The relentless 15-year hunt for Adolf Eichmann, the notorious high-ranking Nazi criminal who fled Germany at the end of WW2 and hid in Argentina with his family, will be charted in a thriller series by Rose Bosch (“1492: Conquest of Paradise,” “The Roundup”).
Titled “The Capture,” the six-part English-language series is being produced by Marc Missonnier and Christine de Bourbon-Busset at Lincoln TV, the Paris-based banner behind “Mirages” and “Cheyenne & Lola.” The script is now completed and the veteran producers are getting ready to introduce the project to potential partners, including broadcasters and streamers.
Bosch, a former investigative journalist who is passionate about history, previously wrote the script of Ridley Scott’s Christopher Columbus film “1492: Conquest of Paradise,” as well as penned and directed “The Roundup” which depicted the infamous Vel’ d’Hiv Roundup (Rafle du Vel’ d’Hiv) in Paris. The 2010 movie, which sheds light on the lesser-known mass arrest of Jews, including children, by French police in 1942 and their deportation in concentration camps, is still being studied in schools on top of being featured at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial in Washington.
Bosch said she had conducted thorough research about Nazi Germany and Third Reich leaders during several years to write the script for “The Roundup” and digged ever deeper to unearth a wealth of details about Eichmann’s psyche and unwavering dedication to Hitler’s Nazi agenda, as well as the efforts across different continents to capture him and bring him to Israel to face trial. Through “The Capture,” Bosch will also chronicle the early days of the CIA and Mossad, Israel’s national intelligence agency.
“After being immersed into WW2 for ‘The Roundup,’ I thought ‘it took us 70 years to lift the veil on these horrific events, and the door is now open; I’ve described the crime, now comes the time to describe the punishment,” said Bosch, adding that the current rise of Far Right parties in Europe and beyond also compelled her to revisit this dark historical chapter to draw a portrait of what extremism looks like up close.
“Most high-ranking German SS officer committed suicide, and with the exception of Auschwitz camp commandant Rudolf Höss who was hanged in Poland in 1947, the only one who was successfully tracked down and trialed is Eichmann,” said Bosch.
“Eichmann was a small man-next-door who was granted gigantic powers by Hitler — he spearheaded 200 camps, orchestrated the logistics behind the extermination of more than 6 million Jews around the world, and even came up with the idea of using gas chambers,” pointed out Bosch, who lived in the U.S. for many years before moving back to France.
She said her script doesn’t tell the story a linear fashion, but rather weaves Eichmann’s criminal past with the narration of how he’s being chasing down by a group of people from different horizons, including double agents and Holocaust survivors. The sprawling mission was first carried out by a U.S. agency which then became the CIA and was later taken over by the Mossad in Israel. Several other agents across Europe were also involved in the chase.
“It’s a complete page-turner and the craziest thing is that it’s all based on historical facts,” said De Bourbon-Busset.
“We were stunned by how well researched and how skilfully Rose was able to navigate between these two timelines,” added Missonnier.”It’s an outstanding script in terms of style and historical details, giving us a unique insight into Eichmann’s mind and this human tragedy,” he added. At the same time, the series will not be about the Shoah but primarily about what it took to catch Eichmann.
Aside from Eichmann, the ensemble series will portray several other pivotal figures, notably Josef Mengele, the Auschwitz doctor known as the ‘Angel of Death’ who also hid in Latin America, as well as Austrian Holocaust survivor turned Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal and David Ben Gourion, who is known as the founder of the State of Israel and its first Prime Minister.
The capture of Eichmann was previously depicted in Chris Weitz’s movie “Operation Finale” with Oscar Isaac and Ben Kingsley.
