the holocaust, especially because it is not taught everywhere and I think it should be valued as educational material. I have never been taught about the holocaust in school, but even reading about a post-war nazi investigation taught me so much. I'm not very good at names in books, but even though I could not remember anyone's name well, the book was written in a way where you don't have to know someone's name, the writer says it all with what the person is doing. As I said before, I could not put this book down, it is such a page turner 👵👵👵👵 (old lady expression) and it is written to keep you on the edge of your seat. While I was reading it I actually got really nervous about something in the book like I was watching a movie. And it very much was like a movie, I never got bored, and maybe it is because my world way II education is bad and I don't really know what happened after it, but the plot is so twisty and I actually gasped out loud while reading it. Maybe it is because the event is real, but I felt so immersed in the plot and the motive of the main people. And this book has pictures of places, people, and documents so it was very fascinating. To elaborate more on the novel style of this book, there was dialogue is in the book, it was like reading a novel more than an essay. The research was obviously very well done because the story had so much depth and everyone in the book was very well written, every chapter was like the episode of a reenactment docuseries. As I said many times before, the book had so much research done (every single picture and document you can think of was mentioned in this book, there were even pictures of some files and papers) and every person in this book had their stories written in them and their motives to catching the bad guy that the reader can understand them. Some more on the genre and stuff: I am not much of a history lover, but this book makes me want to learn even more. It is also because the book was like a really good movie. Picture something like Jojo-Rabbit (the infiltration of the nazis and being undercover)+Ocean's 11 (the operation scheme and the roles of the people), that was the vibe of the book.

Bottom line: Would totally recommend this book and everyone should read it.

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was written so well, telling the back story, the drama of the chase, and the risk of the capture. It's hard to imagine, in so many regards, how Eichmann could believe that what he did wasn't wrong. It's heartbreaking and even though they got justice in the end, the heartbreak remains.

[Alex Baugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Nazi Hunters was a book that was promoted at BEA this year, so naturally I was very curious to read this account of the capture of Adolf Eichmann in 1960. The author, Neal Bascomb, had already written a book about the group of Holocaust survivors who pulled off Eichmann's capture for adults called Hunting Eichmann and now he has revised it for younger readers.

Eichmann was the very high ranking Nazi who had been responsible first for the emigration of Jews to Palestine and later for implementing the Final Solution beginning in 1942 to meet Hitler's goal of making Europe "Jew free." But in April 1945, as the Allies attacked Berlin and with the deaths of 6 million Jews on his hands, it was time for Eichmann to get out of Europe. For 16 years, no one heard anything about him. It was as if he simply disappeared off the face of the earth.

Amazingly, despite efforts to find Eichmann and bring him to justice, he was never found until a teenage girl named Sylvia Hermann, living in Buenos Aires, South America in 1956, started dating a young man named Nick Eichmann. Invited to dinner at the Hermann home, Nick, like his father, was also anti-Semitic and couldn't resist commenting at table that his father had been a high ranking Nazi officer and it would have been better if Germany had finished what it started as respects the Jews in Europe.

It seems amazing that the capture of such a notorious criminal began with two young people dating for a brief time, but eventually a group of survivors of Eichmann's concentration camps came together based on this and additional information. But it didn't happen immediately. In fact, interest in what the Hermann's reported to Israeli intelligence died and it wasn't until a few years later that Eichmann was again identified and a group of highly trained Mossad spies and Holocaust survivors set the plan to capture him in motion.

The Nazi Hunters is a hard book to put down, but it is also a fast read, in part because it is so well researched and so excellently written. It is as exciting and tense as any spy thriller you might read with one difference - it all really happened.

Lest you forget that what you are reading is nonfiction, there is also an abundance of photographs of the people, the places invloved and the documents used, some forged, to help the reader formulate a well rounded picture of the whole very clandestine operation from start to finish. And because most of the names will not be familiar to readers today, and because there were so many of them, there is also an in-depth list of all the people who participated on some level or other in the plan to capture Eichmann. Bascomb has really done such a good job of presenting the whole story factually and appropriately for young readers, without simply dumbing down his original adult work, and he includes plenty of back matter for further information and/or inquiry.

I have read Hannah Arendt's account of Eichmann's trial in Israel, Eichmann in Jerusalem, a number of times, but have never read an account of how he got there. Bascomb does cover the trial briefly, but his main focus is really the capture of Eichmann. And I can say unequivocally, that from the beginning to the end, Bascomb will keep you on the edge of your seat as Eichmann's fate unfolds. The Nazi Hunters is a book I would definitely recommend to anyone interested in the Holocaust and its perpetrators.

This book is recommended for readers age 12+
This book was an E-ARC from NetGalley

The review was originally posted at The Children's War

[Eric Sutton · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fast-paced, abridged version of the pursuit and capture of Adolf Eichmann in Buenos Aires. It is designed for younger readers, as Bascomb attempts to condense the genocidal atrocities committed by Eichmann during the Third Reich, the creation of Israel, the determination of select Nazi hunters in the face of apathy, neo-nazism, plus all the particulars of the operation itself, into a 150-page thriller. A tall order, yet, for a young person learning about the era, it functions as a proper introduction, and the story is certainly a fascinating one. Along with Bomb and Unbroken, The Nazi Hunters should make for an intriguing WWII unit and a gateway to the genre of creative non-fiction, which students don't experience enough in the middle grades.

[Vicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

A true mission impossible. Even though I knew how it ended, it was hard to put down. How vindicating for those involved to bring such an evil man to justice

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic how a book where you know how it all ends up can still be so suspenseful. I was reading this book in a snow storm and then the power went out and it was so creepy. Both an engrossing spy story and beautiful testament to these survivors' quest for justice.

[Aldia · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was a really boring book

[Grant Rinckey · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was a very good book. It is a historical fiction book. The theme of this book is never take the wrong path like the Nazi commander Eichmann ended up getting executed.

[Speesh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A straightforward re-telling account of what happened, where, when and how. It doesn't need any dressing up. It's important enough to stand on its own. The details are retold in a clear and concise manner, with time taken to include some of the background both to Eichmann and his thought process throughout and that of the people who found him and were sent to bring him back to Israel. Along with a little of the historical context of the post-war years and where the world was heading going into the 1960s.

The why Israel is dealt with as well. Why not just shoot him where they found him? He needed to be brought to Israel to serve as a reminder to the world that was trying to move on from the Second World War, less interested in old Nazis and more worried about dealing with new Communists. Interestingly, they actually managed to get Eichmann to sign a statement that he came to Israel willingly. Not against his will anyway. By persuading him it would be a chance to put his side of the events.

It's a naturally tense story all the way through, it doesn't need artificially ramping up. Especially the troubles they had getting him out of Argentina. If you've seen the excellent film Argo, you'll be in the same ball-park.
In The One From The Other Philip Kerr has a section where Bernie travels to Palestine with Eichmann. Where Eichmann was maybe trying to find a place to send the Jews of Germany. That's true. Also true, is that nobody wanted them.

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[Alyson Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book: The Nazi Hunters
Author: Neal Bascomb
Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars

This is another Scholastic find and I must say that it is a great book for middle schoolers on Eichmann’s capture. It has spies, pictures, and an easy to read text that will have any history loving middle school student hooked. However, I will say that I would not give this book to someone younger. It talks about the hanging and that may be kind of disturbing for younger readers. Just be warned if you have a child who is on the more sensitive side.

When reading this, you do have to keep in mind that this is a children’s book, so it may not go into a ton of detail about spy work that kids may not understand. I personally enjoyed the quick nature of this book. I took a lot of classes on World War II in university so I really didn’t want a super detailed read. I liked how we had enough information to understand what is going on, but we didn’t get to deep into all of the works. This may be true for any book about the capture of Eichmann since it is a spy book and a lot of information has not been released.

We get to see a lot of pictures and documents from the events. I thought this was a great touch. It kind of makes the book feel less like a textbook and more like a story. No, I’m not saying that the book has a textbook feel to it. I’m just saying that if you have someone who doesn’t want to read nonfiction for that reason, then this may be a good fit for them. Plus, the dialogue and overall take on the book does make it seem like a novel.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and recommend it.

[Jesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Numerous Nazis who participated in the holocaust got away with it, fleeing to Argentina or elsewhere. Not Eichmann, although he almost got away, too. This is a solid book, telling the story of how the early Mossad hunted Eichmann down.

It is a young adult reader....cool. I think it'd be great if more young adults did read it. Especially if it was read in school over much of the other public school choices. This book really gives great perspective on both injustice and justice. Someone who contributed to the ultimate injustice of murdering 6 million people would have gotten away if not for a handful of people who pressed the matter of finding him and getting him, and a select team going and doing it. That in and of itself teaches an important lesson in how justice actually often works-- people have to seek it and demand it for it to maybe happen.

The story is well written, and as far as I can tell, historically accurate. The story of how the Mossad captured and put Eichmann on trial is exciting and pleasing. I regret that there aren't stories of Mengele getting captured, as he was one of the bastards who got away. Nonetheless, Nazi hunters caught several others, and I like that they sought "justice, not revenge."

[Maslela · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an easy read. I found this book on the "recommended reading" shelf for school kids here and so I found it simple. It contains compact descriptions and facts easily digested by students and older readers who would want to know the details without having to endure a lengthy read. It was interesting for a very factual story but I suppose one would only read such a book if one is really interested to know. As for the story itself, I found myself feeling frustrated when the mission began due to the incidents that took place. Apart from that, it was a good spy story and I recall most of the items and tactics described in the book similar to the ones I read about or saw on display at The International Spy Museum I recently visited in Washington DC.

[Connor Waterman · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Nazi Hunters" by Neal Bascomb is a good book for sixth and seventh graders. "The Nazi Hunters" is about a Nazi leader named Adolf Eichmann who after the war ran into the woods of Germany and disappeared. 16 years later, a team of Superspies found Eichmann at a bus stop in Argentina. According to "Mental Floss.com", the Trial of Eichmann turned out to be one of the biggest trials of all time. I liked the book because it was intriguing in most parts but in some parts it was boring and what made it boring was details and characters such as when you meet Vera Eichmann, it took a long time and was basically a whole chapter and chapters are 10 pages long.

[Tanisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though I've heard plenty about World War and Hitler, I didn't really know much about either. Since I had to read a non-fiction book either way, I decided why not use the opportunity? I honestly thought this would be a dreadful read? While it wasn't the most exciting, it was definitely captivating. This book is about a survivor named Simon Wiesentha trying to capture Adolf Eichmann after he disappeared from view. The writing was very descriptive and it had just enough action to be interesting.

This book was complete photographs and maps which actually helped me visualize it and understand it. For someone who doesn't really know much about this topic, it's actually a lot of help. This book is almost like a spy thriller, complete with plans and secret car compartments. For a non fiction it was fairly entertaining. This book doesn't just talk about the present but it also talks about the impacts that it had on the future.

I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in World War or someone who justs wants a good non fiction read.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I heard good things about this book before reading it. This is the story of how a team of agents located and captured Adolph Eichmann. The story was well written, with enough suspense to keep its teen audience interested.

[Navdeep Pundhir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolute Five Star! Must Read, out and out classic!!! Much recommended to all those who are interested in reading good, genuine historical non fiction.

[Isabella · Rating 5 out of 5]

read for english . also i have an interest in stuff like this

[Mariah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this author! He does an incredible job of capturing history accurately and in an engaging way. Complete page turners for me.

[Rob Perry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to this as an audiobook. Very interesting.

[Kairi Marston · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️3.5⭐️

[Marre Prestigiacomo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book that became a movie in 2018. Educational and enlightening how such a horrible man could disappear and live for years unnoticed. A man who was unrepentant of the horrors he committed on mankind.

[Vince McCollum · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok. There really was no conflict. The plan to kidnap Eichmann was solid and there was really no margin for error. It just seemed like an extended list of events with too much detail.