Gabriel Bach ( he, גבריאל בך; 13 March 1927 – 18 February 2022) was a German-born Israeli jurist, who was a judge of the Supreme Court of Israel and was the deputy prosecutor in the prosecution of Adolf Eichmann.

Biography

Bach was born in

Halberstadt Halberstadt ( Eastphalian: ''Halverstidde'') is a town in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, the capital of Harz district. Located north of the Harz mountain range, it is known for its old town center that was greatly destroyed by Allied bomb ...

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, on 13 March 1927. He was the son of Victor Bach, who was the general manager of the Hirsch

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

and

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wit ...

factory, and his wife Erna (née Benscher) Bach. He grew up in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

Charlottenburg Charlottenburg () is a locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Established as a town in 1705 and named after Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, Queen consort of Prussia, it is best known for Charlottenburg Palace, the ...

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 sq ...

, and attended Theodor Herzl School. In October 1938 the Bach family emigrated from

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

, where he continued to attend school. He was the only survivor of his Jewish classmates from this school. In 1940, a month before the invasion of the Netherlands by the German army, the family booked a passage to

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

and settled in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. He joined the Haganah in 1943 and attended high school at the

Hebrew University Secondary School Hebrew University High School ( he, התיכון ליד האוניברסיטה), commonly known as ''Leyada'' (literally "next to"), is a semi-private high school in West Jerusalem, established in 1935 by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The ...

, graduating in 1945. After a year of studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, he received a scholarship to study

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

. After graduating with honors in 1949, he interned in a law office before returning to Israel, where he did military service in the Israel Defense Forces in the

Military Advocate General The Military Advocate General (MAG Corps') ( he, הפרקליטות הצבאית, ''HaParklitut HaTzva'it'') is responsible for implementing the rule of law within the Israel Defense Forces. The unit's objectives include integrating the rule of ...

's Corps from 1951 to 1953, and was discharged from active service with the rank of captain. In his military reserve duty he served as a judge on the

Military Court of Appeals The Israeli Military Court of Appeals is the supreme military court of the Israel Defense Forces. It considers and judges over appeals submitted by the Military Advocate General which challenge decisions rendered by the District Military Tribunals ...

, reaching the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

. In 1953 Bach began working in the State Attorney's Office. In 1961 he was appointed

Deputy Attorney General The Deputy Attorney General (DAG) is the second-highest-ranking official in a department of justice or of law, in various governments of the world. In those governments, the deputy attorney general oversees the day-to-day operation of the departme ...

and as the second of the three prosecutors in the Eichmann trial. In 1969, he was appointed State Attorney. In 1982 he was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of Israel and retired in 1997. In 1984 he served as the precedent-breaking Chairman of the Central Elections Committee. He was subsequently appointed the chairman of several senior government committees and fact finding commissions. He subsequently represented Israel at international conferences. Bach married Ruth Arazi, the daughter of Yehuda Arazi, in 1955. The couple lived in Jerusalem. He died on 18 February 2022, at the age of 94.

Awards

*1949: Buchman Prize *Commander's Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

(10 October 1997) *Friend of Jerusalem *Honorary Member of the University of London *Lemkin Award, Los Angeles (2011) *Jülich Society Prize for Tolerance (2014) *Mensch International Foundation awarded to him as "Mensch" (2014)

Headings

*''Genocide trials in Israel'', in: Herbert Reginbogin and Christoph Safferling (eds.): '' The Nuremberg Trials.

International criminal law International criminal law (ICL) is a body of public international law designed to prohibit certain categories of conduct commonly viewed as serious atrocities and to make perpetrators of such conduct criminally accountable for their perpetrat ...

since 1945. International Conference on the 60th Anniversary - The Nuremberg Trials : International Criminal Law Since 1945. 60th Anniversary International Conference. '' KG Saur, Munich 2005 Bilingual. Post: pp. 216–223, in English, German summary

Movie

*''Gabriel Bach, The Prosecutor and the Eichmann trial'' by Wolfgang Schoen and Frank Gutermuth, TV Schoen film D 201
TV Schoen Movie

Literature

*Peter Kasza : ''Purified he gave himself only from the gallows'' Süddeutsche Zeitung of 27 January 2007

References

External links

*
Biographical sketch by Gabriel Bach with photos
* ttp://www1.wdr.de/themen/politik/gabriel_bach102.html interview with Eichmann prosecutor Gabriel Bach(wdr.de 28 September 2010)
"With a kick an SS man was transported from Germany"
interview with Gabriel Bach in the weekly Jungle World, Jungle Supplement, part 1: No 14 of 7 April 2011 Part 2: No. 15
"50 Years of the Eichmann trial - A person with murderous instincts"
interview with Gabriel Bach, Spiegel Online, 11 April 2011.
Interview (2011): '' My father had the sixth sense''
(haGalil.com 2007) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bach, Gabriel 1927 births 2022 deaths Adolf Eichmann Alumni of University College London Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the Netherlands Israeli jurists Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Mandatory Palestine Israeli people of German-Jewish descent Judges of the Supreme Court of Israel People from Halberstadt Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany State Attorneys of Israel