Germany is challenging a journalist's request to declassify files pertaining to the 15 years Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann spent as a fugitive.
German journalist Gabriele Weber filed a claim with the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig requesting the 4,500 pages of secret documents on Eichmann be released.
A Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig is currently examining the Eichmann documents. The court is expected to rule soon on whether the German foreign intelligence agency, the BND, is justified for continuing to keep the files classified.
Eichmann was a leading architect of Hitler's plans to murder Europe's Jews.
The BND has argued that it must keep the documents secret in order to protect an unnamed foreign intelligence service; the service is believed to be Israel's Mossad, Der Spiegel reported. The BND is concerned that if the information is released it will cause other nations to stop sharing intelligence with Germany.
The Mossad captured Eichmann in Buenos Aires in 1960. He was brought to Israel, where he went on trial for committing crimes against humanity, was convicted and hanged.
Some believe the files will show that Germany was complicit in assisting Eichmann in his flight from Germany and in keeping him hidden.