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Revision as of 20:02, 28 November 2024 by Jonathan Deamer (talk | contribs) (Better paraphrase source)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) Prison guard| Shalom Nagar | |
|---|---|
| Born | Yemen |
| Died | (2024-11-26)November 26, 2024 |
| Occupation | prison guard |
| Known for | Executing Adolf Eichmann |
Shalom Nagar (born 1930s, died 26 November 2024) was a Yemeni-born prison guard.
Nagar was known for executing war criminal and Nazi Party official Adolf Eichmann by hanging, on 30 May 1962. This was the only judicial execution ever held in Israel.
Nagar was randomly selected to carry out the execution. He didn't want the duty, but was convinced to accept it after being shown pictures of Holocaust atrocities against children. In 2005, he told orthodox Jewish magazine Mispacha "It so appalled me that I agreed to do what needed to be done".
Afterwards, it was his job to take the corpse for cremation. He struggled, with shaking hands and difficulty walking unaided. In the following years, he suffered from PTSD and nightmares.
Nagar was further tasked with loading the body into the oven, but he struggled, his hands still shaking from the fright he had received. By that point, Nagar’s commander decided to send him home in a car accompanied by another prison officer.
Prior to Eichmann's execution, Nagar was charged with testing food given to the prisoner, for fear someone would try to poison him.
Nagar's identity as Eichmann's executioner was kept secret for 30 years due to fear of reprisals, until it was revealed by journalists in 1992. He was subject of a 2010 documentary, The Hangman.
In the 1980s Nagar was asked if he would carry out the execution of Ivan Demjanjuk. He refused, saying he had "had enough trauma".
Sources differ as to when exactly Nagar was born. Haaretz and The Times of Israel report his year of birth as 1936, meaning he was 26 when he executed Eichmann and 88 when he died. The Jerusalm Post gives his date of death as 86. According to BBC News, "Nagar was born in Yemen in the late 1930s and moved to Israel as an orphan in 1948. His exact age is not clear".
Before joining the Israel Prison Service, Nagar served in the IDF’s Paratroopers Brigade.
References
- ^ "Shalom Nagar, hangman of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, dies". BBC News. 2024-11-28. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ Winer, Stuart. "Shalom Nagar, reluctant hangman of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, dies aged 88". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ "Shalom Nagar, Adolf Eichmann's Reluctant Executioner, Dies at 88". Haaretz.
- "Shalom Nagar, executioner of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, passes away at 86". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 2024-11-27. Retrieved 2024-11-28.